Levon Helm and his musical partners in
the Band made a career from mining the rich traditions of American music -- blues, folk, country, jazz, gospel, rock & roll, and much more -- and fashioning them into something that honored its sources yet was recognizably its own thing.
Mavis Staples was a shining example of the sort of artist
the Band revered; as a member of
the Staple Singers, she was first and foremost a gospel singer, but her music was also steeped in blues, R&B, and funk, and she discovered something strong, sustaining, and life-affirming in any song that caught her eye.
The Band featured
the Staple Singers in their 1978 film
The Last Waltz, accompanying them on a sublime performance of "The Weight," and
Helm would cross paths with
Staples every once in a while in the years that followed. On June 3, 2011,
Staples played a concert at
Helm's studio and performance space in Woodstock, New York, with
Helm and his band joining
Staples and her musicians for the show. It would be the last time they performed together, with cancer finally claiming
Helm after a long battle in April 2012, and thankfully the recording equipment at his studio was running as they joined together in song.
Carry Me Home is a live album drawn from that June 2011 performance, and it's an excellent document of the simple, powerfully eloquent magic that happens when
Mavis Staples steps before a vocal mike and lets her spirit elevate all around her.
Helm's vocals are only very occasionally audible on these tapes, with cancer reducing his proud Arkansas tenor to a rasp, but the joyous, lively shuffle of his drumming gives the performances an audible boost throughout, and the addition of his guitars and horn section turns this into a Sunday service that threatens to become a party at any moment. When
Staples and her harmony vocalists get happy on these songs, they do so in the service of a message that only makes the music all the more effective, turning the elation of her performances into something even more special.
Mavis Staples and
Levon Helm were two artists who were also friends and admirers, and they knew how to bring out the best in one another. That's exactly what they do on
Carry Me Home, and it's a thing of beauty to witness. ~ Mark Deming