This evening for “music night” at The Wild Reed I share “Off,” the lead single from singer-songwriter Maxwell’s forthcoming album, blacksummer’NIGHT.
The album, set for release early next year, will serve as the third in a trilogy of albums whose names are distinguished by the capitalization of letters in one phrase of the same title. The first album in the trilogy was released in 2009 and the second in 2016.
Writes Robyn Mowatt of “Off”: “[I]t’s a blissful, soft ride that preps listeners for what’s to come from the beloved singer. Hod David, a longtime collaborator, and Maxwell co-produced the cut. In its entirety, the track is stunning, it’s seductive but it’s also riveting.
Tom Breihan similarly notes that “Off” sees Maxwell in his “seductive comfort zone.”
The song’s “all about shooting all your shots and being on a mission to go off,” writes Breihan. “This is Maxwell truly giving the people what they want: I see you in the dark / You’re like moonlit spark / I’m in awe / Creamy chocolate work of art / Your skin is so damn soft / Coco butter silky thoughts. . . . The song is a slow, watery, atmospheric quiet-storm jam with a softly murmuring bassline and a slow eruption of guitar. It’s just as lovely and horny as you could possibly expect a new Maxwell song to be.”
In February I said I'd soon give an update on my favorite male singer-songwriter, Maxwell.
Well, today I'm happy to provide that update by sharing the news that "Lake By the Ocean," the lead single from Maxwell's forthcoming fifth studio album, blackSUMMERS'night, is scheduled for release next Friday, April 8. . . . Yay! (4/8/16 Update: To listen to Maxwell's "Lake By the Ocean," click here.)
No news yet, however, about the album's release date.
Still, the announcement about "Lake By the Ocean" is definitely good news, and to celebrate I share this evening the music video for "Fistful of Tears," the fourth single from Maxwell's last album, 2009's BLACKsummers'night.
But first, a little something about this particular album and how it's connected to the forthcoming one.
BLACKsummers'night, Maxwell's fourth studio album, was released on July 7, 2009 and received universal acclaim from music critics. The album was also a commercial success, debuting at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart in July 2009.
The album produced four singles: "Pretty Wings" (a number one hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart), "Bad Habits," "Cold," and "Fistful of Tears."
"Fistful of Tears" spent 24 weeks on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, peaking at number 11. It charted at number 94 on the Hot 100 and at number 63 on the Radio Songs chart.
Maxwell received six nominations for the 2010 Grammy Awards, winning "Best R&B Album" for BLACKsummers'night and "Best Male R&B Vocal Performance" for "Pretty Wings." "Pretty Wings," which was written by Maxwell under his publishing moniker Musze, was nominated for the "Song of the Year" but lost to Beyoncé's "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)."
BLACKsummers'night is the first in a planned trilogy, and it was originally said that the second installment in this trilogy, blackSUMMERS'night, would be released in late 2012. That never happened. In December of 2014, Maxwell announced on Twitter that blackSUMMERS'night would be arriving sometime in the winter of 2015. That also didn't happen.
Then a few weeks ago, Maxwell announced that the long-awaited blackSUMMERS'night would be released sometime this year. Next week's release of "Lake By the Ocean," the lead single from the album, may well signify that the album will be arriving sooner rather that later. Let's hope so!
In the meantime, here's Maxwell with "Fisful of Tears," followed by an excerpt from Jon Pareles' New York Timesreview of Maxwell's February 14, 2016 concert at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Enjoy!
Maxwell’s Sensual R&B
Makes a Big Room Intimate
By Jon Pareles New York Times
February 16, 2016
Seven years after releasing his latest album and five years after his previous New York City concert, Maxwell was ready to resume his career as one of R&B’s most elegant accessories to seduction.
It was a return, as if he’d never left, to a realm of slow-motion romance, a gospel of unhurried sensuality and sleek musical detail. “We’re about to stop the world tonight,” one song promised. He was wearing a rose-pink suit, and he worked the stage with the assurance that all eyes were on him. He strolled like a boulevardier, did some slow hip grinds and, more than once, dropped to his knees in limber gratitude.
When he emerged with Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite in 1996, Maxwell was categorized as neo-soul, signaling a rediscovery of soul singing in an R&B world that had been changed forever by hip-hop. Two decades later, the “neo” can go. The hip-hop elements in Maxwell’s music have receded, and his connections to 1960s and 1970s soul — the live instruments, the jazz harmonies, the undulating rhythms — have grown even stronger. He makes rich, straightforward soul music.
His voice was untarnished, steeped in Al Green, Marvin Gaye and Prince and full of knowing ease. He glided through long melismas, placing each touch of vibrato or grain neatly and moving in and out of his otherworldly falsetto. He dissolved the beat of some songs to turn them into free-floating teases — part sermon, part comedy, part come-on. In other songs, he rode the groove with nimble, airborne syncopation. And he made it impossible to guess exactly where improvisation met rehearsal. Often, as he seemed to be following spontaneous impulses, his backup singers and horn section wafted in for precise ensemble passages.
Maxwell brought two new songs on Sunday from an album to be released later this year: “Lake by the Ocean” and “Rose.” Both are ballads about love, but “Rose” — inspired, Maxwell explained, by the 2016 film The Birth of a Nation about the slave rebellion of Nat Turner — envisioned love as a way to transcend the suffering of slavery and racism.
Revisiting Tavis Smiley's 1998 interview
with musician Maxwell
I'm currently researching a post that will provide an update on singer-songwriter Maxwell.
As regular readers of this blog may know, I've previously written about Maxwell and his music (see, for instance, here and here) as he is, without question, my favorite male vocalist. Back in October of 2008, I was fortunate enough to see him in concert here in Minneapolis (For my pictures of this event, click here.).
Anyway, while researching on the Internet I came across an interview with Maxwell on YouTube that I thought I'd share this evening. It's from November 17, 1998, and features Maxwell being interviewed by BET Talk host Tavis Smiley.
This interview took place just after the release of Maxwell's second album, Embrya . . . and, as you'll see, it's a wonderfully insightful conversation with a great artist who refreshingly remains a very humble human being. Enjoy!
For Tavis Smiley's 2009 interview with Maxwell, click here.
For two other more recent interviews with Maxwell, click here and here.
. . . Or maybe that should be gems – given what we get to see (or rather, not see) of Maxwell in the music video I share this evening and from which the above screen cap is taken!
But seriously, "Music Night" this evening at The Wild Reed highlights "Luxury: Cococure," a track fromneo soulsinger-songwriterMaxwell's album Embrya – described by one critic as "incredibly romantic, unusual, and a hidden gem."
Released June 30, 1998 on Columbia Records, Embyra is the second studio album by R&B and neo soul musician Maxwell. As with his previous album,Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite, Maxwell collaborated with Stuart Matthewman, a long-time cohort of Sade. With a lesser jazz emphasis, Embrya continues the trend towards heavy basslines and string arrangements, and it focuses on themes such as love and spirituality. However, the album features more of an emphasis on groove than melodies. Its production sound contains bassy, electronic and slight syncopated beats. Maxwell has defined the album's title as "an approaching growing transition thought to be contained but destined for broader perception."
"Luxury: Cococure" (which can be heardhere) was the first and only single from the album, and the music video for it features Maxwell in the rather unusual setting of a bath tub! But, hey, no complaints from me!
Following is a snippet of this video and a review by Kit O'Toole of Embrya. Enjoy!
During the 90s, the “Neo-Soul” movement hit the music scene, heralded by Erykah Badu's excellent album Baduizm. Like-minded artists followed in her footsteps – D'Angelo, Angie Stone, and Jill Scott, to name just a few. One such artist, Maxwell, earned critical acclaim with his semi-concept album Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite, which chronicles a relationship from beginning to (presumably) happy ending.
When he released his follow-up studio album, Embrya, in 1998, fans were puzzled by its shift in tone – still romantic, but lyrically obtuse. Using unconventional instrumentation like ukuleles further hampered its accessibility. Virtually impossible to categorize, Embrya received little airplay, spawned only one single (“Luxury: Cococure”), and quickly faded from the music charts. Ten years later, the album deserves a second listen. While somewhat eccentric, Embrya remains incredibly romantic, unusual, and a hidden gem.
Like Urban Hang Suite, Embrya was intended as a concept album, although each of the songs can stand on its own. The best summarization of this concept is water: every song possesses a floating, drifting sound, as if the songs were recorded underwater. Sound unusual? Yes, but the beautiful chord changes and unusual arrangements make the sound possible. In fact, it resembles an album Marvin Gaye could have made if he combined the romanticism and sexuality of Let's Get It On with the cerebral qualities of What's Going On.
The titles of some songs seem somewhat pretentious – ”Everwanting: To Want You to Want” and “I'm You: You Are Me and We Are You (Pt. Me & You)” are two obvious examples – but look beyond them to hear some sensual Neo-Soul. “Drowndeep: Hula” uses the unlikely combination of soul and Hawaiian music, accompanied by Maxwell's delicate vocal, to create an almost otherworldly sound. “Gravity: Pushing to Pull” uses an unusual electronic sound to create a swaying beat.
If you prefer Maxwell's traditional sound, look no further than the track “Eachhoureachsecondeacheachminuteeachday: Of My Life.” The title is a mouthful, but Maxwell's falsetto vocals and mid-tempo soul grooves make this song resemble an Urban Hang Suite outtake.
“Matrimony: Maybe You” continues his fascination with commitment and old-fashioned romance. For those who enjoyed Maxwell's version of Kate Bush's “This Woman's Work” from the Unplugged EP, try “Know These Things: Shouldn't You,” featuring a sparse arrangement and Maxwell's lilting voice.
Perhaps one reason Embrya was overlooked was its unfortunate choice for lead single, “Luxury: Cococure,” a strange track which included abstract lyrics, a baffling title, and a weird video of Maxwell taking a bath while making faces. No wonder the album was misinterpreted as avant-garde or an unsuccessful experiment.
Another issue was its unclassifiable genre. Its mixture of soul, rock, world music, classical, and other influences prevented it from getting frequent airplay on R&B stations. After Embrya, Maxwell kept a low profile until 2001, when he released Now, a solid yet more conventional collection of Neo-Soul. How unfortunate that the Embrya experience clearly discouraged him from experimenting further with his sound.
Embrya may not be easily accessible due to its obtuse titles and vague concept album quality. Do not let those issues prevent you from giving this album a listen. In fact, several listens are required to appreciate the songs' multi-layered, beautiful qualities. Just put on a pair of headphones, turn up the volume, and become lost in the sensual, romantic, and yes, watery world of Embrya.
Music Night this evening at The Wild Reed spotlights “Til the Cops Come Knockin’,” one of my favorite tracks fromMaxwell’s 1996 albumMaxwell’s Urban Hang Suite.
[Maxwell’s debut album] received generally positive reviews from most music critics who perceived it as a departure from the mainstream-oriented R&B of the time, earning Maxwell several accolades and comparisons to soul singer Marvin Gaye.
Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite had a considerable impact on Maxwell's career, helping elevate his reputation to that of a sex symbol and a serious performer on the music scene. Maxwell has been credited with shaping the “neo soul” movement that rose to prominence during the late 1990s. Along withD’Angelo’sBrown Sugar(1995) andErykah Badu’sBaduizm(1997), Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite has been recognized by music writers for providing commercial visibility to neo soul. It has been cited by critics as Maxwell’s greatest work and remains as his best-selling release with domestic sales of over two million copies.
I have to say that I think Maxwell is one of the most beautiful and sensual male singers out there. And I say this not just because of the subject matter of his songs or the way he sings them, but also because of the way he moves – as you’ll see for yourself in the music video below.
For me, it all comes down to appreciating a guy who’s secure enough in his masculinity to get in touch with his feminine energy. Andremember, we all have both within! Maxwell is clearly one such secure dude. Note, for instance, how he makes compelling use of his falsetto. This, coupled with his fluid body movements, ensure that tenderness vulnerability, and romantic (as well as sexual) longing are all sensually conveyed.
And none of it detracts from his masculinity. I mean, you don’t doubt for a minute you’re watching a man - even when he's rolling luxuriously (and rather submissively) on the floor! Everything, in fact, works beautifully together – like the rich, multi-layered soul music Maxwell is celebrated for creating. Yes, he’s definitely my kind of guy!
And you’re definitely in for something special with this particular song and video. Enjoy!
Next Tuesday, July 7, soul crooner and sexy grooverMaxwellreleases his first album in eight years. And, yeah, I’m excited. I follow so few artists or bands these days, so the highly-anticipated return of Maxwell is something worth writing about – especially since Friday nights are often “music night” here at the Wild Reed.
Of course, regular readers would know that this is not the first time I’ve highlighted the talented Maxwell – who first rose to both prominence and acclaim in the late 1990s for not only his smooth and sultry ballads (like “Whenever, Wherever, Whatever” and his beautiful cover ofKate Bush’s “This Woman’s Work”) but also his funky and sexy uptempo numbers (such as “NoOne” and “Sumthin’ Sumthin’”).
Last October, for instance, I posted about how my friend LeMonté and I attended a Maxwell concert at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis. It was a great show - and mypicturesof it turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself.
Anyway, I was in the supermarket about two weeks ago when I spied on the magazine rack near the checkout a copy of Jet magazine with Maxwell on the cover. Here’s a brief excerpt from Jet’s cover story:
Maxwell says he knows leaving the music scene for eight years was a gamble. But he had no choice. He says he needed to step back, get out of the spotlight and live for himself.
“I took a minute to experience the ‘everydayness’ of life,” he explains. “I am just grateful that I got a chance to come back and people didn’t forget and they still care. I couldn’t be happier.”
His fans have indeed waited for him and have embraced his comeback. His single “Pretty Wings” and its video have set the stage for his highly anticipated CD, BLACKsummers’night, which is released July 7. It’s his first CD since [his third album] Now debuted at No. 1 on Billboard music charts in 2001.
The CD reunites Maxwell with his longtime collaborator Hod David and is the first installment in a trilogy of CDs. The next installments are slated for release in 2010 and 2011.
. . . Last year, he returned to center stage in the BET Awards’ tribute to soul legend Al Green in a rare TV appearance. He followed that with his first tour in six years – will all 144,000 tickets selling out within minutes, prompting promoters to extend the tour from 26 cities to 33 cities.
. . . Unlike other entertainers, he says he is not married to the limelight – that’s why he was able to take a break. “I live a real life, I am not scared outside of the spotlight. Fame comes and goes so fast. Stars are stars, but they are not artists. I hope that people see me as an artist. The music is all that really matters to me.”
A young African-American woman, a colleague of mine during my teaching days at the College of St. Catherine, first introduced me to the music of Maxwell in 1998, when she lent me his second album,Embrya, to listen to. Then whenNowwas released in 2001, I didn’t hesitate to buy it. (The album cover alone is worth the price of the CD!)
As odd as it sounds, Maxwell’s 1996 debut album, Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite, escaped my attention until last year. I definitely got to know it, however, during my two month-long visit back to Australia beginninglast November, as I often played it late at night as I drove my parents’ car back to their place in Port Macquarie after visiting my brother and his family who live about twenty minutes out of town. Given that my parents’ own a BMW, it was always a very smooth trip. Now whenever I hear certain tracks from this equally smooth album, it’s hard not to think of the dark Australian bushland and crisp urban nightscape ofPort Macquarie illuminated by car headlights.
Anyway, following is a clip of Maxwell singing one of my favorite of his songs, “Sumthin’ Sumthin’” (from Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite), on The Chris Rock Show in 1997. Enjoy!
Following are excerpts Seattle Times’ reporter Marian Liu’s recent interview with Maxwell, accompanied by images of the singer from different times in his career.
Marian Liu: Why the wait?
Maxwell: I really needed time to be a person. People think, “Why would you not release music and not be famous?” I just had a good time not having the pressure of celebrity and expectation. Songs are not on a conveyor belt. I’m not chopping them up and putting them out. It takes real life to go through it. I knew I just could come out with some raggedy whatever record, but for me it had to be noteworthy, from the heart, blood and soul.
Marian Liu: How did you grow in these years away from the spotlight?
Maxwell: I got to have relationships. I met girls who didn’t even know who I was. What a great ego levelizer. It was a lot realer. I had real relationships and did not have the celebrity to distort my perception of myself.
Marian Liu: How does this album reflect that growth?
Maxwell: I’m really maturing into soul music. It’s not my attempt or karaoke try. I feel like I really embody the music now that I am 36. Most of my people that I love the most, this is when they were making their greatest records. I’ve been making grown-man music, but I was this kid making music that sounded so mature. Now, I’m a real man doing it. ... I hope to make music that touches [real people’s] spirit.
Marian Liu: Why a trilogy of albums?
Maxwell: After going through my life experience, I have material for the next 10 years. These records are split up. They have certain attitudes and personality. The first one is moodier, broodier. The second has a gospel, uplifting vibe. The third is all ballads. I just wanted to make up for lost time. At the same time, I wanted to do something that has never been done before. I think the world needs an epic, ambitious grouping for its single-driven market.
Marian Liu: When it comes to romance, what are you like and what do you look for?
Maxwell: I’m pretty sensitive. My feelings get hurt a lot easier than people think, but I try take it all with grain of salt. For a relationship, I want someone who is really secure, confident and fulfilled, not tripping with what I do. . . . It’s just funny — being away from everything, you just want to be accepted and seen and regarded as a human.
Marian Liu: You seem pretty grounded.
Maxwell: Eight years does that to you. If in a year, you and I get the chance to talk, and my head is way more inflated than this conversation, you have my full permission to take a pen out and pop that sucker.
Here are some more images from the greatMaxwellconcert I attended last Tuesday evening (October 21) at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis.
As you’ll see from these images, Maxwell is one handsome groover andcrooner.
His beautiful voice, however, has got to be heard to be believed.
Here’s how one reviewerrecently attempted to describe it: “Maxwell’s voice tickled like fingertips on the back of a neck and glided between that sweet falsetto and a deep rumbling growl.Al JarreaumeetsIsaac Hayes.”
As I mentioned in aprevious post, Maxwell was a key voice in R&B’s neo-soul era of the late 1990’s and, until quite recently, had been on a hiatus since the release of his 2001 album,Now.
Yet his back making music with his current U.S. tour and his forthcoming album, Black Summer’s Night, the first of a trilogy that will be released over the next three years.
Thomas Kintner’s Hartford Courantreviewserves well for Maxwell’s Minneapolis appearance – right down to the noting of the concert’s delayed start.
[Maxwell’s] set didn’t begin until an hour after the opening act [which in Minneapolis involved a guy playing a synthesizer!] had finished because Maxwell arrived late. But he settled comfortably into the shoulder-loosening groove of his smooth-contoured opener, “Get to Know Ya.” His subtly rich vocal manner nestled into the springy vibe of “Noone,” and showed the strong Prince influences that inhabit much of his music as he shaped a cool falsetto lead for hissimmering coverofKate Bush’s “This Woman’s Work.”
Sporting neat, close-cropped hair rather than the explosive afro that was once his signature, Maxwell dipped into Rat Pack chic for his look. He wore a tuxedo with the tie undone, and sneakers that suited the loose dancing with which he accompanied“Sumthin’ Sumthin’.”The three brass players in his 10-piece band served as supporting vocalists when they weren’t playing, their voices filling out the sturdy, pulsating flow of “Everwanting: To Want You to Want.”
. . . He closed his set with a mix of his voice’s high end and its lean, silky baseline for the juicy sweep of“Ascension (Don’t Ever Wonder).”From his knees he charged the breezy encore“Whenever Wherever Whatever,”dressing the number with the suave disposition that he exudes almost effortlessly.
Here’s the Soul Bouncereviewof Maxwell’s October 10 Radio City Hall concert. It captures well the look and vibe experienced at his October 21 concert in Minneapolis.
There was really nothing intricate about the stage setup. It was “Big Band” reminiscent, almost, complete with a horn section. The entire band had on suit jackets; the lone female background vocalist a pink gown. There were no laser light displays or skyscraper sized LCD screens. But when Maxwell finally appeared at the top of a short staircase mid-stage, bathed in bright purple lights, black tuxedo jacket and slacks, white dress shirt perfectly unbuttoned, bow tie casually draped around his neck, short curly hair tightly coiffed, it was all the decoration the audience required. The screams were deafening. Even the fellas had to give it up.
Yes, well, this “fella” didn’t need much prompting.
Last night my friend LeMonté and I attended a concert by soul singerMaxwell at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis.
It was a great evening of music, and I intend writing more about it and sharing additional images from it at a later date.
Maxwell was a key voice in R&B’s neo-soul era of the late 1990’s but has been on a hiatus since the release of his 2001 album,Now.
Yet his back making music with his current U.S. tour and his forthcoming album, Black Summer’s Night, the first of a trilogy that will be released over the next three years.
Following is an Associated Press video story about Maxwell’s return. Enjoy!
I established The Wild Reed in 2006 as a sign of solidarity with all who are dedicated to living lives of integrity – though, in particular, with gay people seeking to be true to both the gift of their sexuality and their Catholic faith. The Wild Reed's original by-line read, “Thoughts and reflections from a progressive, gay, Catholic perspective.” As you can see, it reads differently now. This is because my journey has, in many ways, taken me beyond, or perhaps better still, deeper into the realities that the words “progressive,” “gay,” and “Catholic” seek to describe.
Even though reeds can symbolize frailty, they may also represent the strength found in flexibility. Popular wisdom says that the green reed which bends in the wind is stronger than the mighty oak which breaks in a storm. Tall green reeds are associated with water, fertility, abundance, wealth, and rebirth. The sound of a reed pipe is often considered the voice of a soul pining for God or a lost love.
On September 24, 2012,Michael BaylyofCatholics for Marriage Equality MNwas interviewed by Suzanne Linton of Our World Today about same-sex relationships and why Catholics can vote 'no' on the proposed Minnesota anti-marriage equality amendment.
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