Mavis Staples & Lucky Peterson - Spirituals & Gospel - Dedicated To Mahalia Jackson (1996)

Tracklist

01. Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Seen (Album Version)
02. A Rusty Old Halo (Album Version)
03. He's Got The Whole World In His Hands (Album Version)
04. If I Could Hear My Mother Pray Again (Album Version)
05. Wade In The Water (Album Version)
06. Precious Lord Take My Hand (Album Version)
07. I'll Fly Away From Here (Album Version)
08. Were You There (Album Version)
09. Go Down Moses (Album Version)
10. Steal Away (Album Version)
11. Swing Low Sweet Chariot (Album Version)
12. Down By The Riverside (Album Version)
13. Stand By Me (Album Version)

Recorded in Louisiana, not terribly far from Mahalia Jackson's birthplace, this is a 13-song tribute to the legendary Queen of Gospel. Staples leads all the tracks with Lucky Peterson on the Hammond B-3 organ. This is a very bare-bones set, and after the fourth song, "If I Could Hear My Mother Pray Again," the format becomes boring and the songs begin to sound similar. There's nothing unique about these arrangements: Peterson's riffs are fun the first couple of times but quickly grow repetitive, and the choice of songs is decidedly depressing - "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen," "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" - and although Staples sings them with zeal, the overall package lacks the flair, creativity and sense of celebration such a project should connote.

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