Live in London

"Live in London doesn't offer especially new insight into an artist who has made clear statements. It does, however, show that as she approaches 80, Mavis Staples has an outlook and a vitality that should be influential on today's culture, whether in smart uses of tradition or new creative ventures. Staples speaks to something deeply broken in our society and in us, but she doesn't just fight the power or offer a balm. Instead, she encourages and empathizes, providing a hopeful vision and helping to take us there. Maybe the surprise isn't that she's returned so powerfully, but that we ever stopped listening".

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"Not counting I'll Take You There: An All-Star Concert Celebration, Live in London is Mavis Staples' first live album since 2008's Live: Hope at the Hideout. Since that Chicago date, Staples has made four remarkable studio LPs - three with Jeff Tweedy, one with M. Ward - that sensibly form the basis of this, drawn from a two-night stand at Islington's Union Chapel ... Staples sounds more energized and in control here than on the 2008 set. When she beams, "It just ain't no stoppin' me, is it?" there's no evident objection from the appreciative audience".

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"Staples, who at 79 sounds as gutsy and gravelly as ever, ramps up these songs for the live setting, bringing her jubilant persona that connects not just with the concert audience but also on disc. You can almost see her strutting around the stage, raising her arms like a fire and brimstone preacher on Little Milton's "We're Gonna Make It" and the tough, gutsy, inclusive closing "make a friend if you can" lyrics of "Touch a Hand." As producer, Staples could have left the crowd singing "Happy Birthday" to her on the cutting room floor and at just under an hour, this runs short. Regardless, it remains an electric, inspired show thanks to an exceedingly talented band led by guitarist Rick Holmstrom, and of course Staples' larger than life voice, vitality and sheer personality. Pushing 80, she seems unstoppable".