Carry Me Home

In listening to this remarkable audio document, the thing that stands out most assuredly is the remarkable chemistry these two artists shared, as evidenced through a set of songs culled from the pair’s shared love of gospel, R&B, folk, and other archival sources.

Mavis Staples and Levon Helm were two artists who were also friends and admirers, and they knew how to bring out the best in one another, and that's exactly what they do on Carry Me Home, and it's a thing of beauty to witness.

Timeless and joyful. [Jul 2022, p.96]

[Helm] doesn’t sing much on this release, but his drumming is full and strong. On this night, Helm and Mavis play with a group that consists of members of her traveling band and his house outfit, and together they keep the groove deep and wide. ... Staples’ rich and powerful voice is front and center on Carry Me Home’s dozen tracks. She sings with conviction whether she’s offering a tribute to the Lord, bemoaning the state of American life for the poor and disenfranchised, or laying down the law to a lover.

That Helm had less than a year to live obviously lends his performance poignancy, but as epitaphs go, Carry Me Home isn’t really one suffused with what-might-have-been melancholy: it’s too exuberant, too vibrant for that. It sounds more like a man going out in a blaze of glory.

Backed by a 15-piece band plus horn section, they delivered a spirited set of classic blues, R&B and gospel that concluded with “The Weight”, which Staples and Helm had first performed together at The Last Waltz in 1976 at the start of their 35-year friendship. [Jun 2022, p.33]