★★★★★
Gospel legend and Jeff Tweedy rebond for sequel to 2010 Grammy winner... The valedictory album from the artist of advancing years has become a feature of modern times. Johnny Cash's American albums set the standard, nodding to his past while embracing numbers by U2, Prince Billy et al. Since then Kris Kristofferson and Glen Campbell have made similarly stark, mortality-aware records. Although Mavis Staples remains a sprightly 73, she's been engaged in a comparable act of summary and relocation...
- www.uncut.co.uk
2013-08-02
★★★★★
www.anti.com
BY STEVE KLINGE
Mavis Staples didn't truly find her voice as a solo artist until the 21st century, when she was in her sixties. That's shocking, because she began performing in the early 1950s with her father, Roebuck "Pops" Staples and her siblings in the Staple Singers, and she is one of the greatest rhythm & blues singers...
- blurtonline.com
2013-07-24
★★★★★
ANTI From the opening notes of One True Vine's gripping gospel tune "Holy Ghost," the legendary Mavis Staples' passion for transcendence comes across as an unwavering creed. For the second album in a row, Staples hired Jeff Tweedy as her producer and their collaboration continues to flourish. "Every Step" is accentuated by a familial backing groove that steadily simmers beneath Staples' energetically delivered statement: "My Lord, he knows me every step of the way...
- www.jambands.com
2013-07-19
★★★★★
You Are Not Alone, Mavis Staples' first collaboration with Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, was an astonishing surprise; her earlier 'comeback' records from the last decade had seen her relying on rootsy gospel (ahem) staples, and teaming up with the likes of Ry Cooder and Ladysmith Black Mambazo to add some extra (if far-from-necessary) authenticity to her return to recording. Alone, however, allowed her to just get on with things her way...
- thelineofbestfit.com
2013-08-05
★★★★★
You Are Not Alone, Mavis Staples' first collaboration with Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, was an astonishing surprise; her earlier 'comeback' records from the last decade had seen her relying on rootsy gospel (ahem) staples, and teaming up with the likes of Ry Cooder and Ladysmith Black Mambazo to add some extra (if far-from-necessary) authenticity to her return to recording. Alone, however, allowed her to just get on with things her way...
- www.thelineofbestfit.com
2013-07-09
★★★★★
When Mavis Staples entered the now obligatory latter day reassessment period of her career, then rather than attempting to uncomfortably move with the times or cash in on her iconic status, she simply took the hand of Wilco's Jeff Tweedy and made her highly regarded 2010 album You Are Not Alone like it was no big deal...
- drownedinsound.com
2013-07-04
★★★★★
Proclaiming the merits of a gospel album from a singer whose public popularity peaked some 40 years ago and whose album is produced by a '90s alt-country singer (who, along with his son, also plays all the instruments), might normally be a tough task. Fortunately, One True Vine is a neat reminder, if any were needed, that Mavis Staples has a voice that has matured from merely outstanding to one of the most unique and perfect going today...
- www.undertheradarmag.com
2013-07-03
★★★★★
One True Vine is the latest album from legendary soul singer Mavis Staples, one that sees her teaming up with Wilco's Jeff Tweedy for the second time in three years with stunning results. The record is in a way a return to her roots; a stripped back affair, which harkens back to a time when her and her sisters would accompany their father on guitar...
- www.theaureview.com
2013-07-03
★★★★★
"Let's do it again!" says Mavis Staples to Jeff Tweedy in her CD notes for You Are Not Alone, their 2010 collaboration and Grammy winner in the Americana category. And so they have. And although there are continuities between that album and its sequel, One True Vine, you can't say the gospel great and the Wilco boss repeat themselves...
- www.popmatters.com
2013-06-27
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