Maxwell
Blacksummers'night

I stumbled upon this beautiful record—which I had bought over a year ago and had forgotten about—while I was looking for something completely different... and well, I'll tell you: the vinyl of the deluxe edition of "UNICA," the stunning new album by Antonello Venditti... there, I said it, happy now?... and the funny thing is that since I like it so much, I can't take it out of the car, nor (much less) throw it out the window on the ring road, so much so that I decided to jot down (those I can!), two (in)useless lines, seeing as there's nothing on dataBeiser about this very respectable artist... and I must say, no no no, let me tell you, it somewhat troubles me!

Maxwell, a prominent figure of the '90s neo-soul movement (alongside Erykah Badu and D'Angelo, just to name two), is his stage name, and it's the only one we know for this guy, born in 1973 (well, nowadays we're all considered young until we're 67, give or take a year), who artistically speaking is not very prolific. In fact, without delving into why and therefore his personal specifics, we know for sure that the work in question is only number 4 since 1996—the year of the remarkable "Urban Hang Suite"—and the first since 2001—the year the beautiful "Now" was released, which boasts, among other things, a formidable cover of Kate Bush's "This Woman's Work"... just to clarify what kind of voice we're dealing with.

"BLACKsummers' night" was supposed to come out in 2008 and then delayed to 2009, intended as the first of a trilogy that was to conclude in 2010, but evidently, partly due to the global crisis, partly out of laziness, we're still here wondering about the other two, and we hope we don't have to wait until December 21, otherwise who knows...! In this record, which is quite short and consists of 9 tracks, what stands out the most is the elegance, the classicism and the balance of the arrangements, on which a certain jazz aftertaste almost always peeks through, and especially the extraordinary vocal sensitivity of this master.

Yes, you read it right, because our Maxwell, despite having won various awards and recognitions in America, deserves the same following in Euroland as the great Erykah Badu, or John Legend who, it must be said, has somewhat disappointed initial expectations, and well, enough with the controversy!

But let's be clear, let's focus, what exactly is special about this record here... in 2009... a soul Motown-style record and closely tied to Marvin(Gaye)ian aesthetics... with brass... with clapping... with an orchestra here and there... what sense does it make, I wonder... in 2009 and without videos, without Rihanna's half-naked screams... without pool parties... without that great genius Kanye West... OMG (oh-my-god), what a tragedy...

Oh perhaps, because the other two volumes of the trilogy haven't come out yet!!!...

In short, the soul (SOUL) doesn't lie, and if listening to this stuff you don't notice it, well, I feel sorry for you...