Over the next couple of weeks, Backbeat will feature some Top Ten lists from around the Village Voice Media chain. Click here for previous year-in-review coverage from Backbeat and VVM.Americans who still think of Latin music as mariachi bands and
gyrating Ricky Martins and Shakiras might want to lend a closer ear to
the genre. This country's Hispanic population isn't just growing, it's
growing more diverse. More and more unique musical styles are being
gobbled up, and that should come as good n
Maxwell
BLACKsummers' night
(Columbia)
Eight years have passed since Now, Maxwell's previous album. Fortunately, though, he's lost none of his musical sophistication, and he remains in possession of an impressively wide-ranging skill set -- one that allows him to achieve most, if not all, of his ambitions. Rather than easing into his return recording, he arrives astride "Bad Habits," a complex creation that requires him to shift vocal textures -- from falsetto to full-throated crooning a
