Mavis Staples is getting ready to drop a new album called Sad and Beautiful World this fall.
This time, Brad Cook worked as the producer, helping Mavis mix her own songs with covers from people like Tom Waits, Frank Ocean, Leonard Cohen, Curtis Mayfield, and Gillian Welch with David Rawlings. Earlier in June, she already put out her version of Frank Ocean’s “Godspeed,” and now she’s released her cover of Kevin Morby’s “Beautiful Strangers.” You can check out the track below.
Kevin Morby was so excited about Mavis singing his song that he said, “It isn’t easy to put into words what it feels like having one of the best, most important vocalists and cultural figures of both the 20th and 21st century sing one of my songs. But hearing Mavis sing ‘Beautiful Strangers’ is hands down the greatest moment and highest honor of my career. Far beyond any kind of accolade or acclaim—having one of my biggest heroes sing something I wrote is the most validating and flattering thing that could ever happen to me as a songwriter and person. Thank you, Mavis.”
Morby also said, “Mavis also wields that extremely rare power to take a song somebody else wrote and make it entirely her own. As the person who penned ‘Beautiful Strangers,’ I feel I have every right to say; her version is better.”
Fans think it’s always wild when someone covers a song and totally makes it feel brand new.
The album Sad and Beautiful World is coming out on November 7 through Anti-. There are some cool guests showing up, like Bonnie Raitt, Jeff Tweedy, Katie Crutchfield from Waxahatchee, MJ Lenderman, and Justin Vernon from Bon Iver, all joining Mavis on her first solo album since We Get By in 2019.
Here’s the tracklist for Sad and Beautiful World:
01 Chicago
02 Beautiful Strangers
03 Sad and Beautiful World
04 Human Mind
05 Hard Times
06 Godspeed
07 We Got to Have Peace
08 Anthem
09 Satisfied Mind
10 Everybody Needs Love
