To The Maxwell
October 5, 2008
By Joseph Barracato
Link

After six years, R & B icon returns to stage, studio.
Forget about scented candles, red wine and rose petals - Maxwell, R&B's ultimate aphrodisiac, is back on the prowl.

After spending nearly six years in relative obscurity, neo-soul pioneer Maxwell is piecing together a trilogy, "Black Summers' Night," which he plans to release in three installments - "Black," "Summers" and "Night."

The Brooklyn native, who now lives in Manhattan, is officially out of hibernation - thanks to BET.

The network was able to unearth Maxwell and persuade him to perform at their annual awards ceremony in June.

The instant he began singing "Simply Beautiful" during a tribute for the legendary Al Green, the itch to get back into the game became too strong to ignore.

"Right then I knew it. I felt the energy and was like, 'It's time to go out on the road and meet the people again' " says Maxwell, who will play Radio City Music Hall on Thursday night before finishing his short US tour on Nov. 23 at the United Palace Theatre. "Let's see what they think."

He found out immediately. Various Web sites began filling up with comments and blogs praising his performance - and the fact that he was still alive.


"At first I was asking myself 'Did I take off too long? Did I kill my career?' " Maxwell, 35, admits. "But I received a lot of support. When we announced the tour, tickets began selling and I realized people hadn't forgotten about me and my music."

Maxwell, who hit the scene in 1996, with his double-platinum debut, "Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite," decided six years and two albums later, as the music industry began digitally evolving, that "it was a good opportunity to go back and live the normal life."

He kept an extremely low-profile, spending time with close friends, catching under-the-radar live acts, heading to the movies and escaping to Mexico a couple of times for some R&R.

Amazingly, the creator of such hits as "Sumthin' Sumthin' ," "Everwanting: To Want You To Want" and a phenomenal cover of Kate Bush's "This Woman's Work," became a ghost in his own hometown.




"[Laughs] Cutting my Afro helped me hide," says Maxwell, who buzzed off his infamous locks. "A lot of people didn't recognize me - especially some of the girls I was chatting it up with at clubs."

But just because he was out of the spotlight didn't mean he wasn't creating. Maxwell continued writing lyrics and found inspiration from a younger collection of R&B acts, including Chris Brown, Ne-Yo and Robin Thicke.

His first new music since the 2001 album "Now" surfaced a few months back in the form of a snippet on Maxwell's MySpace page titled "Pretty Wings," which will be featured on "Black," the first of the three albums.

The smooth track helped further validate Maxwell's return when he began getting friend requests from fans who were in high school when they last heard from him.

Maxwell's feverishly working to complete "Black" and have it available early next year.

This time around, he intends to incorporate rock and gospel elements into his classic urban-soul foundation. he's been bouncing ideas and tracks off several peers, including close friend Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest, who also has a comeback album in the works.

A short list of collaborators Maxwell's hoping to reel in include Aretha Franklin, producer Swizz Beatz and his touring partner, Sullivan.

"I never wanted to just go through the motions. And I feel like taking time off prevented me from doing that," he says. "It feels so exciting."

Great article. I wish I could see him on Thursday but I have prior commitments that day. I hope that all of those CD's see the light of day. Maxwell has been missed for sure.

Cool! He was slamming on the BET performance.

dammit this brother has been missed ..it's time 2 show these so called hot acts what singing is all about

Copycat said:

I've always needed to hop on that shit but DAYUM!

http://hosted.ap.org/dyna...TE=DEFAULT


NEW YORK (AP) -- It's hardly unusual for a singer to drop off the musical map. Declining album sales, drug habits, legal woes and other dramas have landed a multitude of chart-toppers on the "Whatever Happened To ..." list.

Yet it is unusual to find someone who voluntarily takes a break from the business - and happily so, with no tabloid fodder behind it. So Maxwell - one of the key voices from R&B's neosoul era, with a sensual voice that made hearts melt and knees buckle - understands why people were so puzzled when he disappeared from the spotlight after releasing his last album, "Now," in 2001.

"The world is so caught up in the `American Idol' idealistic sort of tendency in regards to just thinking that this whole thing is what everybody wants, but it doesn't help you make a better record," the platinum-selling singer says. "I just wanted to kind of be a regular person for a minute, and not have to live up to anything from before."

Maxwell still doesn't have a new album: His fourth CD, "Black Summers' Night," isn't due out until at least February 2009. But he is returning with a new tour, during which he will play to crowds hungry to hear his voice after his long absence. (Numerous dates are sold out.)

"I'm amazed. I just did not expect after all this time that people would even care," says the 35-year-old singer, looking more mature and refined than he did in his bohemian heyday, sporting a conservative dapper look with black shirt, vest and pants.

"It so humbling ... that something that was done, that started in 1996, could even have any weight or any consideration in 2008," he says. "It means more to me than I can tell you. It's such a validating experience - it's validation at its highest, you know."

But one of the reasons why Maxwell decided to take a break from the business was so that he could find his validation from somewhere other than the record charts. Looking there would have given his ego a boost: From the time the New York native made his debut in 1996, he was a sensation with hits like "Sumthin' Sumthin'," "Fortunate," "Lifetime" and "Ascension (Don't Ever Wonder)." His three studio albums - "Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite," "Embrya" and "Now" - each sold more than 1 million copies. He had a strong fan base, and his poster-boy looks didn't hurt his popularity either, with his then-freeflowing Afro part of his signature look.

But personally, Maxwell felt stunted from the constant media glare.

"People failed to realize that when you're living such a hyper, super reality of a life, where you're just doing shows and you're on TV and you're talking to this magazine, that doesn't bode well for trying to talk about everyday stuff that hopefully you'll connect with people on," he says. "So a lot of my absence was based on just going out to get life experience, you know. Becoming a guy, becoming a man. I'm 35 years old now. In your 20s you're just a sketch of what you think you're trying to be."

So he grew up. He traveled, he hung out with friends, had a couple of long-term romantic relationships, and just enjoyed life.

"He took the time he needed to warm his soul," says singer-songwriter Leon Ware, who wrote "Sumthin' Sumthin'" and worked with Maxwell on the new CD. "The process of growing is very serious to him and he's very analytical."

But in an industry where "enjoying life" is often a euphemism for "can't get arrested," many wondered what was truly behind Maxwell's extended break.

"Everyone always stereotypes any kind of artist ... that if they go away, something's wrong," says Lisa Ellis, the executive vice president of Sony Music Label Group.

"He just decided that he wanted to be a regular person until he felt it was time for him to be Maxwell again ... he found himself. He's more relaxed now. It's very stressful to take on that kind of notoriety and pressure to perform and be perfect when you're young," she adds. "He doesn't feel pressured by what people think."

The best example of that may be the way he's decided to reintroduce himself to audiences, by a concert tour instead of through a new album, song or flashy video.

"I'm confident in my intentions and why I'm making music," he says. "I'm not making music because I want to be on your TV screen or the cover of your magazine. I want you to make a baby to something I wrote. I want you to clean your kitchen on Sunday to this, ride in your car, go to work. ... That's my goal."

^ well i haven't made a baby yet but i have made love while maxwell has been playing

Maxwell said:

He's right.

L4OATheOriginal said:

Entirely TMI!!!!!

kenlacam said:

Uh, not enough really. That's vague

kenlacam said:

Don't get me started.. a bottle of wine, urban hang suite on repeat, a vivacious sorority girl in my apartment!! Oh how college days do swiftly past, imbued with memories fond!

Interview with the Associated Press.

popgodazipa said:

It makes me feel sort of gay if there's a male singing sensually in the background while I am in a bed with a woman.

... actually I don't care!

L4OATheOriginal said:

I'm sayin'

"[Laughs] Cutting my Afro helped me hide," says Maxwell, who buzzed off his infamous locks. "A lot of people didn't recognize me - especially some of the girls I was chatting it up with at clubs."


What's with Maxwell being so over the top hetero lately? I don't buy into any of the rumors, but this man was literally sniffing panties that were thrown on stage a couple of days ago in Amsterdam. I guess I wonder if the rumors were offensive to him or something. He always seemed cool to me.....like the type that wouldn't care about silly rumors....now, I don't know.

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

u want a full description of the events?

Flowers2 said:

Inspiration from Chris Brown and Ne-Yo???

Well, I have front row seats for when he's here next month so I'll be sure to wear some draws that night so he can sniff 'em.

The "inspiration" of course comes from Marvin Gaye.

th13182 said:

Maybe its as simple as HE'S NOT GAY?

No. When somebody on the internet says a public figure is gay it means he is gay.

Maxwell Unveils New Songs At Radio City
October 10, 2008
Link

Maxwell introduced several new songs during a hometown show at New York's Radio City Music Hall, part of his first tour in six years. "

Pretty Wings," "Bad Habits" and "Comb" will be included on the forthcoming Columbia album "Black Summers' Night." No release date has been announced.

"This song, it's about wanting to be with somebody but meeting them too early," Maxwell told the audience of "Pretty Wings."

The moderately paced "Bad Habits" found Maxwell asking in the chorus, "Will you forgive me?," while "Comb" showcased a two-step drum pattern with a strong horn section and a smooth guitar roll.

Flanked by a nine-piece band in black and white suits, Maxwell began the show with "Get To Know Ya" from his third and last album, 2001's "Now."

The crowd, made of mostly couples and single ladies, sang along to each word as he ran through his most popular singles "No One," "Lifetime" and "This Woman's Work."

By the time he reached "Everwanting: To Want You To Want," he'd also reached the floor -- to hump his microphone stand. The band improvised "Sumthin Sumthin," adding the beat from Jay-Z's "Can't Knock the Hustle," before the crooner introduced "Pretty Wings."

Just as he was about to launch into "Til The Cops Come Knockin'," Maxwell stopped the music and said, "There are not enough panties on my stage right now!" One woman promptly threw a blue rose on stage and another threw a rather large pair of white panties, which Maxwell tossed over his shoulder as he finished the song. "Go get drunk, go have sex, we love ya!" he said to close the evening.