Product description No Description Available. Genre: Soul/R&B Media Format: Compact Disk Rating: Release Date: 30-JUN-1998 Amazon.com The bass line of the opening track is the first sign, and the smooth funk of the second track confirms it: On Embrya, Maxwell has done it again. Sophomore efforts don't always fare well, especially when an artist is still riding high on the accolades of a debut, but Maxwell has managed to take the exquisite soul of 1996's Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite and, without sacrificing any of its verve, turn it into something far more sophisticated. Not only is Embrya a sublime summer soundtrack, it's a groove masterpiece from start to finish. "Luxury: Cococure," the first single, like "'Til the Cops Come Knockin'" before it, is only the slightest taste of the treasures waiting to be devoured. If you're looking for lush ballads, skip to "Matrimony: Maybe You," the haunting "Know These Things: Shouldn't You," and the sensual slow jam "Gravity: Pushing to Pull" (and yes, nearly all the tracks are subtitled like this). They may not be as yearning as those that detailed his weekend-long tryst on Hang Suite (Maxwell knows better than anyone just how far a little restraint can go), but these tracks are gifts on their own. Put them together and you have an album that does nothing but elevate Maxwell's impeccable reputation as the man who breathed life back into the soul of R&B. --Rebecca Wallwork Review Embrya is brimming with luxurious, lengthy, and often beautiful odes to boning, boho style. Maxwell finds the middle ground between erotic and ethereal as his airy falsetto floats over elegant, elastic rhythms, creating a hushed yet hip-swaying universe of passion. -- Vibe Lapsing into Spanish on one track, then calling on Hawaiian musical references on "Drowning Deep: Hula," Maxwell finds more than one way to seduce listeners. He's definitely an artist to whom others will one day look for ideas and inspiration. -- The Los Angeles Times Maxwell places his songs and malleable croon on a plush bed of lightly pulsating beats, wah-wah guitars, and caressing keyboards. [He] wants to turn off the lights, and Embrya has plenty of pillow talk moments. -- Entertainment Weekly [Like Smokey] Robinson, his way of stroking and stoking a keening ballad is smart, emotive, and tripping over with the light fantastic. His interpretations are just corny and horny enough to twist naked longing into tenderness without sacrificing male pride. -- SpinASIN: B000007T1AVSKU: GGV.B000007T1A.LNCondition: Like NewAuthor/Artist:MaxwellBinding: Audio CD
