Favourite Albums of 2018: Unstoppable - Candi Staton (August)

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Unstoppable - Candi Staton
Beracah Records/Thirty Tigers
Produced by Mark Nevers
Released 24th August 2018

Where tracks are available on You Tube I have included the link below in the tracklist for the album. If you want to listen to the album in full I'm sure places like Spotify etc have it up on their service.

Tracklist
A1 Confidence 4:41
A2 I Fooled You, Didn't I? 3:49
A3 Love Is You 5:00
A4 It Ain't Over 3:47
A5 People Have The Power 3:57
B1 Revolution Of Change 5:58
B2 Stand Up 4:25
B3 (Whats So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding 4:06
B4 The Prize Is Not Worth The Pain 4:13
B5 Can I Change My Mind? 3:25

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I love finding stuff that takes me totally by surprise and Unstoppable from long time Southern Soul/Gospel singer Candi Staton (aged 78) really turned my head after hearing her cover versions of Patti Smith's 'People Have the Power' and Nick Lowe's '(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding'.

In the UK if you mention the name Candi Staton most people would obviously mention her 1976 #2 hit single 'Young Hearts Run Free' and just assume that she came out of nowhere to have a hit. But Canzetta Maria Staton has had a long musical history that dates back to her travelling the Gospel circuit with The Soul Stirrers, Mahalia Jackson and C.L. Franklin in the 1950s. She went solo in the late 60s and has released around 29 albums (covering Soul, Disco, Pop, Gospel and even Country!) since 1970.

It's a cracking follow-up to her May 2014 release 'Life Happens', which she recorded at FAME Studios, Muscle Shoals alongside with guests like Jason Isbell and John Paul White (formerly of The Civil Wars) on the song 'I Ain't Easy To Love'. Read a very insightful interview with her from The Quietus from back in 2014.

Read Ben Beaumont-Thomas' Review for The Guardian of the Unstoppable album.

The release of the album and the tour to promote it was dampened by the news that Candi Staton had been diagnosed with Breast Cancer but she has vowed to keep battling on (this news was only made public at the end of October). You can read her statement regarding it that was posted on her website by clicking the link.