Whatever happened to... Maxwell?

First listen right now. I didn't preview any of the pre-release songs past 'Lake by the Ocean' and '1990x' so I wasn't really ready for how spaced out and layered this thing is. About half of it is very reminiscent of Embrya. And lyrically, jeez. This probably just edges out Now to be his most introspective album.

Just one listen, but I can already say this is a much "deeper" album than BLACK was. That one probably has the better highlights, but overall, SUMMERS' feels like the more consistent work.

BLACK had a "Bad Habits" on it, and this one doesn't. But "Lake By The Ocean" is every bit as good as "Pretty Wings," and that's no small feat

this is really gorgeous

So here's a really fucking nerdy story...

Last night I needed to rip blackSUMMERS'night into iTunes. And I figured while I was at it, I'd rip its predecessor, BLACKsummers'night, as well. Well, it turns out iTunes isn't particularly case sensitive where album titles are concerned, and it thought they were both the same album. My first thought was that I'd insert the years of release, like so: "BLACKsummers'night (2009)", "blackSUMMERS'night (2016)". I've done that in the past when artists had multiple self-titled albums, e.g. "Elvis (1955)", "Elvis (1973)". But that looked shitty, so what I finally ended up doing was going into the Sorting field and changing the titles there. So BLACKsummers'night is sorted as "Black", and blackSUMMERS'night is sorted as "Summers." Isn't that exciting?

Ahh, that's a really good solution to that problem, Don! I had entered them as different discs, as in BLACK was disc 1 of 3, SUMMERS' was 2 of 3. But I think I like your way better.

i think i must've listened to "hostage" 15 times in a row last night

great track. last 90 seconds are sublime

"fingers crossed" feels like a sequel to "love you"

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cted2PiWcAEUHW4.jpg

The vinyl version of this looks/sounds/is beautiful.

This record is growing on me every bit as much as I could have hoped. One of the best of the year. I don't know how I didn't even notice "Lost" until recently.

seems like a lot of r&b albums getting more end of the yr love than this which is a shame

yeh just like all his albums its grown on me w every listen

Let's just hope that blacksummersNIGHT becomes the consensus AOTY in 2023

the second half of this album comes alive in a way the first half doesn't really for me - I start off being disappointed that it's just delicately pretty background music, and only feel immersed/captivated towards the end

"III" is the only track I dismiss thanks to that keyboard. The album's going in my top ten.

but the horns in that one

well, the horns in all of them. ecstatic punctuation

submerge, dang, I can hardly breath listening to it

what an album

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAkhdXHQ_G0

lovely stuff

Well that's goddamn fantastic and a half.

Wow.

Whoa, didn't expect that!

Feels a bit Prince-like

yep that was my first thought. p killer

odd how it's presented as almost secondary to the music video or short film or whatever (which is a tidal exclusive i think??) when the video is just 'fine' and the song stands v well on its own

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PmTnCboNFc

video went on vevo yesterday

That is stunning. What an incredible vocal performance.

Also this

https://www.rollingstone.com/maxwell-glass-house-video-w521716

(A review rather than an interview, but more details about the filmmakers etc.)

i'm pretty late getting into Maxwell, but he's great. i don't have much to add beyond that right now!

the best

I almost feel like that's cheating since the rest of us have to wait YEARS between scraps.

lol otm

I can empathize my Spotify went offline for a minute earlier and the wait between Now and BLACKsummersnight was excruciating.

haha

So long as you avoid his second album and last single you're in for a delight: what a catalog.

avoid Embrya?? whaaaaat

It's a dense bore, "Cococure" excepted. I get it stuck in my head once a week.

i dont get dense from embrya at all. the songs have a ton of room to breath. Cococure through Know These Things is an incredibly strong stretch of canon maxwell.

Embrya is pretty much the antithesis of what dense could apply to in pop music.

Yeah, sorry -- to me his melodic sense isn't as well-developed, leading to clotted arrangements. NOW is when things click into place.

"drowndeep" is one of his best songs imo

Yeah, sorry -- to me his melodic sense isn't as well-developed, leading to clotted arrangements. NOW is when things click into place.

I hear you. That approach works on UHS imo.

UHS was far more balladic and conventional than ambient and arcane though.

Embrya was in some ways a complete departure from what came before which accounts for its poor reception. It was reaching for something "different" but wasn't authoritative enough in its intent to justify its pretences.

In spite of that I still think the music is undeniable.

agreed well-said

Today, Maxwell announces his "50 Intimate Nights Live" tour, a 50-date trek to many of North America's top theatres, including New York's Beacon Theatre, LA's Microsoft Theater, and Chicago's Chicago Theatre. Following on the heels of performances at North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam and Afropunk Paris, the multi-GRAMMY-winning soul singer will debut new material during these intimate shows alongside his many critically acclaimed hits.

...

A 20th anniversary reissue of Maxwell's 1998 album 'Embrya' will also be released this fall. More details to come.

A 20th anniversary reissue of Maxwell's 1998 album 'Embrya' will also be released this fall. More details to come.

― maura, Monday, July 23, 2018 7:47 AM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

hell yeah

tsrobodo relentlessly otm itt

from my inbox:

Sony Music's Certified Classics, Legacy Recording's division for the celebration of Sony Music's Hip Hop and R&B catalogue, will release Maxwell's Embrya on September 28th. The release will include a 2-LP white vinyl package and a new 12-page booklet featuring unseen photos from the original Embrya photoshoot shot by Mario Sorrenti. The audio has been newly re-mastered by Maxwell and Stuart Matthewman, who has worked with Maxwell for over 20 years and who mixed and co-produced the album in 1998. Additionally, it has been resequenced, moving the original opening track to the end.

Embrya, which was originally released in 1998, reached #2 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and #3 on the Billboard 200 and went Certified platinum. It also garnered Maxwell a GRAMMY Award nomination for best R&B album. The album remains an integral chapter in Maxwell's career canon. He switched up from the jazzier leanings of Urban Hang Suite to stronger basslines, lush strings, electronic beats and more pulsating beats and grooves versus melodies--with Hawaiian guitar riffs and Latin accents thrown in for good measure. And whereas the retro-souled Suite's concept revolved around romance, Embrya takes the musical discussion to the next level: the gestation of love and spirituality.

It was also recently announced that Maxwell will perform the National Anthem at the Opening Night Ceremony of 2018 US Open. The performance will take place at Arthur Ashe Stadium prior to the evening session on Monday, August 27th. This announcement follows the news that GRAMMY-Award winning music sensation Kelly Clarkson will headline the Opening Night Ceremony.

Additionally, Maxwell recently announced his upcoming "50 Intimate Nights Live" North American tour which will kick off on September 27th in, Richmond, VA.

also his new press photo is great (linked because it's giant)

hooray he announced a date in boston