Set Sail is the thirteenth studio album by American band North Mississippi Allstars. It was released on January 28, 2022, through New West Records, making it their second album for the label. Recording sessions took place at Applehead Recording Studios in Woodstock, New York, at Wilbe Studios in Atlanta, and at Royal Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. Production was handled entirely by Cody and Luther Dickinson, except for one song, "Never Want To Be Kissed" produced with William Bell. It features contributions from William Bell, John Medeski, Wizard Jones, Phyllislorena Smiley, Lucia and Isla Belle Dickinson. The album peaked at No. 51 on the Top Current Album Sales and No. 1 on the Top Blues Albums in the United States.
| Set Sail | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | January 28, 2022 | |||
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| Genre | ||||
| Length | 44:17 | |||
| Label | New West | |||
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| North Mississippi Allstars chronology | ||||
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At the 65th Annual Grammy Awards, Set Sail was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album, but lost to Edgar Winter's Brother Johnny.[1]
Critical reception
edit| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 78/100[2] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
| laut.de | [4] |
| Mojo | [5] |
| PopMatters | 8/10[6] |
| Record Collector | [7] |
| Spectrum Culture |  [8] |
| Uncut | 8/10[9] |
Set Sail was met with universal acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 78, based on six reviews.[2]
AllMusic's Thom Jurek called it "easily the band's most mature, far-reaching, affirmative statement. Making it even more indispensable is that it is as infectiously danceable as it is life affirming".[3] Rich Wilhelm of PopMatters wrote: "more than two decades since their debut, North Mississippi Allstars – who currently include the Dickinson brothers along with bassist Jesse Williams and vocalists Lamar Williams Jr. and Sharisse Norman — are still creating memorable music but from a decidedly more mellow state of mind. That's evident from the first notes of the opening title track from their new album Set Sail".[6] Bud Scoppa of Uncut stated: "bloodlines and geography figure into every NMAs album, but on Set Sail, Luther and Cody Dickinson make family and setting the conjoined theme".[9] In a mixed review, Andy Fyfe of Mojo wrote: "apart from the upbeat soul of "Never Want To Be Kissed", featuring Stax veteran William Bell on vocals, Set Sail stumbles and squints through its nine other tracks, although on "Bumpin'" they at least rouse themselves long enough to sound like Tony Joe White imitating Sly Stone".[5]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Set Sail, Pt. 1" | North Mississippi Allstars | 4:57 |
| 2. | "Bumpin'" | 2:52 | |
| 3. | "See the Moon" | NMA | 3:21 |
| 4. | "Outside" | NMA | 4:58 |
| 5. | "Didn't We Have a Time" | NMA | 6:04 |
| 6. | "Never Want to Be Kissed" (featuring William Bell) |
| 3:42 |
| 7. | "Set Sail, Pt. 2" | NMA | 4:33 |
| 8. | "Juicy Juice" | NMA | 3:32 |
| 9. | "Rabbit Foot" | NMA | 4:04 |
| 10. | "Authentic" | NMA | 6:14 |
| Total length: | 44:17 | ||
Personnel
edit- Cody Dickinson – drums, bass & guitar (track 3), synth (tracks: 3, 6), vocals, producer, mixing, art direction
- Luther Dickinson – guitar, synth (tracks: 2, 5), Farfisa (tracks: 8, 9), vocals, producer, art direction
- Jesse Williams – bass, vocals
- Lamar Williams, Jr. – vocals
- Sharisse Norman – vocals
- William Bell – vocals & producer (track 6)
- John Medeski – Wurlitzer (track 4), piano & Hammond B3 (track 10)
- Wizard Jones – clavichord (track 3), recording (track 6)
- Phyllislorena Smiley – background vocals (track 6)
- Lucia Dickinson – background vocals (tracks: 5, 10)
- Isla Belle Dickinson – background vocals (tracks: 5, 10)
- Marc Franklin – horns and strings arranger, trumpet
- Art Edmaiston – tenor saxophone
- Jim Spake – baritone saxophone
- Jessie Munson – violin
- Wenyih Yu – violin
- Yennifer Correia – violin
- Jennifer Puckett – viola
- Mark Wallace – cello
- Chris Bittner – recording (tracks: 4, 10)
- Paul Taylor – editing (track 6)
- Justin Perkins – mastering
- Boo Mitchell – recording
- Walter Anderson – artwork
- Matt Etgen – layout
Charts
edit| Chart (2022) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Top Current Album Sales (Billboard)[10] | 51 |
| US Top Blues Albums (Billboard)[11] | 1 |
References
edit- ^ Nash, JD (November 16, 2022). "2023 Grammy Nominations Announced in Our Favorite Categories". American Blues Scene. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
- ^ a b "Critic Reviews for Set Sail - Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
- ^ a b Jurek, Thom. "Set Sail - North Mississippi Allstars | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
- ^ Kause, Philipp. "Erfrischende Revitalisierung der Stax-Traditionen". laut.de (in German). Retrieved August 16, 2023.
- ^ a b Fyfe, Andy (March 2022). "Mojo". Mojo. p. 86. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
- ^ a b Wilhelm, Rich (January 31, 2022). "North Mississippi Allstars: Set Sail (Album Review)". PopMatters. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
- ^ Dalton, Nick (March 2022). "Record Collector". Record Collector. p. 113. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
- ^ Fish, Bob (January 31, 2022). "North Mississippi Allstars: Set Sail". Spectrum Culture. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
- ^ a b Scoppa, Bud (March 2022). "Uncut". Uncut. p. 32. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
- ^ "North Mississippi Allstars Chart History (Current Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
- ^ "North Mississippi Allstars Chart History (Top Blues Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
External links
edit- North Mississippi Allstars – Set Sail at Discogs (list of releases)