Now (Maxwell album)

Now
Studio album by Maxwell
Released August 14, 2001
Genre Neo soul[1]
Length 50:15
Label Columbia
Producer MUSZE (Maxwell)
Maxwell chronology

Embrya
(1998)		 Now
(2001)		 BLACKsummers'night
(2009)
Singles from Now
  1. "Get to Know Ya"
    Released: 2001
  2. "Lifetime"
    Released: October 16, 2001
  3. "This Woman's Work"
    Released: January 2001
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [2]
Boston Herald [3]
E! Online (A)[4]
Entertainment Weekly A−[5]
LA Weekly (mixed)[6]
Los Angeles Times [7]
PopMatters (favorable)[8]
Rolling Stone [9]
The Village Voice (favorable)[10]
The Washington Post (mixed)[11]

Now is the third studio album by American recording artist Maxwell, released August 14, 2001 on Columbia Records in the United States. Following the lukewarm radio success of his previous album Embrya (1998), Maxwell felt more comfortable with his artistic direction for Now, which does not exhibit his previous work's conceptual style.[12]

The album sold over 296,000 units in the U.S. in the first week, according to SoundScan, to earn him his first-ever number one album. Now‍ '​s second single "This Woman's Work", a live staple of Maxwell's,[13] charted at number 58 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at number 16 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.[14][15]

Despite some criticism towards Maxwell's songwriting,[6][16][17] Now received generally positive reviews from music critics, based on an aggregate score of 78/100 from Metacritic.[18] The album serves as Maxwell's last release before an eight-year hiatus, which culminated in the release of his fourth studio album BLACKsummers'night (2009).[19]

Track listing

All songs written by Hod David, Stuart Matthewman, and Maxwell (MUSZE) unless otherwise noted.

  1. "Get to Know Ya" - 4:22
  2. "Lifetime" - 5:29
  3. "W/As My Girl" - 3:11
  4. "Changed" - 4:07
  5. "No One" - 4:41
  6. "For Lovers Only" - 3:41
  7. "Temporary Nite" - 4:22
  8. "Silently" - 5:20
  9. "Symptom Unknown" - 5:37
  10. "This Woman's Work" (Kate Bush) - 4:00
  11. "Now/At the Party" - 5:25

Personnel

Charts

Chart positions

Chart (2001) Peak
position[20]
US Billboard 200 1
US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums 1

References

  1. ↑ Easlea, Daryl (July 24, 2012). "Review of Maxwell - Now". BBC Music. Retrieved May 12, 2013.
  2. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Review: Now. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2009-09-25.
  3. ↑ Rodman, Sarah. "Review: Now". Boston Herald: S.23. August 31, 2001. Archived from the original on 2009-09-25. (Transcription of original review at talk page)
  4. ↑ Columnist. "Review: Now". E! Online: August 2001.
  5. ↑ Sinclair, Tom. Review: Now. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on 2009-09-25.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lewis, Miles Marshall. Review: Now. LA Weekly. Retrieved on 2009-09-25.
  7. ↑ Weingarten, Marc. Review: Now. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on 2009-09-25.
  8. ↑ Neal, Mark Anthony. Review: Now. PopMatters. Retrieved on 2009-09-25.
  9. ↑ Berger, Arion. Review: Now. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2009-09-25.
  10. ↑ Hunter, James. Review: Now. The Village Voice. Retrieved on 2009-09-25.
  11. ↑ Wiltz, Teresa. "Review: Now". The Washington Post: C.01. August 22, 2001. Archived from the original on 2009-09-25. (Transcription of original review at talk page)
  12. ↑ Jones, Steve. "Maxwell Says He's Ready 'Now' to 'Get to Know Ya'". USA Today: D.08. August 20, 2001.
  13. ↑ Leroy, Dan. Review: Now. Yahoo! Music. Retrieved on 2009-09-25.
  14. ↑ "The Billboard Hot 100 - Maxwell - This Woman's Work - Chart Listing For The Week Of jun 29 2002". Retrieved 15 February 2009.
  15. ↑ "The Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs - Maxwell - This Woman's Work - Chart Listing For The Week Of jul 06 2002". Retrieved 15 February 2009.
  16. ↑ Cinquemani, Sal. Review: Now. Slant Magazine. Retrieved on 2009-09-25.
  17. ↑ Coleman, Nick. Review: Now. The Independent. Retrieved on 2009-09-25.
  18. ↑ Now (2001): Reviews. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2009-09-25.
  19. ↑ Kellman, Andy Review: BLACKsummers'night. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2009-07-19.
  20. ↑ www.billboard.com-album-maxwell

External links

Preceded by
Now 7 by Various artists		 Billboard 200 number-one album
September 8, 2001 		Succeeded by
Aaliyah by Aaliyah