Stax soul great William Bell sits in with North Mississippi Allstars

William Bell joined North Mississippi Allstars for "Never Want To Be Kissed" off their new album Set Sail out January 28th.

Here's the scoop...

North Mississippi Allstars will release Set Sail on January 28th via New West Records. The 10-song set was produced by Luther and Cody Dickinson and follows their Grammy Award nominated 2019 album Up and Rolling. Set Sail features an appearance by Stax Records legend William Bell on the album standout “Never Want To Be Kissed” (which Bell also co-wrote and co-produced). The album has already been met with critical acclaim with Uncut Magazine stating, "Bloodlines and geography figure into every NMAs album, but on Set Sail, Luther and Cody Dickinson make family and setting the conjoined theme..." in their 8 out 10 Star rated review. 

 

The video for  “Never Want To Be Kissed” was shot at William Bell’s recording studio outside of Atlanta, GA.  Luther Dickinson said of working with Bell, “He had the whole plot of the song conceptualized, as if it was a movie. I’ve never seen a song written like that before. Usually, for me, story lines unfold as they are written. We simply helped William turn the plot into lyrics and added music but we were truly only helping William realize his vision. We recorded a voice memo at the session and built the song up from there. Some of the audio on the record is from the original voice memo. It’s an honor to work with a living legend and soul music pioneer.” William Bell said, “Luther and Cody are my kind of people, locked in the tradition of Blues and Soul stories and songs. Pure perfectionists at their craft!” Watch the Cartter Fontaine-directed “Never Want to Be Kissed” video below. 

 

After 25 years, twelve albums, four Grammy Award nominations, and sold out shows everywhere, North Mississippi Allstars open up their world once again on Set Sail, welcoming other family into the fold. As sons of the legendary producer and musician Jim Dickinson, Luther and Cody Dickinson started the band in 1996 as a loose collective of like-minded second-generation musicians who shared a local repertoire and regional style. Over the years, the lineup has shifted by design, and with Set Sail, they mined the talents of Jesse Williams on bass and Lamar Williams, Jr., the son of Allman Brothers bassist Lamar Williams, Sr, on vocals. During the Allman Betts Band Family Revival, the Dickinsons first linked up with Lamar, becoming fast friends and collaborators, paving the way for Set Sail. 

 

“The chemistry we have with this lineup is powerful,” observes Luther. “We are all second-generation musicians and share a telepathic, relaxed ease about creating and performing. I believe music is a form of communion with our loved ones and conjuring this vibe with members of musical families can be inspirational. Lamar and I are like-minded. I’ve never had the pleasure of working with a singing partner like Lamar. He has a true-blue quality in his musicality that will pull you in and break your heart. At the same time, Jesse grew up playing music with his brothers and his father—as did we. He plays like a sibling. I’m drawn to musical families, regardless of style. Playing with second- or third-generation players allows us an easy unspoken musical dialog. It’s not a big thing; it’s just what we do. We never had to figure out what it means and takes to be a musician. We all inherently know.” He continues, “Each generation has to reinvent itself and shed the skin of the elders. On Set Sail, we feel as if we’ve once again ‘broken the code,’ and know what we want and how to get it.” 

 

Set Sail continues the band’s tradition of creating roots music that displays remarkable variety. The record sizzles with hard yet understated groove, grown folk music. Luther’s wide-ranging guitar style features jazz riffs, psychedelic sounds, and soulful slide. Drummer and multi-instrumentalist Cody draws on roots music, rock, jazz, rap, and other styles to create rhythms that propel the band’s sounds and move it forward. Their two aesthetics combine to create the band’s unique style, “Primitive Modernism,” melding the new and the old. Luther notes, “We leaned into our other greatest influences: folk, soul, and psychedelic rock, but everything we play feels like North Mississippi.” 

 

Set Sail will be available across digital retailers on January 28th, 2022. Standard Compact Disc and Vinyl editions will be released on April 1st. A limited “Gotham Color” vinyl & compact disc edition featuring exclusive variant packaging & a download with two unreleased bonus tracks will be available at Independent Retailers.  An autographed & limited “Cloudy Day” Blue vinyl edition and a limited, autographed compact disc edition are both available for pre-order right here.