Embrace Me

Liv Warfield | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 11, 2007)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: B&M Records, Inc.
• ASIN: B000IONRLW
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #92,254 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I'll never judge a CD by its cover again!, July 19, 2008

By 

Olukayode Balogun (Leeds, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Embrace Me (Audio CD)

This is another one that was recommended to me by Amazon, based on previous purchases. I took one look at the CD cover, with Warfield's right asset practically falling out of her shirt and I immediately thought, no way. I checked out her song titles and saw that one of them was called "Sophisticated Sista", with no apparent sense of irony and I practically fell off my chair laughing. I was going to ignore the album and move on but Amazon have tended to be spot on with most of their recommendations in the past, so I thought I'd at least give the soundclips a listen. The idiotic smile was immediately wiped off my face.

If ever there was an album illustrating why it's perhaps unwise to judge a CD by its cover, this could possibly be it. This is some deep stuff. For a start, the woman uses real instruments; the opening tune "ABC" actually features upright bass! The music is solid, funky soul with a definite jazzy edge, with lots of extended guitar solos and such. Her lyrics are nowhere near as facile as I had assumed. On "ABC", for instance, she sings about elevating the mind and letting it be free. She touches on some real issues here: there's female empowerment ("Sophisticated Sista"), saying bye-bye to a bad relationship ("Decided"), and "Get Away" and "Feeling Lonely" kind of speak for themselves. The emotion she pours into "Feeling Lonely" is simply mind-blowing.

And that's just four tracks out of eleven. There IS more: "Like a moth to a burning flame, the attraction of your spirit runs deep/ Like laying my head back over running water, I want to wash my roots in your soul," she sings on "Time", as she reminds us that love takes, well, time. THESE are the kinds of lyrics I can get on board with!

Warfield has a deep, warm tone to her voice and all the while I was listening to the album, I was wondering how come I'd never heard of her before now. (This album was released in 2006). She even closes the album with a live rendition of a song called "Brotha Man" and it's obvious this is a woman who can sing on key, on point, and without any assistance in the studio from autotune (you know what I mean, Joe?).

Who knew?

David Whipple (who plays keys on the album) & Darren Bowls provide stellar production. This album was a total surprise and I'll never judge a CD by its cover again. Don't try to slap me. I've already slapped myself.

I only have two reservations and they have nothing to do with the quality of her voice or her music: One, I hope she covers up a bit more on the next album cover and leaves it to the imagination; and two, I really think she might want to try and get away from that horrendous Ebonics practice of using the letter "a" to end words that are spelled ending with "er". It may have been cool back in the 90s (and may well still be cool with less sophisticated or less educated artistes) but surely we've moved on from all that by now?

This is pure excellence. If you're into people like Jill Scott, Chrisette Michele or Ledisi, you may want to check this lady out. I'm already looking out for her next album.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Embrace her!, October 23, 2007

By 

M. Lymore "soulzkidd" (Seattle, Washington United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Embrace Me (Audio CD)

Liv Warfield Embrace Me real music is at it's peak don't skip on this one this girl is bad.If you love real R&B music add this artist to your catalog believe me you won't be a bit disappointed. Every song is a winner.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Can really sing!, November 17, 2007

By 

S. Pettis (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Embrace Me (Audio CD)

This is a very well done album. All the tracks are very good and as opposed to a lot of better known performers, this lady can really sing. I have caught her live and you get a taste of that on the last track on the CD. If you like jazzy, funky R&B you will really like, probably love this album. I bought several CD's at the show and handed them out to friends and it is unanimous, we're looking forward to her next project. Some major label would be smart to pick her up and then not tinker with her sound. Let her do her thing and with a little promotion ( a lot would be better) she will blow up.