Robert Randolph in the studio

Robert Randolph will release his first studio album in three years, Lickety Split, on July 16. The album is also Randolph’s first for Blue Note.

“This record has elements from all of our earlier records,” Randolph said in a statement. “There are cool songs with lots of guitar and we can see the growth of our band in the new recordings. With this record we got to reconnect with the originality and creativity that fans fell in love with from the very beginning. This is the music that we started out playing and now that we are back on a roll I’m sure we won’t keep our fans waiting three years for the next album.”

Randolph co-produced the 12-track album and co-wrote nine of the album’s 12 songs. Randolph has reconnected with songwriting partners such as Drew Ramsey and Shannon Sanders, with whom he composed such Family Band hits as “ “Ain’t Nothing Wrong With That” as well as Grammy Award winner Tommy Sims, perhaps best known for “Change The World”.

In addition to The Family Band—Marcus Randolph (drums), Danyel Morgan (bass, vocals), Brett Haas (guitar, keys) and Lenesha Randolph (vocals)—the album features Trombone Shorty and Carlos Santana. Lickety Split was engineered by Eddie Kramer (Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin) and mixed by Jim Scott (Tedeschi Trucks Band).

The new album kicks off with “Amped Up.” “It’s about finding the joy again,” says Randolph. “At first it was more of a love song, about the sense you get when you find the right person. Then, as we were recording this new music with a whole new sense of direction and feeling free again it all came together. It’s not a religious thing, it’s just new energy—which is really the old energy that I had at the beginning of my career.”

Randolph also says that the title track of Lickety Split is one of his favorites. The song features Randolph joined by his sister Lenesha on vocals. “What’s great about that one is that it’s something we actually played in church, just like that,” he says. “There’s a section in the service called the ‘Jubilee Jam Session Time’. “

Click here for an interview with Randolph during the album’s recording sessions.

Lickety Split

Amped Up 3:18
Born Again 4:20
New Orleans 4.11
Take The Party 4:09
Brand New Wayo 4:36
Lickety Split 4:01
Blacky Joe 5:49
Love Rollercoaster 3:12
All American 2:43
Get Ready 5:07
Welcome Home 6:11
Good Lovin’ 2:55