(including only studio albums. Unplugged to me is just more UHS)

Urban Hang Suite

Embrya

BlackSummersNight

Now

Maxwell has done a tribute to Al Green on BET awhile back , a song called "Simply Beautiful" & Just recently at the Grammy nominations a MJ song "The Lady In My Life" (Michael's best slow jam ever) and a few years back Maxwell (I FORGET WHICH INTERVIEW) said he get's a lot of request for him to do a cover of Switch's "There'll Never Be" It would interesting if some or all of these are apart of Maxwell's upcoming CD's blackSUMMERS'night or blacksummers'NIGHT.

daingermouz2020 said:[quote"The Lady In My Life" ([/quote]

that performance was rot...but anyhoo.

UHS
MTV Unplugged
Now
Blacksummernight
Embrya

I'm probably the only that isn't a big fan of Embrya.

Urban Hang Suite
Embrya
Unplugged
Blacksummer's Night

Now

Urban Hang Suite
BLACKsummers'night
Now
Embrya

You're not alone junebug18; I'm not a huge Embrya fan either.

1. Urban Hang Suite
2. BLACKsummersnight
3. Now
4. Unplugged
5. Embrya

I need to listen to Embrya again. I break that out every 3 years or so, but for some reason it hasn't hit me yet. To me 'Now" and "BLACKsummersnight" are about even, but 'Pretty Wings' puts BSN over. All in all, Maxwell is solid every time out!

For those of you that haven't listened to the Unplugged CD, it's a MUST that you do. The songs are totally different arrangements. And when he takes a Nine Inch Nails song and makes it an R&B and Gospel tinged song...well, that track is worth the cost right there.

And remember, Unplugged is where he first did "This Woman's Work", which (in studio form) ended up on NOW later on.

I don't know why 'Now' gets such a poor reception. 'Lifetime' is on this album!
I think 'Embrya' is simply beautiful. I don't think he'll ever surpass it.


Listening to 'Now.' Great stuff. Oh well . . .
[Edited 12/7/09 19:09pm]

ernestsewell said:

and that is THE version of This Woman's Work

SUPRMAN said:

I don't think Now is "trash" but it's not nearly as well-crafted as an album as UHS, Embrya or even Unplugged for that matter. After the themes of UHS and Embrya, Now just sounded like a collection that was kinda thrown together.

Scrapluv said:

Yep.

ernestsewell said:

over Kate Bush's or of his two versions?

sosgemini said:

Unplugged is one of his two versions (and the first of his two). So yeah, it beats the version on NOW.
[Edited 12/7/09 21:40pm]

i like alot of random singles and stuff from him and think he's great, but the 2 albums i tried to listen to (now, blacksummersnight) were boring as fuck to me

daingermouz2020 said:

Bobby Debarge's falsetto has a strong tone. It doesn't fade into a whisper at it's highest points like Maxwell.

Embrya
^ It's hard to put into words how much I love this album. All I know is "EachHourEachSecond...", "Everwanting", "Matrimony", "Luxury", and "Drowndeep" are the kind of musical experiences you rarely get nowadays. This album lyrically, musically, and vocally excels and take the blueprint of "MUHS" and goes even deeper. It's hard for me to see why fans of Maxwell don't like this album but, hey, to each his own. I think it's his best.

MTV Unplugged
^ AMAZING. It takes the wonderful songs from "MUHS" and makes them sound even better. The new mixes of "...Til The Cops Come Knockin'" and "Suitelady" are particularly exceptional and completely stand on their own in his collection. GO GET THIS EP if you don't have it!

Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite
^ Classic. There's not ONE weak song on here, but I prefer the above two (although "Reunion" could be my favorite song of his, ever). Maxwell gave a wonderful preview into his talent with the debut but just went ALL THE WAY IN with "MTV Unplugged" and "Embrya."

BLACKsummers'night
^ Excellent album that certainly stands out in his collection. The short length is pretty much the only qualm I have with it other than a song or two being somewhat skippable ("Cold", "Help Somebody"). I would have to say while I accept the change-up from a complex, involved sound to something more stripped-down and earthy, the sound he developed with Stuart Matthewman on "MUHS" and "Embrya" is the reason why I am such a big fan today. I secretly hope he hasn't chosen to drop it completely.

Now
^ Very good album, but undoubtedly the weakest. The album continues to grow on me but honestly the songs just aren't as creative or as interesting as those found on his other albums. There are also songs I rarely listen to ("Silenty", "Symptom Unknown", "Now/At The Party"), which I something I could never say about any of his other albums.


Keep in mind, though, that the only album which is more than just negligibly weaker than the one above it is "Now" when compared to "BLACKsummers'night."
[Edited 12/8/09 3:28am]

1) Embrya ****1/2
It took me a couple of years but now it's my fav, cause of it's weirdness

2) MTV Unplugged ****1/2
For the Kate Bush cover and WWW alone

3) Urban Hang Suite ****
Should be no.1, perfect neo-soul album but I overplayed it. Can't listen to
it anymore

4) BLACKsummers'night ****
Solid return, little bit too poppy for my expectations of a Maxwell lp

5) Now ***
Weakest by far

soul4thought said:

I completely agree. That album was like nothing else in R&B at that time and was such a breath of fresh air. It disappointed me that it wasn't as well-received as his first album.

It's still a staple for me in the summertime, especially.

1. Urban Hang Suite
2. Now
3. BLACKsummersnight
4. Unplugged
5. Embrya

vizionheiry said:

yeah But that doesn't mean he couldn't work the hell out of this song.
he's one of the few artist whom I think could make this song there own if given the chance.

Harlepolis said:

sosgemini said:

The reason why Now is #2 is because of the sentimental value it was my 1st introduction into Maxwell's world.

UHS is also the reason why I got into Leon Ware,,,,,and the rest of his produced projects(Esp the underrated One To One from Syreeta ).

I reckon he should do a cover of "Trapped In The Closet".

Urban Hang Suite's out as a 2CD Legacy Edition release next month.

SUPRMAN said:

Yeah, I like Now, too. I can see why some fans are not so enamored with it: it doesn't have the same sense of being a single conceptual piece, like UHS or Embrya. But I always took it that they were going for something more punchy and singles-led, and they pulled it off without compromising the sound. I mean, the writing and the production are still tight, and there's also stuff on there that sounds way different from other RnB of the time, too - like W/As My Girl*, which I always thought sound open and off-kilter, but warm at the same time.

*Embarrassing admission: eight years on, I only just 'got' the title as I typed it!

deebee said:

Can you enlighten me on the title??? I think I kinda understand but not really sure. Always thought it was a weird title.

Now
Unplugged
Embrya
Urban Hang
Black Summers Night

emilio319 said:

I might be wrong (!), but I was thinking that it reads as "As My Girl" and "Was My Girl" sort of superimposed on each other - sort of like something about being at a point of deciding to split or go on, maybe. I remember it was as a reworked version of the song As My Girl that had already appeared on the soundtrack to The Best Man, and which was a kind of upbeat come-on, whereas this one's more reflective and uncertain. I quite like the idea that it's been made as a kind of tragic (or maybe not tragic) sequel.

(I may, of course, be talking absolute twaddle - but that would be nothing new!)

deebee said:

Thanks... That's what I fiugred it meant also but I wasn't sure if maybe I was missing a different meaning.