Maxwell | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Along with fellow founders DAngelo and Erykah Badu, Maxwell was enormously important in defining and shaping the neo-soul movement that rose to prominence over the latter half of the 90s. Drawing his greatest inspiration from the concept of the R&B; auteur (looking to artists like Prince, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, etc.), Maxwell recorded some of the most ambitious R&B; of his time, becoming wildly popular and often earning critical raves in the process. What was more, his recurring theme of romantic monogamy set him apart from the vast majority of his bumpngrind loverman contemporaries. Maxwell was born May 23, 1973, in Brooklyn, New York; he adopted his middle name as his stage moniker, keeping his real identity a closely guarded secret out of concern for his familys privacy. Born of Puerto Rican and black Caribbean stock, Maxwell suffered the loss of his father (in a plane crash) when he was just three years old. The experience made him a deeply religious child, and he first began singing in his Baptist church. Still, he didnt really get serious about music until age 17, when he began writing his own songs using a cheap Casio keyboard given to him by a friend. Initially influenced by early-80s R&B;, he progressed rapidly, and by 1991 he was performing on the New York club scene, despite ridicule from classmates who couldnt imagine the shy, awkward teenager doing anything of the sort. After making a name for himself, he signed a recording contract with Columbia in 1994. Maxwell recorded his debut album, Maxwells Urban Hang Suite, that year, working extensively with several collaborators, including songwriter Leon Ware (whod co-written Marvin Gayes I Want You) and guitarist Wah Wah Watson (whod also worked with Gaye). Multi-instrumentalists and producers Stuart Matthewman (of Sade and Sweetback) and Hod David were involved on deeper levels and would work with Maxwell throughout his career. Maxwells Urban Hang Suite was a romantic concept album in the vein of Gayes greatest 70s work, with a more modern flavor courtesy of Princes influence; inspired by a brief but intense affair, the records giddy celebration of committed monogamy could have come off as old-fashioned as its classic influences, given the marketplace dominance of hip-hop soul at the time. Partly for those fears, it wasnt released right away, although a series of shake-ups in Columbias management played a bigger role in the delay. It wasnt until the spring of 1996 that the album finally appeared. Sales were slow to take off at first, even though Maxwell scored some airplay with "...Til the Cops Come Knockin." The gold-selling second single "Ascension (Never Wonder)" lit the fuse, however, and Urban Hang Suite went platinum before a year had passed, also earning a Grammy nomination. Now elevated to sex-symbol status, Maxwell capitalized on his breakthrough with the MTV Unplugged EP, taken from his live MTV performance. It attracted attention and acclaim outside the R&B; community with the left-field cover choices "This Womans Work" (by art rocker Kate Bush) and "Closer" (the Nine Inch Nails hit). Additionally, the Unplugged version of "Whenever, Wherever, Whatever" earned him another Grammy nomination (for Best Male Pop Vocal). Anticipation for his second full-length album was high, and when Embrya was released in June 1998, it entered the Billboard 200 at number three. Reviews were more mixed this time around, with some critics charging that Maxwells ambition had crossed the line into self-indulgence. Still, the record duplicated its predecessors platinum sales. In 1999, Maxwell scored his biggest hit to date with the single "Fortunate," an R. Kelly composition he recorded for the soundtrack of the film Life. It was a mammoth success, ranking as the number one R&B; hit of the year in Billboard. Later that year, he also cut two songs for the soundtrack of The Best Man. In August 2001, Maxwell returned with his third album, Now, which was touted as a return to the more straightforward romantic atmosphere of his debut. It entered the Billboard 200 at number one and quickly launched a hit single in "Lifetime." Maxwell didnt resurface until 2008, when he performed Al Greens "Simply Beautiful" as part of that years BET Awards. A handful of intimate gigs, and another BET Awards performance, prefaced his fourth studio album, BLACKsummersnight, released in July 2009. "Pretty Wings," its lead single, topped the R&B;/Hip-Hop chart and was, for the era, a rare soul-rooted Top 40 pop hit. At the 2010 Grammy Awards the following January, "Pretty Wings" won in the category of Best Male R&B; Vocal Performance. BLACKsummersnight also won Best R&B; Album. Though the similarly titled blackSUMMERSnight was planned for release as early as 2011, Maxwell took his time. The album wasnt issued until July 2016, just a few days after he took part in a BET Awards tribute to Prince, and featured much of the same studio personnel, along with contributions from Robert Glasper. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 6 Title: Maxwells Urban Hang Suite Released: 1996-04-02 Tracks: 11 Duration: 1:04:50 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 The Urban Theme (02:41) 2 Welcome (05:17) 3 Sumthin Sumthin (04:17) 4 Ascension (Dont Ever Wonder) (05:46) 5 Dancewitme (06:15) 6 ...Til the Cops Come Knockin (06:56) 7 Whenever Wherever Whatever (03:45) 8 Lonelys the Only Company (I & II) (06:21) 9 Reunion (04:53) 10 Suitelady (The Proposal Jam) (04:48) 11 The Suite Theme (13:47) |
| Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite : Allmusic album Review : Maxwells debut offers up a sophisticated and stylized take on late-60s and early-70 soul. Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye, Al Green, and the like are subtly referenced over the course of these 11 tracks of wide-screen soul. Mixing sensual funk with ballad sincerity, Maxwell coolly sings through highlights like "Welcome," "...Til the Cops Come Knockin," and "Ascension (Dont Ever Wonder)." The atmospheric, cool-breeze soundscape comes courtesy of Maxwell and Sade cohort Stuart Mathewman. More expansive and airy sounding than the deep groove and gospel sides by fellow retro-soulster DAngelo, Urban Hang Suite is destined to become a classic contemporary R&B disc. | ||
 | Album: 2 of 6 Title: MTV Unplugged Released: 1997-07-15 Tracks: 8 Duration: 34:50 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 The Suite Urban Theme (The Hush) (05:18) 2 Mello: Sumthin (The Hush) (03:05) 3 The Lady Suite (04:20) 4 This Womans Work (04:25) 5 Whenever Wherever Whatever (04:45) 6 Ascension (Dont Ever Wonder) (05:10) 7 Gotta Get: Closer (04:38) 8 Til The Cops Come Knockin (03:05) |
 | Album: 3 of 6 Title: Embrya Released: 1998-06-30 Tracks: 11 Duration: 59:41 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Everwanting:To Want You to Want (07:32) 2 Im You:You Are Me and We Are You (Part Me & You) (06:33) 3 Luxury:Cococure (05:32) 4 Drowndeep:Hula (05:41) 5 Matrimony:Maybe You (04:38) 6 Arroz con pollo (02:56) 7 Know These Things:Shouldnt You (05:14) 8 Submerge:Til We Become the Sun (06:25) 9 Gravity:Pushing to Pull (06:12) 10 Eachhoureachsecondeachminuteeachday:Of My Life (05:52) 11 Embrya (03:02) |
| Embrya : Allmusic album Review : Maxwells ambition was one of the appealing qualities of his debut, Urban Hang Suite, especially since very few of his contemporaries were attempting to expand the boundaries of contemporary R&B. However, blessings can be curses, and that very ambition gets the better of Maxwell on his second album, Embrya. Loaded with pretentious song titles ("Gestation: Mythos," "Arroz con Pollo," "Luxury: Cococure"), the album bogs down in its own sophistication and his desire to make deep, serious music. Like Terence Trent dArby -- whose Neither Fish Nor Flesh offers a frightening parallel to Embrya -- Maxwell wants to be so much more than just another soul crooner, but his gifts become obscured the more he pushes them forward. To be sure, Embrya is far from a washout. Maxwell does have a remarkable voice and he can write really good modern soul songs -- its just that he has a tendency to think thats not enough and then he overstuffs his songs with ideas that lead nowhere. With a little more focus, Embrya could have been an impressive second step. As it stands, its a bit of a sophomore stumble, albeit one with promising moments. | ||
 | Album: 4 of 6 Title: Now Released: 2001-08-21 Tracks: 12 Duration: 50:15 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Get to Know Ya (intro) (00:04) 2 Get to Know Ya (04:18) 3 Lifetime (05:29) 4 Was My Girl (03:11) 5 Changed (04:07) 6 NoOne (04:38) 7 For Lovers Only (03:40) 8 Temporary Nite (04:21) 9 Silently (05:20) 10 Symptom Unknown (05:37) 11 This Womans Work (04:00) 12 Now / At the Party (05:25) |
| Now : Allmusic album Review : Maxwell is a gifted record-maker, which isnt necessarily the same thing as a gifted songwriter. He has a nice, sweet voice, a healthy love for classic soul from Marvin to Prince, an appealing arty streak largely missing from contemporary R&B;, and he can arrange his self-recorded productions quite alluringly, balancing the guitars, synths, drum machines, and horns nimbly, often coming up with fresh songs. If only his songs were as memorable as his sounds! True, Now is more song-centric than his previous releases, barring possibly his debut, but this is still well-crafted mood music in which the overall seductive sound matters more than what hes saying specifically. Thats part of the reason why his cover of Kate Bushs "This Womans Work" (revived here after being debuted on his MTV Unplugged) is so startling -- its not just that hes picked an unlikely source for a great cover, but its the one time that he marries his sumptuous sound to a song with substance. Thats not to say that Now is a bad record -- its hard to call anything that sounds this good a bad album -- but its held back by Maxwells emphasis on sound over song. If he were just making mood music, that would be acceptable, but hes trying to live up to the tradition of Marvin and Prince, and while his productions often live up to that legacy, he has yet to write songs memorable enough to truly justify those comparisons. | ||
 | Album: 5 of 6 Title: For Lovers Only: The Best Of Released: 2008-04-22 Tracks: 15 Duration: 1:14:35 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Sumthin Sumthin (04:19) 2 Ascension (Dont Ever Wonder) (05:46) 3 Lifetime (05:30) 4 ... Til the Cops Come Knockin (06:57) 5 For Lovers Only (03:43) 6 No One (04:42) 7 This Womans Work (04:00) 8 Whenever Wherever Whatever (03:46) 9 Suitelady (The Proposal Jam) (04:48) 10 Im You: You Are Me and We Are You (06:36) 11 Matrimony: Maybe You (04:48) 12 Silently (05:22) 13 Get to Know Ya (04:24) 14 Gotta Get: Closer (unplugged) (04:50) 15 The Suite Urban Theme (The Hush) (unplugged) (05:04) |
 | Album: 6 of 6 Title: BLACKsummers’night Released: 2009-07-07 Tracks: 9 Duration: 37:20 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Bad Habits (05:52) 2 Cold (04:03) 3 Pretty Wings (05:09) 4 Help Somebody (04:01) 5 Stop the World (03:56) 6 Love You (03:35) 7 Fistful of Tears (03:38) 8 Playing Possum (04:23) 9 Phoenix Rise (02:41) |
| BLACKsummers’night : Allmusic album Review : Maxwell spent part of the eight years between his third and fourth studio albums walking the Earth, attempting to experience a life resembling that of a human. One of neo-souls most visible faces, along with Lauryn Hill and DAngelo, he had been on the music industrys hamster wheel for most of his twenties and needed some tangible inspiration. At some point he got down to scheming and quite a lot of recording; BLACKsummersnight is the first release of a trilogy, with BlackSUMMERSnight (rooted in gospel, with a twist, apparently) and BlacksummersNIGHT (promised as a disc of slow jams) to follow. Just as he arrived in 1996, offering an alternate option to the exaggerated masculinity that was dominating contemporary R&B;, he returns as the airwaves are stuffed with raging hormones expressed through Auto-Tune. He has made no concessions to them. BLACKsummersnight is all devotion, regret, and heartache, written with Now collaborator Hod David and played by a session band, including a horn section, that sounds closer to a touring band that has been supporting the singer for years. The musicians morph with every shift in emotion through arrangements that are unfailingly exquisite and sensitively nuanced, even when they are briskly played. If the singer got into adventures while he was away, he does not detail them during these 38 unified minutes, but he did go through a serious, failed relationship, just as "Pretty Wings," the albums floating pre-album single, suggested. Like the real-life flip side to Al Greens "Simply Beautiful" -- the song Maxwell performed at the 2008 BET Awards, signaling his return -- its catharsis through bittersweet elegance, equal in its enamored resentment ("You toyed with my affliction/Had to fill out my prescription") and remorse ("I came wrong, you were right/Transformed your love into like"). Although the rest of the album leaves plenty of space for the most common form of pleading, the disarming "Fistful of Tears" is as impassioned as the steamiest moments and indicates the complexity of Maxwells relationship: "Cause I go insane, crazy sometimes/Trying to keep you from losing your mind/Open your eyes, see whats in front of your face/Save me my fistful of...tears." For all its dimensions and progress, the album is simultaneously designed to ensure that devoted fans will feel the wait was worth it. After all, its opening lines are "Make me crazy, dont speak no sound/I want you to prove it to me in the nude," and they are sung in falsetto. | ||