Album Review: Candi Staton - Unstoppable

A gloriously towering icon of disco, Christian and soul music since 1969, many might be surprised the woman who made Young Hearts Run Free and became a house music hero (with the oft-reworked You Got The Love) is still recording.

Well, she is, and she's sounding as good as ever, making her 30th album a family affair, with sons Marcel and Marcus Williams joining her rhythm section. Unstoppable is well-named, an album born as much of political protest as it is a cry against apathy.

Album opener Confidence swaggers with a deliciously squelchy funk roaring "I'm a woman". It's clear Staton has fallen out of love with her country, but she's not alone. Covers of Nick Lowe's (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding and Patti Smith's People Have The Power, fit with this patchwork of protest and soul songs perfectly. The themes of police brutality in the latter have been timely re-imagined as a beautifully understated beach-fire protest song.

Staton strikes the right balance of feel-good grooves and clear messages of positivity in an age of crippling diversity. Here is a powerful woman proving at 78 it's never too late to take action.