BLACKsummers'night is the first full-length Maxwell release since Now, his critically-acclaimed third studio album that debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 in August 2001. He might have been out of the spotlight, but Maxwell along with long time collaborator and friend Hod David, had begun crafting BLACKsummers'night several years ago. BLACKsummers'night is the sensuous opening installment of the artist's monumental BLACKSUMMERS'NIGHT trilogy. (The trilogy's subsequent chapters, blackSUMMERS'night and blacksummers'NIGHT, are slated for release in 2010 and 2011 respectively). BLACK is a much darker but soulful compilation, SUMMERS' leans more toward the gospel side and NIGHT is more a cool collection of slow jams.

Composed of nine indelible songs BLACKsummers'night finds Maxwell exploring life with a bold and purposeful sensuality unmistakably his own. Opening with a delicate hint of wistful chimes, the first single, "Pretty Wings," is nostalgic, ("your face will be the reason I smile") and yet undeniably passionate. "It's about the last relationship I had," Maxwell describes. "How you meet the person of your dreams but at the wrong time. She was a serious muse and the song is a testament to what I wanted to say and say, to her." "I can be a bit emotionally handicapped" he elucidates, "but through music, I can say what I want to." Another of the album's more persuasive songs is "Stop the World." A rhythmic rush of desire, Maxwell describes "Stop the World" as "having corporal relations." "That's what I call having sex..." he unabashedly reveals "...and that's stopping the world." ...Mhmmm.

Equally personal is "Fistful of Tears." Pushed along by a sturdy and incessant piano, Maxwell, shifting from those oh so recognizable falsettos and baritones, rides the melody like a man both possessed by and resigned to his feelings. "It's kind of about wanting to leave the industry and a relationship, but then realizing that I should give it a last try. Don't let it go." Then there's the jazz thumping "Cold." Peppered by a funked up horn section and wrapped in a moist honey soaked groove, this fun, head bopping track finds Maxwell asking the eternal lovers question, "why do you like me like you do?" It's very sexy stuff.

A constant throughout BLACKsummers'night is its live and often raw sound. The entire album was recorded with an extraordinary live ten-piece band. He is taking it back to when a solo genius artist offered music that was close to perfection. No synthesizers, no duets. Just Maxwell bare and in the flesh ready to give old fans and new ones a sensory experience that he never fails to bring.