" ... the songs (...) largely address the divide between white and black people that has so sadly widened in Donald Trump's America ... Instrumental support by Jeff Tweedy, who contributes guitar, bass and percussion, and other musicians, is often bare-boned and brittle, but harmonies by Donny Gerrard, Vicki Randle and other singers add much-needed fullness to the material"

"That the songs on the record, which largely deals with race and oppression, were written by a white man could have undercut the emotional heft. (That man being Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, a longtime collaborator of Staples, who soundtracks his words with a weighty marriage of gospel and blues rock.) But Staples has had decades of practice delivering truths as part of the Staple Singers - who were celebrated for their gospel "message songs" - and her performance here is so utterly convincing it feels like a moot point"

Vurdering: 4/5

"What's most special about If All I Was Was Black is the way Staples and her collaborators confront the challenges of a distraught world while filling the listener with the belief that all is not lost, that we can get past bad times and build a better future if we try. Quite simply, this is an album America needs"