Should Count Toward Church Time

You Are Not Alone--Mavis Staples--Narrows alum and soul singer supreme Mavis Staples continues to mix the secular and sacred, in the tradition of the Staples Singers, this time with Wilco's Jeff Tweedy in the producer's chair. Recorded at the Wilco Loft in the Windy City, You Are Not Alone is currently in the top twenty in the Billboard Gospel Album chart, even though it contains secular tracks like John Fogarty's "Wrote A Song for Everyone," which appeared on Creedence Clearwater's Green River LP in 1969, and Randy Newman's "Losing You," from the eye-twinkling pianist's Harps and Angels project a few years back. This is, in fact, a rock 'n' gospel album, featuring sometimes-stinging guitar and a more mainstream rock feel. Ms. Staples' flawless and powerful vocals are the show, of course, and it goes without saying that she could sing the phone book and make it scriptural. "I don't know where Tweedy's been all my life," she says in the promotional video. She's right. You Are Not Alone works and is a quality listen.

Note to Narrows history buffs: while Wilco has never played the Narrows, Jay Bennett, who had a nasty split from Tweedy and the group, did. Those of us around in the Narrows' early years remember Bennett as a fabulously talented yet troubled guy who seemed to regret his falling out with his former musical partner Tweedy. He died accidentally in 2009, in part because he couldn't get the medical treatment he needed. Learn more about him and download a free posthumous release here.