Maxwell, gone for seven years, is returning to an almost unrecognizable musical landscape with his new album “BlackSUMMERS’night.”
The first time Maxwell disappeared, he was gone about eight years. After starting his career in the mid-90s with three platinum albums in a row, each delivered punctually, this soul and R&B singer all but vanished. He opted not to tour and didn’t release the expected follow-up to “Now,” from 2001. Instead, he faded into near anonymity.
But his fans waited: “BLACKsummers’night” debuted at No. 1 in 2009 with his best sales week ever and won two Grammys. Maxwell assured his faithful listeners that such a gap wouldn’t happen again, explaining that his fourth album was part of trilogy he’d already written and, in large part, recorded, with the next installments to follow in consecutive years.
Then another seven years went by.
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