Mavis Staples is one of those miraculous figures -- someone who's been making earth-shakingly important music for an extremely long time and who remains active and curious, with a whole lot left to say. As part of the Staple Singers, her family act, Staples was a legend when she was basically still a kid. She is now 86 years old, and she released her cover of Frank Ocean's "Godspeed" earlier this year. That song will appear on Staples new album Sad And Beautiful World, which is full of covers like that one and which features an absolutely killer lineup of collaborators.
On Sad And Beautiful World, Mavis Staples covers songs from Leonard Cohen, Curtis Mayfield, Tom Waits, Mahalia Jackson, Sparklehorse, Gillian Welch, and Eddie Hinton. Staples recorded the album with producer Brad Cook, and the list of collaborators is really something. MJ Lenderman, Waxahatchee's Katie Crutchfield, Bon Iver's Justin Vernon, Bonnie Raitt, Buddy Guy, Derek Trucks, Iron And Wine's Sam Beam, the Drive-By Truckers' Patterson Hood, the Indigo Girls' Amy Ray, Anjimile, Kara Jackson, and regular Staples collaborator Jeff Tweedy all make contributions.
Today, Mavis Staples shares her version of Kevin Morby's "Beautiful Strangers." Morby released that single in 2016 as a tribute to the victims of the Orlando Pulse shooting. Staples' version is gentle and lived-in. It's got electric guitars from MJ Lenderman and Staples' bandleader Rick Holmstrom. Brad Cook plays vibraphone, and his brother Phil adds piano. Nathaniel Rateliff and Tré Burt sing backup vocals. Unsurprisingly, Kevin Morby is pretty bowled over by the existence of this cover:
It isn’t easy to put into words what it feels like having one of the best, most important vocalists and cultural figures of both the 20th and 21st century sing one of my songs. But hearing Mavis sing "Beautiful Strangers" is hands down the greatest moment and highest honor of my career. Far beyond any kind of accolade or acclaim -- having one of my biggest heroes sing something I wrote is the most validating and flattering thing that could ever happen to me as a songwriter and person. Thank you, Mavis. Mavis also wields that extremely rare power to take a song somebody else wrote and make it entirely her own. As the person who penned "Beautiful Stranger,” I feel I have every right to say: Her version is better.
Below, check out Mavis Staples' version of "Beautiful Strangers" and Kevin Morby's original, as well as the Sad And Beautiful World tracklist and Staples' upcoming tour dates.
TRACKLIST:
01 "Chicago
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02 "Beautiful Strangers
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03 "Sad And Beautiful World
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04 "Human Mind
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05 "Hard Times
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06 "Godspeed
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07 "We Got To Have Peace
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08 "Anthem
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09 "Satisfied Mind
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10 "Everybody Needs Love
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TOUR DATES:
9/06 - Lone Tree, CO @ Lone Tree Arts Center
9/11 - Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up Tavern
9/13 - Napa, CA @ Blue Note Summer Sessions
10/01-02 - Stoughton, WI @ Stoughton Opera House
10/04 - Memphis, TN @ Mempho Fest
10/09 - Tucson, AZ @ Fox Theatre
10/11 - Prescott, AZ @ Jim & Linda Lee Performing Arts Center
10/12 - Chandler, AZ @ Chandler Center for the Arts
1/10 - Chicago, IL @ Chicago Theatre *
1/24 - Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
2/28 - New York, NY @ Beacon Theatre
* with Nathaniel Rateliff
Sad And Beautiful World is out 11/7 on Anti-.
