http://soulculture.co.uk/...-listener/

a letter to the listener
From Maxwell
Yesterday at 22:23
i know its been a long time. countless updates on various pages; false starts and empty promises. even i get frustrated with myself. why leave a world so encouraging and optimistic when so many people dream for the chances some of you may believe i might have squandered.

this isnt in response to anything or anyone in paticular. people are mercurial and my droplet is nothing compared to the oceans of you that see what you wish and perceive what you will.

again, i’m sure most of you are scratching your heads, confused with questions and concerns, but when it all surfaces and comes to fruition. i hope you can see that this journey was meant to happen as it did. i didn’t get it at first, but now, it all seems to be making sense. i guess candles have no power in the day and your many lights have been the leader leading me out from my bleak yet self induced darkness.

i’m not the best and i think even less of my contribution to music than my confidence sometimes betrays. there are hundreds i think of who rock it better than i do. some probably agree and i’m sure they will be all a buzz with details about why i suck.
regardless of that fact it’s just my nature and i guess my curse. i’m not fishing so please, no need for a pep talk. i just always think it, or i, can be better, but you know this already.

i urge you all to purchase prince’s new records. he is one of the last and baddest on the set. sade is on her way as well and trust me, it’s so monolithic it’ll shake you in your shoes!

pretty wings the video is set to be filmed.
the album, pre summer and the world tour.
this summer into the summer of 2010.
we’re going everywhere. details to follow.
thank you for waiting,

really.

The music world has sorely missed his presence but I'd rather him be gone a decade and bring on the real than to have stayed in the game trying to emulate the chumps that are selling crap right now.

I only hope some of this soul searching and clarity makes it to the album

i just wish he'd stop being a drama queen about this whole mess. either release the record or don't. either say it's coming or don't. this enigmatic, back and forth crap that maxwell seems to be having with himself is corny and boring.

damn, just do what you do. make some music, fer fucks sake.
.
[Edited 3/13/09 12:07pm]

Man....I was so hoping he new stuff would have came out like yesterday!!!! I'm just a waiting like many other fans. I wonder what happen because what ever took him away for so long must have been serious as hell.

sassybritches said:

sassybritches said:

Sometimes it takes that sort of "emigmatic back and forth" to bring about a good record. It just shows that he is self reflecting about his work. Quality control, maybe? Maybe without it, you'd get sub par Maxwell?I'll take the self-reflection if it comes with a good record.

BlaqueKnight said:

Is the Sweetback (Sade's band) guys involved in this new project?
I sure hope so. And please, please, no "special guest". If you know what I mean.

BlaqueKnight said:

ok, great. be self reflective. but when you talk to other people...ie, not yourself and therefore not self reflecting but engaging others...try to sound a little less corny, dramatic, and pretentious.

seriously, dude. you ain't released a record in how many years? and you got the nerve to talk at people like you're an artist? i'm sorry but an artist creates, he doesn't just talk about creating.

Did you all catch the Sade, mention?

shorttrini said:

that was THE most exciting part!!!!

We are all waiting for Maxwell to return!

Yeah, I don't understand the need for all this. Release something when you're ready Max. In the meantime, just chill out.

sassybritches said:

WHY WHY WHY must we suffer through your presumptions!!!! WHO O WHO are you to critique what an artist does or does not do! Am I the only one getting sick and tired of all of these internet bullies masquerading as lions on chat boards!!!! Post some of your own music why don't you or let a playa play!

BlaqueKnight said:

Personally, I'm all for quality control too. But for me Maxwell is going to have to redeem himself to follow up Now... in the scope of Urban Hang Suite and Embrya, I think Now was a weak ass album. After hearing the snippet of 'Pretty Wings' and the live performance, I can't say I was impressed. I hope the album is worth the wait. It's been a decade since the last D'Angelo album, but I appreciate his ability to keep quiet and let folks continue to speculate, rather than dangling release dates in front of fans every few months.

BlaqueKnight said:

YES!!!!! One of the smartest comments I've ever read here!

Maxwell is shooting the "Pretty Wings" video this Friday.

sassybritches said:

Those are my thoughts exactly. My goodness could you imagine Stevie Wonder taking "extended breaks". Please. I wish Maxwell much success whenever he releases something but out of sight means out of mind in the entertainment business. Unfair or not it's NEXT and yeah, I remember you when.....
[Edited 3/15/09 6:56am]

^This is generally true for most artists, but people have really missed him.

He had a sold out tour without a new album out in 7 years. Not many people can do this, and I am not talking about legends like Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson or Prince. They can always do a greatest hits tour and would sell tix.

bsk3601 said:

TD3 said:

After the 80's ? ... yes

27/10/1972 - Talking Book
07/09/1974 - Innervisions
07-09-1974 - Fulfullingness First Finale
16-10-1976 - Songs In The Key Of Life
10-11-1979 - Journey Through The Secret Life Of Plants
25-10-1980 - Hotter Than July
29-05-1982 - Original musiquarium 1
22-09-1984 - The woman In Red
28-09-1985 - In Square Circle
28-11-1987 - Characters
15-06-1991 - Jungle fever
25-03-1995 - Conversation Peace
22-10-2005 - A time 2 Love

Shango said:

There's a BIG difference between one/two years between albums and 8 years between albums. At the height of his popularity/success,(which goes back a little further than 1972) Mr. Wonder wasn't writing self-serving letters, he was making music.
[Edited 3/15/09 7:45am]

TD3 said:

precisely.

Nick715 said:

No it was shot this past Friday... A site I frequent reported it earlier in the week.

TD3 said:

Agreed, though again i took your initial comment as a view on his whole career, including his latest work.
Apparently Maxwell hasn't Stevie's ability of being on a constant creative high which obviously should be a blueprint for every artist, but dang if an artist doesn't have this ability.
I agree though that he could better stay on the downlow without keeping making promises to fans, and make the actual announcement of release public when the pressed cd's are ready to be sold.
My guess is that besides the creative process, there have been record-deal issues and matters going on behind the scene as well, which the public might not be always aware of,
and that Maxwell tried to keep the fans informed online about how his next project was evolving which resulted in mixed feelings among fans.

sassybritches said:

THANK YOU!! This was i was talking about in threads about how we bitch about artists that get ignored, and yet we have artists that just DONT step up to the plate. Im sorry but Maxwell is cool, but im not going to listen to someones opinion on industry, that hasnt been able to get a record out in a decade, and YET has the means to, same thing goes for Van Hunt. These cats spend too much time blogging and searching the net, and typing letters, etc...if you are going to walk away, then do it, do what BILLY JOEL did, he said River of Dreams would be his last ever pop/rock album and 17 years later it still is, hes not out there teasing his fans with FALSE promises and dreams of a new record. So my rebuttle to Maxwell, record and release THEN TALK

I'm not trying to take this thread off track, but I wonder, have there always been public release dates announced for albums? I don't remember in the 80s or early-mid nineties actually knowing when a record was supposed to come out/it's title or videos etc. It seems like you'd hear a new song by X artist on the radio, go buy the single, and then shortly get the album. Maybe Im just being nostalgic, but if this is the way it really used to be, I think I prefer it

As for Maxwell, I think his music is fantastic (sans Now), but hope he stops all the dramatics around the new album. When you create such drama around a project, it almost always ends up falling victim to the
"is that what the fuss was all about?" response. Just let it come out when its' ready, let it speak for itself and no one will focus on how long it took/label problems/personal life etc.

mcw00 said:

It wasnt so "promoted" back in the 80's so to speak, now, everything is promoted to death, and HYPED up the ass, and there is no competetion within either. Nowadays, the release schedule for the year is already planned at the label, and they are already HYPING it, they look at everything from, who else is coming out that day, week or month, to the fact of if the artist has something going on to build the hype around (EX..being in a movie), so the game is much different now....but the problem is, its a planned thought out game, sometimes its just better to put it out there and see what happens, give me the 80's thinking ANY DAY!

Bfunkthe1 said:

You mean like T-Pain?

Wake me up when a new CD is finally out...otherwise, LOL@ the melodrama.

Maxwell, please bring it. We want to get our honey-do-covered-chocolate-sumthin-sumthin on. From my heart to yours, I know what it feels like to not want to rush the stroke - specially when that stroke is the stroke of genius like you bring, and I know just what "trusting the process" is all about.

But Maxwell, you need to bring it yesterday already! We've been waiting and waiting and listening to that one same snippet for long enough, haven't we?

But back to my first thought - bring it, but only when you feel it feels right to put on the table - I'm sure none of us wants to eat from the table if the table ain't got the best dishes on it.