Review: Mavis Staples, ‘Your Good Fortune’

Mavis Staples has a once-in-a-generation voice and, when she wields it, she lifts spirits and saves souls with its power — something she’s been doing for most of her life. On her new four-song EP, ‘Your Good Fortune,’ the legendary gospel singer teams with young bluesman Son Little who has made a name for himself by defying and destroying the boundaries of genre in his own music. And he does the same here.

On the opening (and title) track, a muddy bass and a tinny snare combine underneath Staples’ bound-for-glory voice as it both moves and moors the listener through the meandering plea from doubting sinner to forgiving saint: “Why did you spend your good fortune on me?” The funky, stuttering groove of “Fight” underpins warped guitar riffs and weird (but cool) electro-synth runs. Here, again, Staples makes believers out of any heathens who might happen upon her potent voice. Hers is the kind of church in which all are not just welcome, but wanted. Both tunes were composed for Staples by Son Little.

As she works through the hallowed resignation and resolve of Blind Lemon Jefferson’s “See That My Grave Is Kept Clean,” Staples reaches as deeply down into her own voice as she does into the listener’s soul. Little throws in a gnarled guitar solo and electronic flourishes that both honor and update a track done by the Staple Singers way back in 1962. The final cut is the Pops Staples gem “Wish I Had Answered” that was first recorded by the family in ’63. This time around, Mavis does it up by herself — though not without a chorus of supporting voices. Like the rest of the EP, her take is both classic and contemporary.

The only shortcoming of the ‘Your Good Fortune’ EP is just that… it’s short. The magic that Mavis Staples and Son Little make together deserves a whole lot more than just four songs.

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‘Your Good Fortune’ is out now on ANTI Records and is available – HERE.