Credit: Ramel Bocker / Mel Shooter Media
[Written for Music, Why Not!]
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.
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