Elixer

NPG Records

The more you listen, the more you get it.

Bria Valente (real name Brenda Fuentes), a fellow Minnesotan, had known Prince since the early 1990s when introduced to him at Paisley Park by Morris Hayes when she was aged 17. Valente was a model and dancer for Usher and sung on his 2001 album, and after a chance meeting met Prince again in 2007 and lent her backing vocals to Mister Goodnight for his album Planet Earth and Song Of The Heart. She and Prince started dating, shortly after, and in 2007 produced a solo album for her, named Elixer (an intentional misspelling of ‘elixier’), in which she sings all lead vocals, laid down at Paisley Park Studios.

Prince co-wrote every song with her and solely wrote Kept Woman. The album was released on 29 March 2009 as part a triple CD set with LotusFlow3r and MPLSound exclusively through US store chain Target. The trio were earlier available as MP3 downloads from Prince’s official website lotusflow3r.com from 24 March, for one year, and the physical package peaked at number 2 on Billboard’s album chart. Valente’s relationship with Prince lasted approximately two years.

Data

Production

Prince and Bria Valente

Label

NPG Records

Distribution

NPG Records

Released

12 years, 0 months ago on 24 March 2009

Running Time

44:45

US Chart Peak

2 (part of a 3-disk set with LotusFlow3r and MPLSound)

UK Chart Peak

No Release

Orig. Formats

Tracklist

Here Eye Come (4:28)
All This Love (4:39)
Home (4:26)
Something U Already Know (5:44)
Everytime (3:50)
2Nite (5:02) ¹
Another Boy (3:56) ¹
Kept Woman (4:15)
Immersion [feat. Prince] (4:02)
Elixer [duet with Prince] (4:00)

¹ Released as singles.

Singles from Elixer

Another Boy

NPG Records

Released

30 September 2008

US Chart Peak

UK Chart Peak

Format

Another Boy (3:41)

2Nite

Purple Music

Released

23 February 2012

US Chart Peak

UK Chart Peak

Formats

2Nite [Jamie Lewis Deep Session Mix] (7:32)
2Nite [David Alexander Club Remix] (6:56)
2Nite [Jamie Lewis Radio Mix] (3:36)
2Nite [David Alexander Radio Mix] (5:28)
2Nite [Jamie Lewis Deep Session Instrumental] (7:29)

Elixer – review

Elixer attracted an unfair press from fans and to this day that remains unclear whether this was aimed at her rather than the work itself. Negative reviews it can be recalled were likewise levied at Mayte in 1996, when your reviewer witnessed fans’ faces drop as If Eye Love U 2 Nite was played over the PA ahead of the concerts on the Ultimate Live Experience Tour, which would have been justified had that album not been as great as it was. We find ourselves in the same position with Elixer. The vocals are smooth and on point and the music (well that’s Prince playing after all) is flawless. Take for example Something U Already Know, with that lovely night-time feel and gentle lounge act, Supremes, feel. Bria’s club tune is 2Nite injects a hardedged sound. The lead is Another Boy, a dreamy lullaby of song that rises and soars, and again the production is as solid as you would expect from Paisley Park. The production quality is tight and underlined with Kept Woman. Prince appears on Immersion and Elixer, but Bria holds her own admirably. The haters will hate, but we should have heard much more from her.

Elixer is rated 3.5 out of 5 by Goldies Parade.