The once bountiful land of apt vocalists has become creatively arid, destitute of talent and pathetically monotonous. It’s terribly easy to forget that there are artists out there with voices that do not require autotune or overpowering/generic beats in order to create a palpable melody.

I, for one, had definitely almost fallen into such a lull a few months back, having tired out the collection of the few decent R&B and Neo-Soul albums from this past year or two. I was about to pull a Nasir Jones and declare the cultures dead.

But the fat lady was yet to sing.

Pic Property of BET

Maxwell, although neither fat, nor a lady, hadn’t sung quite yet either. When he eventually did, he put the genres back onto my regular rotation. Initially, it came to me in one of those Archimedean “Eureka” moments while I was looking for a song to cap off a slow jam playlist I was working on. One of my co-workers noticed me jolt, to life and began peeking over my shoulder. She then proceeded to proclaim her adoration for the once afro-puffed crooner, and requested his discography.

So it was that Urban Hang Suite began playing, whilst I began checking up on what the man in question was up to.

Thus was uncovered this man’s ploy to release 3 albums in 3 years. Black, that supposedly drops sometime this year, Summers’ that presumably drops next summer, and Night which will be with us in 2010. Rumor of this had begun a few months prior and I completely disregarded it as something too ambitious for a man who spends so much time marinating his music to ensure their flavor is potent.

But who can complain? Upon hearing a snippet of his new single, any doubt one may have had quickly dissolves in the melodic ebb and flow pouring out of the speakers. Couple this with his stellar performance for the Al Green tribute on BET a few moons ago and it’s clear the man is still in substantially rare form; surely enough to pull this off and jumpstart the currently dormant genres.

Maxwell – Pretty Wings (Snippet)

Maxwell Performs “Simply Beautiful” – Al Green Tribute