his 15-year career. More often than not, those songs have focused on a
subject that has entranced and confounded human beings since Adam first
met Eve: love.
Maxwell’s latest album, BLACKsummer’s night,
marks his return to recording after a seven-year hiatus. A more mature
Maxwell still sings about love, but from the perspective of a man who
has been through his fair share of heartache. He sat down with rolling out to reveal what he’s learned along the way. –todd williams
When does one know that they’ve fallen for someone?
It can be instant[aneous] — the minute you look across the room and go
‘God, this is too remarkable,’ and you do what you have to do to be of
interest to that person. I look for love in the truest form — someone
who’s not about what I do, but who I am as a person.
Does that make it difficult to know what’s real and what isn’t?
When I meet people that I’ve known in the business, it takes a while to
get to know them as a person — someone who burps, someone who uses the
bathroom, who has good and bad days. I think you can only know someone
after a year, really. I give it four seasons. I like to take my time. I
don’t mess with my heart too much. I’ve played heart games and have
been hurt in the past so I try not to mess with those things.
How do you think a person gets over heartache?
Time is the greatest healer of all things. And sometimes, it [may even]
take more than just that. But I think that is what pulls you through an
unexpected loss or an unexpected breakup.
What’s the hardest truth in relationships?
I think it really comes down to vulnerability at the end of the day.
They always say the person who loves the most is the person who has a
lot more to lose. I think you have to get in a situation where you’re
willing to lose and sacrifice to see it through. It’s about being
vulnerable enough to let someone in — and also giving them that power,
because that is power.
