REVIEW: BLACKsummersnight (Chicago Tribune)
by Greg Kot (Chicago Tribune)
Album review: Maxwell, ‘BLACKsummers’night’
Rating: 3.5 stars
After three sumptuous neo-soul albums released from 1996 to 2001, Maxwell dropped out from the recording industry for nearly a decade. While patiently piecing together enough music for what he promises will be a trilogy of albums, he fell in and out of love. That affair informs the first of his comeback discs, “BLACKsummers’night” (Columbia).
It begins with opposing questions: “Can you forgive me?” he asks in the first song; “How can you be so cold?” he mutters in the second. In exploring the chasm between those two emotional poles, Maxwell explores his vulnerabilities and idiosyncrasies, while toughening up his sound. Darting horns and skittering bass lines frame allusive lyrics and slippery melodies. Once the creamiest of crooners, Maxwell is no longer just about whispery come-on’s and feathery falsetto fights. His voice gains some grit, particularly on the pleading “Love You,” and the tougher textures add an appealing dimension.
At its best, “BLACKsummers’night” evokes the complex late ‘70s albums of Marvin Gaye, when the singer was making his most deeply personal music, sometimes without regard to commerciality. It’s free of gimmicks (Hey, an R&B record without Auto-Tuned vocals!) or trendy producers (No Kanye, no Timbaland; instead, guitarist Hod David does most of the work). No wonder “BLACKsummers’night” walks its own confident path down the artier fringe of R&B.
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