Mavis Staples [1984]

by Andrew HamiltonLike most of their projects after the demise of Invictus and Hot Wax Records, Eddie and Brian Holland miss the mark. Whatever they were trying to accomplish didn't materialize on this unfortunate set of a baker's dozen tunes, which also features productions by Steve Cropper, who produced Mavis Staples and the Staple Singers at Stax Records. Not terrible, but there's nothing that is exciting either. "Love Gone Bad" (number 75 R&B 1984) was the sole single, and it's not the Chris Clark recording written by Holland-Dozier-Holland, but an inferior version written by Brian and Eddie Holland, minus Lamont Dozier. But since Mavis Staples had creative input in this project, which started as a joint venture with Carolyn Franklin, it's one of her favorites. Initially, Franklin and Staples were going to fund the project with a businessman's money and hawk it to a label when the Hollands entered the scenario. The album didn't come out when it was completed, but years later (1984) to a thudding silence; the single surfaced earlier on Phono. Franklin, Aretha Franklin's baby sister, wrote two songs: "It Only Happened" and "Beat Well Done." With the names involved, this should have been so much sweeter; instead it's like a bland bowl of pudding.