Mavis Staples Previews ‘Sad and Beautiful World’ with Title Track
Mavis Staples, photo by Elizabeth De La Piedra
Mavis Staples has shared the title track from her 15th solo studio album, Sad and Beautiful World. Set to release on Nov. 7 via Anti-, the rhythm and blues and gospel legend’s follow-up to 2019’s We Get By once again sets her peerless talents on redressing the problems of the present, this time through a collection of covers and originals that stretch seven decades into the past. Staples’ latest advance preview, penned by Mark Linkous (a.k.a Sparklehorse), follows a soul-stirring treatment of Frank Ocean’s “Godspeed,” released in June, and a take on Kevin Morby’s “Beautiful Strangers,” offered with the album announcement in August.
Sad and Beautiful World pairs new originals with covers of classics by Tom Waits, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, Curtis Mayfield, Leonard Cohen, Ocean, Morby and more. Taken together, Staples’ treatments wield the power of song to steel her listeners against disillusionment and ignite a fiery faith in change. She finds support in this mission in collaborators like Derek Trucks, Buddy Guy, Justin Vernon, Bonnie Raitt, Katie Crutchfield, MJ Lenderman and Jeff Tweedy, who reflect the musical community Staples has assembled through decades of carrying the legacy of activist music with passion, warmth and resolve. Through sparing, careful words, the album’s title track resounds as a bittersweet reflection of her hopeful outlook, echoed over a wistful dirge by tentative horns and whining steel guitar.
“You have to stay hopeful and have faith that things are going to get better,” Staples said in a statement. “I just have to deliver the compassion I feel. I want to share the song the way I feel it.”
Staples’ first new album in six years comes after the 86-year-old singer-songwriter briefly considered retirement in 2023. Once she realized that her vital work was not yet complete, she connected with super-producer Brad Cook, who set her unparalleled talents as a storyteller and vocal powerhouse over a sparse arrangement of piano and percussion before carefully adding layers. “I remember being utterly floored by the conviction and power she had in her voice,” Cook said of seeing Staples perform live.
Sad and Beautiful World is available to pre-order and pre-save now. Listen to the title track below, and find tickets and more information on Staples’ fall tour dates at mavisstaples.com.
Sad and Beautiful World – Mavis Staples:
1. Chicago
2. Beautiful Strangers
3. Sad and Beautiful World
4. Human Mind
5. Hard Times
6. Godspeed
7. We Got to Have Peace
8. Anthem
9. Satisfied Mind
10. Everybody Needs Love
