Black Music Month: Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly
After recovering from watching the BET Awards the other night and reading (and laughing) at the live blogs done by SoulBounce.com, Inkognegro 1.75, and AverageBro, I needed a soul music fix. Thankfully, there were some moments in the show that fulfilled the need; notably from Al Green and Alicia Keys. The tribute to Mr. Green was a very satisfying affair, and while Jill Scott wasn’t necessarily at her best, Anthony Hamilton and the reappearance of Maxwell made it worthwhile. But when Al Green got up to sing “Let’s Stay Together” and “Love and Happiness,” you could feel the vibes, those good old soul/R&B vibes come alive. Considering that most of the show to that point (with the exception of Alicia Keys and her tribute to the girl groups of the ’90s) had been less than stellar, moments like those are what give me hope that R&B lives. Sorry that this opening was off-topic, but I had to get that out there.
To get to the point of the post, I came across an article in the Baltimore Sun by Rashod Ollison, the paper’s pop music critic, about the music of Frankie Beverly and Maze. In a roundabout way, this is related to my first Black Music Month post in that Marvin Gaye helped Maze get a record deal with Capitol Records. Ollison’s article really says everything that you need to know about the group, including how they continue to sell out arenas and tour, even without a hit record or even a recent album release. Some of their songs are considered classics in the R&B tradition, such as “Before I Let Go,” “Joy And Pain” “Happy Feelin’s,” “Back In Stride,” “We Are One,” “Silky Soul” (itself a tribute to Marvin Gaye), and many others.
I was fortunate enough to see this band perform in concert and they were worth the price of admission. They came out, they played their music, the crowd ate it up. Many of the people in the audience were still singing long after the concert was over. I saw them at the Convention Center in Washington, DC, not long after the release of the Silky Soul album. I remember that Regina Belle was the opening act and she hardly got any attention from the audience. The crowd was waiting for Maze; no disrespect for Ms. Belle, who was actually very good if anyone had bothered to pay attention. But when Regina finished, no one was milling about in the crowd; everyone was waiting for what was the “real” show to begin. And Frankie and the band delivered.
Again, it was my cousin and his record collection that introduced me to the band. He had the first five albums the group released, including the Live In New Orleans album that I wore out the grooves to. I bought the cassette (yes I know that dates me) as well and even the DVD of the show. I bought the rest of their output on my own; he paved the way and I followed the path. It’s a path that I’m glad I have followed. The music still doesn’t feel like it’s stuck in its time period, just as Ollison mentioned in his article. His statements regarding “Before I Let Go” are truly on point; anyone from any generation of black America is not only familiar with the song, it never fails to get people to sing along and dance. And I don’t know anyone who doesn’t sing along to the chorus of “Joy And Pain.”
Maze was a band that stuck with what they did, regardless of the trends of the time. They played music that was rooted in traditional R&B and told stories of love and relationships. They did not make concessions to disco, synth-pop, or hip-hop, and yet they still had hit records and gold and platinum albums throughout the time they released their music. They have been and will continue to be a favorite group of mine; their music is timeless.
From their Live In New Orleans performance, here is a version of “Joy And Pain”:
And a live version of “Before I Let Go”:
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