Let's Do It Again

The Staple Singers stepped into outright funk with this one, and the result is almost startling in its looseness and heat. Curtis Mayfield produced it and left his fingerprint on every bar — the wah-wah guitar is liquid and conversational, the rhythm section locks into a pocket so deep you stop thinking about the beat and just begin moving. Mavis again leads, but here her delivery is more playful, more knowing, the moral weight briefly set aside in favor of something earthy and celebratory. The song appeared on the soundtrack to a blaxploitation film, but it transcends that context, becoming simply one of the finest pieces of American funk recorded in that decade. There's a joy in it that doesn't require explanation — the groove is the argument. It rewards high volume and low inhibition, belonging to late-night kitchens where the dancing starts because the music left no choice, or to any moment when something uncomplicated and joyful is exactly what's needed.