Search - Mavis Staples :: Time Waits for No One

Paisley Park Meets Memphis...

yygsgsdrassil | Crossroads America | 02/08/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"...and the results are superb, period. If you ever find this, make *sure* you get it.Produced in the late 80's, we find Memphis Soulsters Homer Banks, Al Bell and Lester Snell joining Funk Prodigy Prince to help make this underrated presentation from the great vocalist Mavis Staples...Time Waits for No One the CD is soulful, it is funky, it has a just enough of that southern fried charm which made it a favorite in these here parts. But, alas, it should not have been marketed like another 'Prince Protege' product, but like one of those street blues favorites (ala Millie J. or Denise Lasalle or Johnny Taylor) that ends up catching steam and hence is played for years in them blues clubs I keep telling you about. The tune "20th Century Express" got moderate air-play during the time this was released. I have a feeling though, that since the tune starts out with "screams cry out in the dead of night from the crack house down the street" it was a lil too vivid for the radio programmers...it is unfortunate they hadn't pushed it, it is a very catchy, dancable tune. Later on the CD, "Turn the Radio On (The Old Songs)" finds a nostalgic Mavis "slow dancing in the den" to the tunes like "Sitting On the Dock of the Bay"...Prince did The Voice justice by giving her three dynamic "undeniably Paisley" slow tunes; who'da thunk that those two would be such a great fit together? In "Come Home" when Mavis tells you it 'cuts so dee-eeep' you believe it. And when she goes into that vamp she does so well, its just heart wrenching. I tell you, you can't help but feel her."I Guess I'm Crazy" is one of those tunes like Prince's "How Come You Don't Call Me Any More"...Mavis gets those idiosyncratic Prince vocal highs and lows and sings the squat outta them. The title track, I recall, got a lil video play on BET. The tune is a tour de force vocal performance from Staples. It has Sheila E on backgrounds and that infamous lead guitar solo from the Prodigy. Mavis tells the lover/jilter/procrastinator in "Time Waits.." "I can see thru you, even if I were deaf, dumb and blind..." Produce or get off the sofa, fool."Interesting" and "Jaguar" forecasts the tune Prince did for Mavis in Graffiti Bridge, "Melody Cool".... Trust me, you are gonna be pleased with this unusual appearing collaboration. It only looks strange on paper. Find this CD, play it and enjoy some great, great R and Bee..."

What do you want more than this?

Davide Brancaleoni | Bologna, ITALY | 11/07/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Amazing and wonderful are the right words to describe it. Unfortunately is out of production, but just in case you find it on E-Bay, don't miss it! Every song is unforgettable and Mavis sings with an unbelivable passion. Come home is my favourite, but you'll loose your mind for every song. GREAT!"

Only a four because...

Mr. Black | Linden, NJ | 12/12/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

""Jaguar" & "Interesting" sound like Prince throwaways he could've given to any flavor of the month. But where he reaches deep is in the gems "Train", the Al Green-like "Come Home", I Guess I'm Crazy" & the Mavis-composed title track. I still don't quite understand why only the title track (out of those 4) was a single. 1987 (when this was released) was getting close to that time when Old '70s Soul was making a comeback on radio & to the masses. This could have definitely been a harbinger to that situation."