The smooth, seductive bedroom soul of "Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite," an album-length ode to monogamy as aphrodisiac, placed Maxwell at the forefront of the '90s soul revival with D'Angelo and Erykah Badu.
He even brought in Leon Ware, who co-wrote most of Marvin Gaye's "I Want You" album in the '70s, and Gaye guitarist Melvin "Wah-Wah Watson" Ragin to complete the scene.
But that was 1996. Much like D'Angelo, the soul revival's other great male lead, Maxwell's been missing in action since topping the charts with a third album, "Now," in 2001.
That's all about to change, though, with "Black," his first album in nearly eight years and the opening chapter in a trilogy of albums called "Blacksummersnight."
He plays Monday at the Louisville Palace.
Q: So this record is part of a trilogy?
A: It is a trilogy of records. They go hand in hand. "Black" is the moodier record. "Summers" is more the gospel thing, but with a little bit of Fela in there. I don't like to give it up too much because all of a sudden, you start hearing your concepts in someone else's record. But "Night" is more a ballad record. It's all love songs.
Are the other two already written?
Yes. But I'll probably do touch-ups just before they're released. I can't even play them or bring them to Sony because of the way things work now, the way things are leaked. That's why a lot of the record was hand-delivered literally as it was going to press.
Back in the day, you could have a record in the building for a couple months. The staff could live with it. Now, the people championing your cause are missing out. They can't fully immerse themselves in what they're trying to promote.
You've said you wanted to return to "the promise" on this album. Does that mean you were dissatisfied with "Now"?
I wasn't disappointed. Anytime you're revving up to make a record, I feel like you have to sort of reacquaint yourself with "Who am I supposed to be? What was I saying to the world on Day One?" And that sort of got me re-amped, 'cause music's changed so much.