We Get By

A little more understated than her recent collaborations with Jeff Tweedy, who similarly wrote songs and produced them for Staples, We Get By is still a gem and Mavis Staples and Ben Harper clearly hit upon something special in working together.

Staples knows the value and importance of her work, and she's not interested in confusion or complacency. The electric charge of opening track "Change" sets an urgent tone from the outset. ... The only response is to listen for further instructions.

The former Staple Singers icon, who turns 80 in July, is in fearsome, eclectic form here.

Whether the songs are designed to motivate, mourn, or comfort, they're all sustenance. The everlasting potency of Staples' voice is a marvel.

Staples does not sound her age, or maybe a better way to put this is that while her voice contains the wisdom and depth of someone who has plenty of experience, she expresses herself with the verve and gusto of a fresh talent trying to prove her mettle.

Mavis has always strived to make us feel stronger. She is a remarkable role model bringing us remarkable, enviable spirit, captured here as well as it’s ever been.

Mavis's voice is still strong and convincing. [Jun 2019, p.87]

Staples's fire is undiminished. [Jul 2019, p.114]

A set that ranges from funky to subdued. It's a sparser affair than the Tweedy-produced trio. adding only backing voices to a bass/drum/guitar lineup in which Harper's searching playing provides the principal, sometimes sole counterpoint to Mavis's earthy, heartfelt vocals, their power remarkably intact in her advancing years. [Jun 2019, p.22]

Because Staples has lost little expressiveness with age, We Get By sounds surprisingly raucous and admirably rough around the edges, especially on the percolating “Anytime.” But these songs are more about the small, quiet spaces where Staples can catch her breath and steel her nerves.