After releasing Plays Pretty for Baby in 1992, the Nation of Ulysses began recording a third full-length album, but Steve Kroner separated with the band before the record was completed. The remaining quartet continued to record, but the group eventually dissolved before the record's completion. In 2000, six songs from those sessions, in addition to some live tracks, were compiled and released as The Embassy Tapes.
Pictured on the cover of The Embassy Tapes are the Nation of Ulysses, minus Steve Kroner, posing in front of The Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France.