Fresh off a 7-year hiatus, the neo-soul crooner Maxwell brings his soulful falsetto, full band sound and lyrical adeptness to the first offering from his planned trilogy, BLACKsummers’night. With no guest appearances, this album is quite simply musical satisfaction for the adult pallet, discussing matters of the heart and the world. Led by the lead single Pretty Wings, Maxwell opens the door to his creativity, giving just under 40 minutes of relaxing smooth grooves.

Stop The World comes to mind as an immediate favorite on the album and instant classic, an immaculate love song that carefully blends Maxwell’s rich warm lower register with sprinkles of his signature falsetto sound. I feel the essence of Smokey Robinson in the prime of Motown on Love You, with its old school upbeat groove. The fight for love is a battle that can take everything you’ve got, leaving you with nothing but your own Fistful of Tears, a song that I find myself repeatedly drawn to for its depth. Other highlights include Playing Possum, Cold and the follow-up single Bad Habits.

Maxwell is building the foundation for the future of R&B/soul music with this album. Like his previous albums, this one is solid soul and real music. The only drawback is that there are only 9 tracks but in today’s industry, I’d rather have an album of 9 high quality songs than 14 album fillers. It’s not important where Maxwell went during his time out of the spotlight; all that matters is that he’s back and he’s brought back all the things we loved about him in the first place – minus the hair.

Sound-Savvy officially rates BLACKsummers'night with 5 out of 5 platinum headphones.

Related Posts:
Video: Maxwell - Pretty Wings
Audio: Maxwell - Bad Habits