After 5-year wait, R&B singer Maxwell has new music, tour including Toledo stop
6/29/2014
R&B Singer Maxwell will be in concert Thursday at Hollywood Casino Toledo.
Neo-soul singer and R&B icon Maxwell has been known to leave his fans waiting and wanting.
It‘s been five years since the crooner, known for his sultry sound, released BLACKsummers'night, which garnered two Grammy Awards, and spawned the hits “Prettywings”, “Badhabit” and “Fistfulloftears.”
For waiting fans, five years, half a decade, a lustrum, a quinquennium, whatever you want to call it, seems like a lifetime.
Well, the wait is over ... almost. After numerous occurrences in his life, Maxwell says he’s finally ready to release SUMMERS, the second album in his trilogy. Originally planned for release in 2010, the album is now scheduled for release later this summer. Much like the rest of his music, the record focuses on love and making the right decisions in love.
Maxwell will perform at 8 p.m. Thursday at Hollywood Casino.
Tickets are $45 and can be purchased online at ticketweb.com. Ticket holders must be age 21 or older with valid ID to attend.
Other acts to perform at the casino this summer include Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo with Rick Springfield on July 9, George Thorogood & the Destroyers on July 10, Wilson Phillips on July 19 and Motown legend Smokey Robinson on Aug. 8.
“I’m not in control of it like people think. You can‘t rush the process. I don‘t dial my records in,“ Maxwell, 41 said in a phone interview with The Blade. ”To make the ultimate record you have to wait for it.“
While the rest of the world continues to wait, Toledo area fans can get a sneak peek of what‘s to come when Maxwell performs Thursday at Hollywood Casino Toledo. The concert is part of his “Summer Soulstice“ tour and a part of the casino’s summer-long Hollywood Concert Series.
Some artist pump out albums as fast as they can get them recorded, but Maxwell is known for working at his own pace, letting life happen and using his experiences as inspiration. His last album, released in 2009, came after an eight-year hiatus. Since his debut in 1996 he‘s released just four albums, all of them platinum sellers.
”If you put all of your soul into everything, every time, that should be enough to keep [fans],“ he said. ”Like Marvin Gaye. There’ll never be another Marvin Gaye album, but people are still listening to what he put out, because it was so good.“
Speaking of Marvin Gaye, Maxwell and piano-sensation Alicia Keys have teamed up to work on an EP of Marvin Gaye/Tammi Terrrell like duets. His appearance on the 2012 chart blazing ”Fire We Make“ with Keys, was nothing more than a tease for fans who long for him to drop new music. A 73-second preview of a song-titled ”Gods“ left his Facebook and Twitter accounts decorated with posts from followers pleading for more.
”I work on the album when I can. I‘m working at the 7-Eleven. And I have another job at this dry cleaning spot ironing shirts,“ he joked when asked what he’s been doing the past few years. “I‘m living. Life is great. I”m not just guy who puts out records. I’d rather have five years between No. 1 albums than have 20 hit singles.”
Contact RoNeisha Mullen at: rmullen@theblade.com or 418-724-6133.