This documentary of Mavis Staples and her family is powered by Mavis' singing, including some stunningly good concert footage, and a story that gives a historical sense of the 60s and 70s.

While short, the documentary does fade with Mavis' career, with some years glossed over entirely in favor of a few notable career high-points. As the documentary gets closer today it seems to lose interest in saying anything about the times, as though the maker thinks of history only as the stuff that happened over 40 years ago.

Still, well worth watching.

A great documentary that introduced me to some great music.

The history of the Staples family and their course though rock and roll is made rich and iconic by the filmmakers. I say this from the perspective of a man who only knows the family by only one of their hits (I'll take you there).

The doc is called Mavis because even though it tells the story of the entire Staples family, a gospel group who put down a foundation for Rock n Roll the story is mostly told and focus on Mavis Staples, the only living member of the group who still actively performs and records.

Mavis's story is about a young child from a family of talented people who just seems born to performs on stage and refuses to stop, proving your only as young as you feel.

It was a fascinating look back at a pioneer in music and it opened my eyes to some new music that I need to track down. A great promotion.

With a family friend coming round on Easter Sunday,I started looking for a music doc that we could watch with them. With each of us being fans of Bob Dylan,I was pleased to stumble on Amazon UK a doc featuring him,which led to me meeting Mavis!

View on the doc:

Inspired to do the doc after seeing her live, director Jessica Edwards chooses a strong collection of guest appearances that include Bob Dylan, Jeff Tweedy & in archive footage Prince,who vibrantly highlight the impact Mavis and her family have had on them. Going back to the segregated South,Edwards presents a tantalising selection of live performances from the Staples,with interviews of family members giving a background to the challenging circumstances they were made under. Giving the movie a modern twist with extended present interviews with Mavis Staples,Edwards is unable to break the feeling of keeping the interview at a safe level,with Mavis's marriage being quickly played out,and little detail being given over what happened during Mavis's wilderness years,in a film which thanks to great songs still hits the staples centre.