When Merry Clayton last played in her hometown of New Orleans, she did a triumphant June 2013 appearance at the Joy Theater during the local premiere of the documentary 20 Feet From Stardom at the Louisiana International Film Festival. She was already the best thing in the film about backup singers, and her brief show bore that out. Instead of singing the Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter”—the classic she appeared on in 1969 and recorded in a solo version the following year—she went back to her gospel roots, recalling the days she attended church as a child on Mahalia Jackson’s lap.

Less than a year later, she was in a horrible car crash that claimed both of her legs. This is her first recording since then (save for a session with Coldplay), and her first album since an all-gospel set in 1994. Not surprisingly, it holds the line between old-school gospel and polished pop comeback. The producer is industry vet Lou Adler, who produced her “Gimme Shelter” single in 1970. He generally keeps things organic—not subjecting her to autotune or other modern tricks. But Adler knows his way around a pop record, so there’s a layer of shimmer to even the pure gospel tracks here. The opener, Leon Russell’s oft-recorded “Song for You” is given the full treatment with whomping drums and sax solo; but Merry’s voice—still mighty and pure at age 72—has no problem cutting through.

Not every tune here is as great as the singer. “Good Love” is light pop-gospel, and “Love is a Mighty River” is the typically earnest Coldplay contribution. But the title track is a powerful testimony about her recent trials and the faith that got her through them. The closing medley risks over-sweetness by opening with her granddaughter asking about the world’s troubles, but that provides a fitting segue into a stirring “Ooh Child,” which in turn segues into “Put a Little Love in Your Heart,” getting the full-blown church treatment. You’ve heard these songs before, but there’s no better way to hear them again.