Livin’ On a High Note is a culmination of the gospel, R&B, folk and other Americana strains that have distinguished various dimensions of Mavis Staples’ solo career as well as her previous tenure anchoring The Staple Singers. Here, she’s mostly singing the work of younger writers from the more roots-oriented end of alt rock and country. Producer M. Ward keeps the sound bright and organic; guitar tones occasionally recall the signature sound of Pops Staples’ famed tremolo, though the matronly diva can still rock harder as the occasion demands.
The songs by Ward, Neko Case, Valerie June, Ben Harper, Aloe Blacc and Nick Cave provide Staples the opportunity to indulge the breadth of her range, from wistfully silly to abject desperation. The contribution by Wisconsin’s Justin Vernon adds the kind of balance of hopefulness and melancholy at which she has excelled since her days of singing in church with her dad and siblings. Staples, with her sweet and burnished alto continuing to evoke the aural complement to crème brûlée, could probably sing the direst doggerel and lend it heavenly gravitas. In this novel addition to a triumphant comeback, Livin’ On A High Note largely lives up to its optimistic title.
