SC//Come Hear ft. Maxwell - BLACKsummers'night (Columbia Records 2009)

MAXWELL - BLACKsummers'night: ALBUM/ARTIST REVIEW
posted Tues. 7/21/09 at 1:55pm
The adage goes: Time gone, time lost. But for R&B singer Maxwell, who has been on a hiatus from music since 2002, it's as if he never left. Full of heart-pounding melodies and true-to-life love stories, BLACKsummers'night is the first full-length Maxwell release since Now, his critically-acclaimed third studio album that debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 in August 2001. BLACKsummers'night is the sensuous opening installment of the artist's monumental BLACKSUMMERS'NIGHT trilogy. (The subsequent chapters, blackSUMMERS'night and blacksummers'NIGHT, are slated for release in 2010 and 2011, respectively). Over xylophone and guitar riffs, the lullaby-like lead single, "Pretty Wings," finds the Brooklyn native belting, "I had to set you free, to see clearly/The way that love can be when you are not with me." On the humanitarian "Fistful of Tears," he pleads atop marching band drums, "Help me be the helping hand/And make a dream come true." Other tracks include "Cold," about a cold-hearted lover; "Love You," on which Maxwell pleads for his lady to let him love her over an organ-like groove; the inspirational "Help Somebody"; the jazz-tinged "Stop the World"; and the second single, "Bad Habits," a midtempo track with big horns and layered voice-over. "BLACKsummer'snight" is a testament that Maxwell hasn't lost a beat . . . Maxwell has managed to grow, even change his sound a bit, and still put out a very good, very relevant piece of work. This record is less ambient, and more gritty. Same heart felt lyrics, same sultry soul, same intricately, gripping beats (just a little more organic/less produced, and "traditionally musical"). And the addition of the (making of) DVD just takes this purchase over the top. To watch why & how someone does something, and then hear the end result is brilliantly enlightening, and adds a layer to the musical process that more artists/labels should explore. This was a very gutsy, and gratifying project by Maxwell, and a very worthwhile addition to my now complete Maxwell catalog. Get the CD/DVD combo while you still can.