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- Summary: The 16th full-length studio release for the soul singer was written and produced by Jeff Tweedy.
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- Record Label: Anti-
- Genre(s): R&B
- More Details and Credits »
Score distribution:
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Positive: 17 out of 18
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Mixed: 1 out of 18
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Negative: 0 out of 18
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Nov 17, 2017So Black is a heavy record, but there are bright moments sprinkled throughout.
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Nov 13, 2017Staples is in strong voice throughout, yet on All Over Again, the closing folk blues look back on a lfe lived without regrets, she sings even lower than usual, sounding her age--impossibly wise and dignified. A fitting end to a great record.
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MojoNov 13, 2017An album that opens full of tension, riot and discord--before the acoustic gospel of Peaceful Dream leads into strong pleas for universal love and understand and quests for personal redemption. [Dec 2017, p.94]
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Nov 17, 2017The lyrics sometimes reflect Tweedy's usual tropes as a writer, but Staples gives them a musical and emotional force that sets them apart. Her voice is in splendid shape for a septuagenarian, still supple and able to navigate the twists of the melodies while sailing confidently over the arrangements that fuse indie rock with the feel of '70s soul. ... Quite simply, this is an album America needs.
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Q MagazineNov 22, 2017Potent stuff. [Jan 2018, p.114]
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Nov 17, 2017If All I Was Was Black is suffused with contemporary political resonance, married to Staples’ timelessly transcendent gospel-meets-bluesy-folk. That push-pull between sorrowful analysis of the current state of the country and hope for the future is its defining quality, and it works--mostly.
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Nov 17, 2017You may wish the songs were a little tougher (the Wilco frontman might have spread himself too thin writing the entire album), but Tweedy’s words preach without sounding overly preachy. The backing musicians effortlessly find a funky/soulful groove and even at low boil, Mavis Staples remains a force of nature.
Score distribution:
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Positive: 0 out of 2
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Mixed: 2 out of 2
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Negative: 0 out of 2
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May 9, 2018
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Nov 29, 2017
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