Maxwell: reluctant sex symbol soars with new CD

Ebony, Sept, 1998 by Lynn Norment

To say that Maxwell is not your usual pop, R&B performer is an understatement. In a business that is heavily populated with eccentric artists and those who flaunt sex, he stands out and alone. The hair. The sound. The mystique. The sensuous aura. The shy smile. The seductive eyes. The artsy photographs that sometimes obscure his good looks.

There are many things about this talented, 24-year-old music maker that seem to be shrouded in mystery, but two things are crystal clear: Maxwell consistently makes great romantic music, and he continues to be a sex symbol, though reluctantly, to millions of female fans.

His new album, Embrya, is a testament to those facts. Having debuted at No. 3 on album charts when it was released in early summer, the recording again showcases Maxwell's enormous talent as a singer, songwriter, producer and musician. It also is a testament for Maxwell's natural flair for stirring passion. As with his debut CD, the triple-platinum Urban Hang Suite, and the live set that followed (Maxwell Unplugged), about the only noteworthy criticism is that Maxwell's mellifluous tenor sometimes gets lost in the melodious music.

When Maxwell burst onto the music scene in 1996, he was heralded as the new messiah of hot buttered, romantic soul, a youthful envoy for the funky-smooth R&B sounds of the '60s and '70s. There were comparisons to Prince (and the Artist Formerly Known as Prince), Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder. In addition, Maxwell, a charismatic stage performer who inspires female wolf calls and receives dozens of bouquets on stage, won raves for his sold-out concerts throughout the United States and abroad.

Music lovers, critics and hoards of female fans all have waited anxiously and with curiosity for the follow-up CD. Maxwell's first single, the sultry, energized "Luxury: Cococure," announced to all that he is back and better than ever. The performer says the song is a "good-bye to the ailment of the love affair" that inspired Urban Hang Suite and a hello to the "pursuit of internal luxury." It seems that the debut album was written about a woman with whom he had a weekend fling, and then she disappeared. Like most of his lyrics and titles, there are layers of meanings.

As on his earlier recordings, Maxwell's signature sensual vocals are undergirded by mellow rhythms, and with Embrya he has grown as a man and as an artist while refining his sound. He says Embrya, a term he coined, is about the "inner God thing" and "represents a birthing of myself, of a whole other person, but at this point I'm in that period of change ... This album is definitely about my outlook on the inner things I'm desiring. And most of it is truly a love letter to God ...," he says.

Indeed, mystique surrounds the intensely private singer who as a shy teenager wrote more than 300 songs while growing up in Brooklyn. When Maxwell was 3 years old, his father was killed in a plane crash en route to his native Puerto Rico. Reared by his strict West Indian mother and grandmother, he spent a lot of time in church trying to learn about the "heaven" to which his father had gone. After high school, the quirky teen worked as a waiter in Manhattan while immersing himself in his music during his time off.

Maxwell describes himself as shy, nerdy, insecure--"just a normal guy from Brooklyn." He likes cranberry juice and sometimes eats macaroni and cheese for breakfast. Those who know and work with Maxwell say he is "very polite," "extremely quiet," "mesmerizing," "particularly respectful of and sensitive to women," "rather pensive," "someone who ponders before he speaks." An executive at Columbia Records says Maxwell is "headstrong in a positive way."

When he creates music, Maxwell is an insomniac who takes great pleasure with keyboards and mike while everyone else is sleeping. "The recording and writing process can be so draining because in each song, I'm always trying to create those two or three special moments that make you want to get to the next moment," he says of his work. "But I'm at the mercy of whatever inspiration I'm under." For the most part, he is inspired to write poetic, romantic lyrics that are always beautiful but sometimes obtuse.

While Maxwell has emerged as a master of soulful, sensuous vocal seduction--his music is the backdrop for many intimate experiences--he acknowledges that he's not always comfortable with women and has had his share of heart-aches. "I don't know anything about women but I'm willing to learn," he confesses. "I've always been afraid of women because they're so mysterious." He says he's not really into dating but he is attracted to "strong women" who know who they are. He also thinks that "honesty gets you further" with women and is a lot more "endearing."

To this point, music has taken priority. "I immerse myself in my work to such a degree that there's no time," he says of dating. "But I've learned a lot from women. I've learned about subtlety, and that intimacy is also about the spiritual and mental connection that occurs. It applies to everything--to how you view art and listen to music and deal with your friends and make business decisions ... What I do is so difficult for most women to deal with sometimes." Consequently, he says, "I'm used to rejection by women," because some women don't want to get involved with such a public personality.