The year was 2001 and every time you turned on urban A/C radio, all you heard was neo-soul. Artists like Jill Scott, Erykah Badu and of course, Maxwell, were tearing up the charts. In particular, the ladies certainly had a thing for the look and sound of Maxwell, who’s album Now represented some of the most thoughtful lyrics and best grooves of the time.
Four years earlier, during his 1997 MTV Unplugged appearance at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Maxwell had wowed the crowd with a stirring tune called “This Woman’s Work.” The crooner’s studio version of the same song ultimately became the second single released from Now and charted an impressive number 16 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. It features Max’s classic falsetto and still has the ladies swooning when he rips the song live.
What many may not have realized at the time was that the song was actually a cover of Kate Bush‘s original composition, which was initially featured on the soundtrack to the 1988 film She’s Having a Baby directed by the iconic John Hughes and starring Kevin Bacon. The British singer later released “This Woman’s Work” as a single from her 1989 album The Sensual World.
Given the song was used in She’s Having a Baby to highlight a child birth crisis, it initially seemed like an odd choice for Maxwell. But over time, it has become one of his signature songs.
Check out both versions below and let us know which you prefer.
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