GOSHEN, Ind. — It’s comforting in times like these to know that something entitled “Human Mind” can center hope as its primary emotion. Between the soulful lyrics, a collaboration from Hozier and Allison Russell that was written specifically for Mavis Staples, and the smooth rhythms that evoke Staples gospel and R&B past, the song is an approachable reminder of the good in humanity.
While the lyrics don’t shy away from the bad as well, in lines like “Burning hillsides/Children dying by machines of war,” Staples assures the listeners that when it is all said and done, “Even in these days I find/This far down the line/I find good in us sometimes.”
This is the only original song on her new album, Sad and Beautiful World, the rest being made up of covers that span a breadth of American music history. Though this is her most recent release, Staples has been performing now for nearly eight decades, beginning her career in a band with her father and siblings. Now, she is the only one still living from the group, which she seems to acknowledge in the line “I am the last, daddy, last of us.”
This admission does not come across as regret, however. It is precisely because of the melancholic moments of reflecting on loss that the faithful anthem of the chorus means even more. In spite of it all, “God bless the human mind.” Despite it all, Staples chooses to believe in love for one another, going so far as to call it “the best in my life.”
– Kate Bodiker, Globe Pal
Each week, a Globe-pal (AKA a DJ at 91.1 the Globe) uploads a review of a Globe track that is sent out and posted on globeradio.org/music. The Globe Track of the Week is proudly presented by 91.1 the Globe, the best college radio station in Indiana.
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