R&B/Neo-Soul Icon, Maxwell, is on the final leg of his acclaimed “NIGHTS” tour but it’s certainly not curtains for him. The tour is an ode to his seemingly timeless career which started some 27 years ago with his prolific and genre-defining first album, “Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite”.
The show opens with carefully curated and mixed audio from famous R&B/Soul hits from past to present. Clearly these are records that not only tell the story of the genre but have had a profound impact on Maxwell. He can channel a low bassy growl ala Teddy Pendergrass, move to the funk like James Brown or the Jackson 5, or completely enamor the audience with a beautiful serenade like Marvin Gaye. Once the mix ended, the band began a medley which swelled as a solar eclipse appeared on screen until the man himself entered. Naturally, the show opened with the third and arguably best single from the album and to many his career, “Sumthin’ Sumthin’”. It’s here Maxwell is at his absolute best. The musical influence is packaged into this moment. He’s smooth yet regal and commanding in both voice and movement, just as he did 1996. Maxwell, who has barely aged, hadn’t missed a step or note.
The show continued to take the audience on the journey of Maxwell’s career with another cut from “Urban Hang Suite”, “Dancewithme” followed by the self-reflective “Lifetime” and passionate ballad “Fortunate” from his third album “Now”. It’s unfortunate that Maxwell doesn’t spend more time with his earlier albums because there are truly some real gems fans certainly missed.
The tour is obviously the culmination of the three-album series started in 2009 with the 2x Grammy-awarded “BLACKsummer’snight” and soon to be concluded with the highly anticipated “blacksummer’sNIGHT.” He performed hits from those albums like “Pretty Wings,” and “Lake by the Ocean,” before turning back time one last time to close out the show. Of course, he couldn’t forget his famous hypnotic groove “Ascension (Don’t Ever Wonder” followed by a completely unexpected and intimate encore of “Whatever Whenever Wherever”
Overall, Maxwell did not even come close to disappointing. With such a diverse crowd of retirees to young adults who heard their parents playing him, Maxwell proves his legacy of making enduring music for the soul.
MAXWELL
Photos + Review by Ramel Bocker | Exclusively for Music, Why Not!