blackSUMMERS'night
blackSUMMERS'night | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | July 1, 2016 | |||
Recorded | 2010–2016 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 46:50 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Producer |
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Maxwell chronology | ||||
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Singles from blackSUMMERS'night | ||||
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blackSUMMERS'night is the fifth
Background
blackSUMMERS'night was Maxwell's first record in seven years, following 2009's BLACKsummers'night, which was the first in a planned trilogy of albums whose names were distinguished by the capitalization of letters in one phrase of the same title.[1] Maxwell told The Wall Street Journal in June 2016 that the trilogy is "loosely based on the concept of a night out for a woman named Black Summers". He produced most of blackSUMMERS'night with longtime collaborator Hod David.[2]
Release and promotion
blackSUMMERS'night was released by Columbia Records on July 1, 2016.[1] In its first week of release, the album charted at number three on the Billboard 200 and sold 59,000 album-equivalent units, 57,000 of which were entire copies of the record. It became the fourth album of Maxwell's career to reach the top 10 of the chart.[3]
To promote the album, "
Critical reception
Aggregate scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AnyDecentMusic? | 7.3/10[7] |
Metacritic | 86/100[8] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [9] |
Chicago Tribune | [10] |
Entertainment Weekly | A−[11] |
The Guardian | [12] |
The Irish Times | [13] |
Pitchfork | 8.4/10[14] |
Rolling Stone | [15] |
Spin | 8/10[16] |
Uncut | 9/10[17] |
USA Today | [18] |
blackSUMMERS'night was met with widespread critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 86, based on 15 reviews.[8]
Reviewing the album in the
Paul Mardles was less enthusiastic in The Observer, suggesting the record lacked memorable songs and innovative sounds; apart from funky songs such as "Lake by the Ocean", blackSUMMERS'night makes Maxwell, "in the era of Frank Ocean, look like the yesterday’s man of R&B", Madles wrote.[20] Jim Carroll of The Irish Times also found the music relatively "old-fashioned" and wrote, "there are far too many moments here when he appears to be relying on that rich, chocolate voice to woo you rather than try something different or risky."[13]
Track listing
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
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1. | "All the Ways Love Can Feel" | Musze, Hod David, Travis Sayles | David, Musze | 5:21 |
2. | "The Fall" | Musze, David, Sayles, Shedrick Mitchell | David, Musze | 4:11 |
3. | "III" | Musze, David | David, Musze | 4:47 |
4. | "Lake by the Ocean" | Musze, David | David, Musze | 3:59 |
5. | "Fingers Crossed" | Musze, David | David, Musze | 4:38 |
6. | "Hostage" | Musze, David | David, Musze | 3:55 |
7. | "1990x" | Musze, David | David, Musze | 4:44 |
8. | "Gods" | Musze, David | David, Musze | 3:35 |
9. | "Lost" | Musze, Stuart Matthewman | Matthewman, Musze | 3:57 |
10. | "Of All Kind" | Musze, David | David, Musze | 3:42 |
11. | "Listen Hear" | Musze, Matthewman | Matthewman, Musze | 3:38 |
12. | "Night" | Earth | 0:23 |
Personnel
Credits are adapted from AllMusic.[9]
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Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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References
- ^ a b Luecking, Eric (June 30, 2016). "Maxwell: blackSUMMERS'night". PopMatters. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
- Complex. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
- ^ Caulfield, Keith (July 10, 2016). "Blink-182 Bumps Drake from No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
- ^ Mitchell, Gail (May 8, 2016). "Maxwell Invites Fans to the 'Lake By the Ocean'". Billboard. Retrieved May 13, 2016.
- ^ Hamm, Ken (June 3, 2016). "Maxwell Releases An Out Of This World Lyric Video For '1990x'". SoulBounce. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
- ^ Zo (2016). "Maxwell Shares Airy, Delicate New Single '1990x'". Okayplayer. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
- ^ "blackSUMMERS'night by Maxwell reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
- ^ a b "Reviews for blackSUMMERS'night (2016) by Maxwell". Metacritic. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
- ^ a b Kellman, Andy. "blackSUMMERS'night – Maxwell". AllMusic. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
- ^ Kot, Greg (July 1, 2016). "Maxwell remains a mysterious island unto himself on 'blackSUMMERS'night'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
- ^ a b Farber, Jim (June 29, 2016). "Maxwell's blackSUMMERS'night: EW Review". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on July 2, 2016. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
- ^ a b Simpson, Dave (June 30, 2016). "Maxwell: BlackSUMMERS'night review – anguished, classy soul man returns". The Guardian. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
- ^ a b Carroll, Jim (July 28, 2016). "Maxwell – black SUMMERS' night album review: the old-fashioned soul man lays it on thick". The Irish Times. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
- ^ Haithcoat, Rebecca (July 12, 2016). "Maxwell: blackSUMMERS'night". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
- ^ a b Levy, Joe (July 1, 2016). "blackSUMMERS'night". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
- ^ Soto, Alfred (June 28, 2016). "Review: Maxwell Relieves That Stress (on His Syllables) With 'blackSUMMERS'night'". Spin. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
- ^ Anderson, Jason (September 2016). "Maxwell: blackSUMMERS'night". Uncut (232): 76.
- ^ Gardner, Elysa (July 3, 2016). "Maxwell looks towards the light in 'blackSUMMERS'night'". USA Today. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
- ^ Ali, Lorraine (July 1, 2016). "Maxwell's Long-Awaited 'blackSUMMERS'night' Flirts with Electronics and Jazz". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
- ^ Mardles, Paul (July 3, 2016). "Maxwell: blackSummers' Night review – smooth 70s retro soul". The Observer. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
- ^ [2016&cat=a "Australiancharts.com – Maxwell – Blacksummers'night [2016]"]. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
- ^ [2016&cat=a "Ultratop.be – Maxwell – Blacksummers'night [2016]"] (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
- ^ [2016&cat=a "Ultratop.be – Maxwell – Blacksummers'night [2016]"] (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
- ^ "Maxwell Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
- ^ [2016&cat=a "Dutchcharts.nl – Maxwell – Blacksummers'night [2016]"] (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
- ^ "NZ Heatseekers Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. July 11, 2016. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
- ^ [2016&cat=a "Swisscharts.com – Maxwell – Blacksummers'night [2016]"]. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
- ^ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
- ^ "Maxwell Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
- ^ "Maxwell Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
- ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2016". Billboard. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
- ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2016". Billboard. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
Further reading
- Patrick, Ryan B. (July 6, 2016). "Maxwell on His New Album and R&B in a Post-Prince World". Exclaim!.
External links
- BlackSUMMERS'night at Discogs (list of releases)