''If All I Was Was Black'' is the thirteenth studio album by American R&B,

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

, and gospel singer

Mavis Staples Mavis Staples (born July 10, 1939) is an American rhythm and blues and gospel music, gospel singer and civil rights activism, activist. She rose to fame as a member of her family's band The Staple Singers, of which she is the last surviving memb ...

. It was released on November 17, 2017, by

ANTI- Records Anti- is an American record label founded in 1999 as a sister label to Epitaph Records. Founded by Andy Kaulkin, Anti- first gained attention by releasing Tom Waits's Grammy Award–winning ''Mule Variations'' in 1999. Other veteran recording ...

. The album was written and produced by

Jeff Tweedy Jeffrey Scot Tweedy (born August 25, 1967) is an American musician, singer songwriter, author, and record producer best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of the band Wilco. Tweedy, originally from Belleville, Illinois, began his music care ...

Background

The album's announced on September 11, 2017. The album consists of 11 songs, all of which were written by Jeff Tweedy. Staples said she hoped the album will "bring us all together as a people. That's what I hope to do. You can't stop me. You can't break me. I'm too loving. These songs are going to change the world." Tweedy described the message of the album, saying, "I’ve always thought of art as a political statement in and of itself—that it was enough to be on the side of creation and not destruction. But there is something that feels complicit at this moment in time about not facing what is happening in this country head on."

Release and promotion

The lead single, "If All I Was Was Black", was released on September 11, 2017, along with the album's pre-order. "Little Bit" was released as the second single from the album on October 12, 2017. The third single, "Build a Bridge", was released on November 7, 2017. "Ain't No Doubt About It" was released as the fourth and final single on November 14, 2017. A music video for "If All I Was Was Black" was released on February 12, 2018.

Critical reception

''If All I Was Was Black'' received generally favorable reviews upon release. At

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, which assigns a

normalized Normalization or normalisation refers to a process that makes something more normal or regular. Science * Normalization process theory, a sociological theory of the implementation of new technologies or innovations * Normalization model, used in ...

rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an

average In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...

score of 80, based on 18 reviews.

Track listing

Personnel

Adapted from the album liner notes. *Mavis Staples - vocals *Jeff Tweedy - guitar, bass, percussion, vocals *Spencer Tweedy - drums, percussion *

Rick Holmstrom Rick Holmstrom (born May 30, 1965) is an American electric blues and rhythm and blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. Holmstrom has previously worked with William Clarke, Johnny Dyer, and Rod Piazza. He is currently the bandleader for Mavis ...

- guitar *Jeff Turmes - bass *

Stephen Hodges Stephen Hodges (born February 12, 1952) is an American percussionist and composer. He is best known for his work with Mavis Staples, Tom Waits, Mike Watt, T Bone Burnett, Rick Holmstrom, and film director David Lynch. Discography *Tom Waits � ...

- drums, percussion *

Donny Gerrard Donald Bradford Gerrard (March 19, 1946 – February 3, 2022) was a Canadian singer. He was a member of the band Skylark in the early 1970s, and in later years performed and recorded as a baritone backup singer for artists such as Mavis Staples ...

- backing vocals *

Kelly Hogan Kelly Hogan (born January 11, 1965) is an American singer-songwriter, often known for her work as a member of Neko Case's backing band, as well as for her solo work. Early and personal life Hogan was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the daughter of ...

- backing vocals *Akenya - backing vocals *

Glenn Kotche Glenn Kotche (born December 31, 1970 in Roselle, Illinois, United States) is an American drummer and composer, best known for his involvement in the band Wilco. He was named the 40th greatest drummer of all time by Gigwise in 2008. Prior to ...

- percussion *Scott Ligon - clavinet, piano, organ, Wurly, guitar

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2017 albums Mavis Staples albums Anti- (record label) albums Albums produced by Jeff Tweedy