Maxwell is up to something. He’s been very visible on social media over the past few weeks, posting eye candy for his fans while chronicling the days of summer. His latest attention-grabbing post to grace our timelines, however, is a video of him in the studio that has us jumping for joy like we won a gold medal at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics. Max revealed that he’s been hard at work on a cover of the Al Green classic “Simply Beautiful.”
A Maxwellized version of “Simply Beautiful” is long overdue. The singer-songwriter has performed the song numerous times in concert over the years, but his most memorable performance of the song was at the BET Awards ’08 during an Al Green tribute that sent fans into a tizzy. He looks to capture the seductive beauty of the original with his official remake.
“The first time I heard Al Green’s music I was amazed,” Maxwell stated in the behind-the-scenes video showcasing him in a studio full of musicians and familiar faces like longtime collaborators Hod David and LaTina Webb. “He is such an icon. I mean, what a brilliant musician and songwriter,” he went on to say while snippets of his scintillating new version can be heard. “It’s been an honor to get in the studio and record one of his songs.”
Maxwell’s recording of “Simply Beautiful” has us hopeful that his long-promised new album blacksummers’NIGHT may finally see the light of day soon. Also known as NIGHT, the project is the third and final album in the trilogy that started with the release of BLACKsummers’night (aka BLACK) in 2009 and blackSUMMERS’night (aka SUMMERS’) in 2016.
There’s no release date yet for either “Simply Beautiful” or blacksummers’NIGHT, but we’re excited about what’s on the horizon from Maxwell. He may perform new music on his upcoming The Serenade Tour with Jazmine Sullivan and October London and Urban Hang Suite Cruise 2025 after all.
