We'll Never Turn Back
We'll Never Turn Back | ||||
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ANTI- | ||||
Producer | Ry Cooder | |||
Mavis Staples chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Chicago Sun-Times | [2] |
Entertainment Weekly | B+[3] |
The Guardian | [4] |
The Independent | [5] |
MSN Music (Consumer Guide) | A−[6] |
The New York Times | (favorable)[7] |
PopMatters | 7/10[8] |
USA Today | [9] |
The Washington Post | (favorable)[10] |
We'll Never Turn Back is the seventh
Reception
Critical response
We'll Never Turn Back received positive reviews from most music critics.
Jon Pareles of The New York Times called the album "bluesy, unvarnished, gutsy and knowing", and he described its music as "righteous, not self-righteous, and never far from roots in the Mississippi mud".[7] However, PopMatters writer Lester Feder expressed that its "musical sophistication" can overshadow Staples's lyrics, stating "the album’s sound is so easy on the ears that it is extremely tempting to let it drown out the challenging sentiments of her words".[8] In his consumer guide for MSN Music, music critic Robert Christgau gave We'll Never Turn Back an A− rating,[6] indicating "the kind of garden-variety good record that is the great luxury of musical micromarketing and overproduction. Anyone open to its aesthetic will enjoy more than half its tracks".[14] Christgau praised Staples's performance and wrote "she doesn't merely revive rousing old songs--she brings their moral passion into the present".[6] Both USA Today and the Chicago Sun-Times gave it ratings of three-and-a-half out of four stars.[2][9] Jim DeRogatis of the latter publication wrote that Staples "infuses the material with a passion and urgency undiminished by the passing of time",[2] and he discussed the relevance of the album's themes to current events, stating:
In many corners, from grammar school social studies classes to the studio occupied until only recently by
institutionalized racism has hardly disappeared. Rather than an exercise in nostalgia, the eighth solo album of Mavis Staples' long and storied career is therefore as vital and relevant as today's headlines.[2]— Jim DeRogatis
The Washington Post's Bill Friskics-Warren shared a similar sentiment in his review, writing "Staples reinvests… with the moral authority to speak to social and economic injustices that persist today" and "rarely have 'remakes' sounded so tonic or inspired".[10] The album received an A rating from the Boston Herald, which wrote "In the course of celebrating a landmark, Staples and Cooder make one of their own".[15] We'll Never Turn Back also received perfect ratings from The Independent and NOW magazine.[5][16] LA Weekly's Ernest Hardy gave it a rave review and lauded the album's sound, writing "Powerfully raw, suggestive blues is the foundation of the CD, but that root allows the collaborators to sprawl through other genres, reminding you of the connections between them all — blues and gospel, spirituals and jazz".[17]
Accolades
We'll Never Turn Back was named one of the best albums of 2007 by several music writers and publications, including PopMatters (number 11) and The Austin Chronicle (number five).[18][19] The album was ranked number 48 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the Top 50 Albums of 2007.[20] Los Angeles Times columnist Todd Martens named We'll Never Turn Back the second best album of the year,[21] and Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune ranked it number one on his list of the best albums of 2007.[22]
Track listing
- All songs were produced by Ry Cooder.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Down in Mississippi" | J. B. Lenoir | 4:57 |
2. | "Eyes on the Prize" | Traditional | 4:06 |
3. | "We Shall Not Be Moved" | Traditional | 4:31 |
4. | "In the Mississippi River" | M. Jones | 4:26 |
5. | "On My Way" | Traditional | 4:10 |
6. | "This Little Light of Mine" | Ry Cooder, Traditional | 3:22 |
7. | "99 and 1/2" | Ry Cooder, Mavis Staples, Traditional | 4:46 |
8. | "My Own Eyes" | D. Bartlett, Ry Cooder, Mavis Staples | 7:18 |
9. | "Turn Me Around" | Traditional | 3:52 |
10. | "We'll Never Turn Back" | Bertha Gober | 4:06 |
11. | "I'll Be Rested" | Ry Cooder, Joachim Cooder, Mavis Staples | 5:44 |
12. | "Jesus Is on the Main Line" | Mavis Staples, Traditional | 6:31 |
Personnel
Credits for We'll Never Turn Back adapted from liner notes.[23]
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Chart history
Chart | Provider(s) | Peak position |
Certification | Sales/ shipments |
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Billboard 200 (U.S.)[24] | Billboard | 180 | Not certified | N/A |
Billboard Independent Albums (U.S.)[24] | 20 | |||
Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (U.S.)[24] | 99 |
See also
References
- ^ Allmusic. Retrieved on 2009-11-08.
- ^ a b c d DeRogatis, Jim. "Review: We'll Never Turn Back". Chicago Sun-Times: April 29, 2007.
- ^ a b Hermes, Will. Review: We'll Never Turn Back. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on 2009-11-08.
- ^ a b Sullivan, Caroline. Review: We'll Never Turn Back. The Guardian. Retrieved on 2009-11-08.
- ^ a b Gill, Andy. Review: We'll Never Turn Back. The Independent. Retrieved on 2009-11-08.
- ^ a b c Christgau, Robert. "Review: We'll Never Turn Back". MSN Music: May 2007. Archived on 2009-11-08.
- ^ a b Pareles, Jon. Review: We'll Never Turn Back. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2009-11-08.
- ^ a b Feder, Lester. Review: We'll Never Turn Back. PopMatters. Retrieved on 2009-11-08.
- ^ a b Gardner, Elysa. Review: We'll Never Turn Back. USA Today. Retrieved on 2009-11-08.
- ^ a b Friskics-Warren, Bill. Review: We'll Never Turn Back. The Washington Post. Retrieved on 2009-11-08.
- ^ a b We'll Never Turn Back (2007): Reviews. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2009-06-11.
- ^ Graham, Renée. Review: We'll Never Turn Back. The Boston Globe. Retrieved on 2009-11-08.
- ^ Clark, Pete. Review: We'll Never Turn Back. Evening Standard. Retrieved on 2009-11-08.
- ^ Christgau, Robert. "CG Keys to Icons: Grades 1990-". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
- ^ Columnist. "Review: We'll Never Turn Back". Boston Herald: 24. April 23, 2007.
- ^ Perlich, Tim. Review: We'll Never Turn Back. NOW. Retrieved on 2009-11-08.
- ^ Hardy, Ernest. Review: We'll Never Turn Back. LA Weekly. Retrieved on 2009-11-08.
- ^ Staff. The Best Albums of 2007. PopMatters. Retrieved on 2009-11-08.
- ^ Best Albums of 2007. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2009-11-08.
- ^ Robert Christgau, David Fricke, Christian Hoard, Rob Sheffield (December 17, 2007). The Top 50 Albums of 2007[dead link] Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
- ^ Martens, Todd. The 20 Best Albums of 2007. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on 2009-11-08.
- ^ Kot, Greg. Best of 2007: 20 Thrilling Albums. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved on 2009-11-08.
- ^ Credits: We'll Never Turn Back. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2009-11-08.
- ^ a b c Mavis Staples Artist Chart History at Billboard
External links
- We'll Never Turn Back at Metacritic
- We'll Never Turn Back at ANTI-website
- We'll Never Turn Back at AllMusic website