Livin' on a High Note

Livin' on a High Note
Studio album by Mavis Staples
Released	February 19, 2016 (2016-02-19)
Length	38:36
Label	Anti-, Epitaph
Producer	M. Ward [1]
Mavis Staples chronology
One True Vine (2013) Livin' on a High Note (2016) If All I Was Was Black (2017)

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	76/100 [2]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Consequence of Sound	B [4]
The Guardian	[5]
Pitchfork	7.4/10 [6]
PopMatters	8/10 [7]
Q	[8]
Rolling Stone	[9]
The Telegraph	[10]
Uncut	8/10 [11]
Under the Radar	7.5/10 [12]

Livin' on a High Note is the tenth solo studio album by American musician Mavis Staples. It was released in February 2016 under Epitaph. Rolling Stone placed the album on its 45 Best Albums of 2016 So Far list. ^[13]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Take Us Back"	Benjamin Booker	3:16
2.	"Love and Trust"	Ben Harper	3:19
3.	"If It's a Light"	Charity Rose Thielen	3:04
4.	"Action"	Merrill Garbus	3:06
5.	"High Note"	Valerie June	3:31
6.	"Don't Cry"	M. Ward	2:48
7.	"Tomorrow"	Jon Batiste, Aloe Blacc	3:20
8.	"Dedicated"	Justin Vernon, Ward	3:55
9.	"History, Now"	Neko Case, Donny Gerrard, Laura Veirs	2:07
10.	"One Love"	Aaron Livingston	3:10
11.	"Jesus Lay Down Beside Me"	Nick Cave	4:05
12.	"MLK Song"	Martin Luther King Jr., Ward	2:55

References

1. Minsker, Evan (January 7, 2016). "Mavis Staples Enlists Bon Iver, Nick Cave, Neko Case, M. Ward, More for New Album Livin' on a High Note". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
2. "Metacritic Review". Metacritic. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
3. Kellman, Andy. "AllMusic Review". AllMusic. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
4. Bray, Ryan (February 18, 2016). "Album Review: Mavis Staples – Livin' On A High Note". Consequence of Sound . Retrieved November 9, 2025.
5. Simpson, Dave (February 18, 2016). "Mavis Staples: Livin' on a High Note review – soul great's 13th mixes agony and ecstasy". The Guardian . Retrieved November 9, 2025.
6. Deusner, Stephen M. (February 18, 2016). "Livin' on a High Note - Mavis Staples". Pitchfork . Retrieved November 9, 2025.
7. Ingalls, Chris (March 30, 2016). "Mavis Staples: Livin' on a High Note". PopMatters . Retrieved April 9, 2016.
8. Including songs by Neko Case and Nick Cave, this fine album reaches way beyond the church. [Mar 2016, p.115]
9. Hermes, Will (February 19, 2016). "'Livin' on a High Note'". Rolling Stone . Retrieved November 9, 2025.
10. Brown, Helen (September 22, 2016). "The best albums of 2016". The Telegraph . Retrieved November 9, 2025.
11. The M Ward-produced Livin' On A High Note is a wonderfully chiselled Stax forgery. [Mar 2016, p.80]
12. Conner, Matt (February 11, 2016). "Livin' on a High Note". Under the Radar . Retrieved November 9, 2025.
13. "45 Best Albums of 2016 So Far". Rolling Stone. June 20, 2016. Retrieved September 10, 2016.