This Thanksgiving Eve, I am thankful for good music.
We’re closing out this first decade of this new century with some mighty fine music for the celebratin’–and no, I’m not waiting until New Year’s Eve to declare the best album of the last of the “oh” years.
The winner is (drumroll please):
MAXWELL. Maxwell, Maxwell, Maxwell. BLACKsummers’ Night: you had me at “stop the world.”
I am not a music reviewer by a long shot, however, so I cringe to attempt to explain exactly why I love this album so much. I can say with some certainty that my personal brand of Maxwell devotion is tied with heavy ropes to the sublime experience of traveling through Northern California this summer with my husband in celebration of our fifth anniversary. A whole week alone. We saved this new CD until we drove away from San Francisco International, headed to our first night at The Inn on First in downtown Napa–which was, incidentally, one of the nicest places we’ve ever stayed ever. We blasted it in our room, we blasted it in our car between beaches and bridges and wineries; I wholeheartedly agree with the LA Times reviewer who wrote, “The best way to listen to Maxwell’s new ‘BLACKsummers’ Night’ is with the volume turned all the way up.”
It was the soundtrack of our trip, and thanks to Maxwell I can catch the beginning, middle or end of any of the tracks and be transported back to a very, very good week in August.
THEN, to top it all off: I just found out last night via Facebook, via an article on Billboard.com, that Sade is coming out with a new album on February 8th. So while I haven’t heard it, it’s already won the RMA (Rachel’s Music Award) for Best Album of 2010. Sade has nothing left to prove; she just has to move her lips and I’m sold.
