Mavis Staples Sad and Beautiful World LP

Rolling Stone 100 Best Albums of 2025 - Rated 67/100!

Grim days call for fierce love. And Mavis Staples, one of the most enduring figures in American music, is laying it down. Sad and Beautiful World is the latest solo album from a national treasure and multi-generational talent.

Produced by Brad Cook, Sad and Beautiful World spans seven decades of the American songbook — a range nearly as vast as Mavis' career — and includes reinventions of timeless songs by Tom Waits, Sparklehorse, Gillian Welch, Frank Ocean and more.

Cook imagined an album in the tradition of Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's Will the Circle Be Unbroken, a group of artists coming together to celebrate community — in this case, one centered on Mavis. Collaborators include Buddy Guy, Bonnie Raitt, Jeff Tweedy, Derek Trucks, Katie Crutchfield, MJ Lenderman, and Justin Vernon.

"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 sings one of my songs," explained Kevin Morby on the impact of Staples recording his song "Beautiful Strangers."

Inducted into several halls of fame (Blues, Rock, and Gospel), a Kennedy Center Honoree, a winner of multiple GRAMMYs (including a Lifetime Achievement Award), Mavis is musical history. She's collaborated with nearly every major figure of her era(s), from Bob Dylan to Prince, Aretha Franklin, and Willie Nelson — not to mention countless stars from subsequent generations.