Reviewed by Tony Cummings

Roebuck "Pops" Staples was a musical giant. This posthumous set is the result of his daughter Mavis passing on a set of half-finished recordings to Wilco's Jeff Tweedy to embellish them for release. Tweedy has done this magnificently, playing bass and guitar on several tracks and bringing in his son Spencer to play drums. With Mavis, Cleotha and Yvonne adding bvs, the result is more like a long lost Staples album than the solo gospel blues projects Pops sometimes recorded. All the lead vocals are delivered in Pops' unmistakable languidly bluesy tones while his quivering swamp guitar is as evocatively downhome as ever. Possibly the best track is "Better Home", a gospel country hybrid that the Staples first recorded in 1962 for the 'This Land' album. Pops and Mavis sing "When I put this old world aside/Taking Jesus for my guide./I'm gonna keep on 'til I reach/A perfect day." Almost as good is the powerful reworking of Blind Willie Johnson's "Nobody's Fault But Mine" while the closer, a brass-driven version of Dylan's "Gotta Serve Somebody", shows again what a great song it is.

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