We'll Never Turn Back

Reception

Critical response

We'll Never Turn Back received positive reviews from most music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 76, based on 14 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". Allmusic writer Thom Jurek gave it three-and-a-half out of five stars and commended Staples for her vocal ability and performance, while calling it "the kind of album we need at the moment, one that doesn't flinch from the tradition but doesn't present it as a museum piece either". The Boston Globes Renée Graham praised Staples's singing and additional songwriting on the album, stating "Mavis Staples doesn't so much sing a song as baptize it in truth". Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian praised her performance, stating "Staples is magnificent… Her voice is in tatters by the closing 'Jesus Is On the Mainline', and the memory lingers long after those ragged final notes". Entertainment Weeklys Will Hermes gave We'll Never Turn Back a B+ rating and described Staples's voice as "rich, weathered, and full of fire". Evening Standard writer Pete Clark gave it four out of four stars and praised Ry Cooder's production.

Jon Pareles of The New York Times called the album "bluesy, unvarnished, gutsy and knowing", and he described its music as "righteous, not self-righteous, and never far from roots in the Mississippi mud". However, PopMatters writer Lester Feder expressed that its "musical sophistication" can overshadow Staples's lyrics, stating "the album’s sound is so easy on the ears that it is extremely tempting to let it drown out the challenging sentiments of her words". In his consumer guide for MSN Music, music critic Robert Christgau gave We'll Never Turn Back an A− rating, indicating "the kind of garden-variety good record that is the great luxury of musical micromarketing and overproduction. Anyone open to its aesthetic will enjoy more than half its tracks".{{cite web|last=Christgau|first= Robert|url= http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/bk-cg90/grades-90s.php |title=CG Keys to Icons: Grades 1990-

The Washington Posts Bill Friskics-Warren shared a similar sentiment in his review, writing "Staples reinvests… with the moral authority to speak to social and economic injustices that persist today" and "rarely have 'remakes' sounded so tonic or inspired". The album received an A rating from the Boston Herald, which wrote "In the course of celebrating a landmark, Staples and Cooder make one of their own". We'll Never Turn Back also received perfect ratings from The Independent and NOW magazine. LA Weeklys Ernest Hardy gave it a rave review and lauded the album's sound, writing "Powerfully raw, suggestive blues is the foundation of the CD, but that root allows the collaborators to sprawl through other genres, reminding you of the connections between them all — blues and gospel, spirituals and jazz".

Accolades

We'll Never Turn Back was named one of the best albums of 2007 by several music writers and publications, including PopMatters (number 11) and The Austin Chronicle (number five). The album was ranked number 48 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the Top 50 Albums of 2007. Los Angeles Times columnist Todd Martens named We'll Never Turn Back the second best album of the year, and Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune ranked it number one on his list of the best albums of 2007.

Track listing

• All songs were produced by Ry Cooder.

Personnel

Credits for We'll Never Turn Back adapted from liner notes.

• Aisha Ayers – production assistant

• David Bartlett – photography

• Joachim Cooder – percussion, arranger, producer

• Ry Cooder – guitar, mandolin, arranger, producer

• Mike Elizondo – bass, piano

• Bettie Mae Fikes – background vocals

• Bernie Grundman – mastering

• Rutha Harris – background vocals

• Andy Kaulkin – executive producer

• Jim Keltner – drums

• Ladysmith Black Mambazo – background vocals

• Rep. John Lewis – liner notes

• Pete Martinez – assistant

• Charles Neblett – background vocals

• Martin Pradler – engineer, mixing

• Joshua Douglas Smith – assistant

• Mavis Staples – arranger, vocals, author

• Chris Strong – portraits

• Susan Titelman – session photographer

Chart history

References

References

1. An album that can only add to her legend. [May 2007, p.112]
2. Kornbluth, Jesse. (7 February 2008). "The Grammys: A Probable Snooze, So I Made My Own Music Awards".
3. [http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/staplesmavis/wellneverturnback We'll Never Turn Back (2007): Reviews]. [[Metacritic]]. Retrieved on 2009-06-11.
4. Jurek, Thom. [{{AllMusic
5. Graham, Renée. (April 29, 2007). "CD REVIEW Mavis Staples in a state of greatness". [[The Boston Globe]].
6. Sullivan, Caroline. (April 20, 2007). "Review: ''We'll Never Turn Back''".
7. Hermes, Will. (May 3, 2007). "Music Review We'll Never Turn Back (2007) Mavis Staples".
8. Clark, Pete. (April 20, 2007). "Review: We'll Never Turn Back". [[Evening Standard]].
9. Pareles, Jon. (May 13, 2007). "Review: ''We'll Never Turn Back''". [[The New York Times]].
10. Feder, Lester. (May 14, 2007). "Mavis Staples: Well Never Turn Back".
11. Christgau, Robert. (2007). "Review: We'll Never Turn Back".
12. Gardner, Elysa. (April 23, 2007). "This week's reviews: From the Arctic to Brazil". [[USA Today]].
13. DeRogatis, Jim. "[http://www.jimdero.com/News2007/SpincontrolApril29.htm Review: ''We'll Never Turn Back'']". ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'': April 29, 2007.
14. Friskics-Warren, Bill. (April 29, 2007). "RECORDINGS Quick Spins". [[The Washington Post]].
15. Columnist. "[https://web.archive.org/web/20121023131834/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/bostonherald/access/1259078891.html?dids=1259078891:1259078891&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Apr+23,+2007&author=&pub=Boston+Herald&desc=MUSIC+%3B+discs&pqatl=google Review: ''We'll Never Turn Back'']". ''[[Boston Herald]]'': 24. April 23, 2007.
16. Gill, Andy. (April 20, 2007). "Album: Mavis Staples".
17. Perlich, Tim. (April 2007). "Disc Review Mavis Staples". [[Now (newspaper).
18. Hardy, Ernest. (May 30, 2007). "Mavis Staples Joins the Fight Anger can be power Review: We'll Never Turn Back". [[LA Weekly]].
19. (December 21, 2007). "The Best Albums of 2007".
20. [http://www.metacritic.com/music/bests/2007.shtml Best Albums of 2007]. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2009-11-08.
21. Robert Christgau, David Fricke, Christian Hoard, Rob Sheffield (December 17, 2007). [https://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/17601851/the_top_50_albums_of_2007/48 The Top 50 Albums of 2007]{{dead link. (August 2021)
22. Martens, Todd. (December 17, 2007). "Tim Fite, Mavis Staples, Robert Plant: The 20 best albums of 2007". [[Los Angeles Times]].
23. Kot, Greg. (December 14, 2007). "Best of 2007: 20 thrilling albums Best of 2007". [[Chicago Tribune]].
24. [{{AllMusic
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