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The Review - MUSIC - Classical & Jazz with TONY KIELY
Published: 24 April 2008

Sore throat for woman who put neck on line

REVIEW: MAVIS STAPLES
Barbican

POOR old Mavis Staples had a sore throat at the Barbican.
But what was left of her rasping voice was still more than enough to inspire and remind us of her significant contribution to soul music’s history.
In the 1960s, Staples – then lead member of The Staples Singers – was among rebel musicians who joined the civil rights protests against America’s own apartheid. She sat in. She marched. She sang for Martin Luther King before he made some of his most famous speeches at his personal request. So a throat infection was never going to keep her off stage here. And we were glad it didn’t.
There was a bluesy Koko Taylor-ish edge, an infectious giggle in between songs like Joe Tex’s snigger and a bit of James Brown-like showmanship. But the voice was unmistakably hers, the one which slides across a bass guitar and delivers the opening line “I know a place...” on that classic soul cut, I’ll Take You There.
She could have sung that tune all night and the hall would have been happy.
But there is more to Staples than the radio hits. The thumping grind of Eyes On The Prize and Down In Mississippi recalled past battles with bigotry.
It might have been depressing if the storytelling wasn’t filled with hope and spirit, tales of triumph amid adversity.
The rousing finale of We Shall Not Be Moved summed it all up and suggested she make good on a promise to return soon.
RICHARD OSLEY

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