The adage goes: Time gone, time lost. But for R&B singer Maxwell, who has been on a hiatus from music since 2002, it's as if he never left. Full of heart-pounding melodies and true-to-life love stories, "BLACKsummer'snight" is the first installment of a trilogy by Maxwell. Over xylophone and guitar riffs, the lullaby-like lead single, "Pretty Wings," finds the Brooklyn native belting, "I had to set you free, to see clearly/The way that love can be when you are not with me." On the humanitarian "Fist Full of Tears," he pleads atop marching band drums, "Help me be the helping hand/And make a dream come true." Other tracks include "Cold," about a cold-hearted lover; "Love You," on which Maxwell pleads for his lady to let him love her over an organ-like groove; the inspirational "Help Somebody"; the jazz-tinged "Stop the World"; and the second single, "Bad Habits," a midtempo track with big horns and layered voice-over. "BLACKsummer'snight" is a testament that Maxwell hasn't lost a beat.