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Polite and polished, the music amounts to little more than R&B lite with washes of bossa nova and strings.
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The third disc, Bria Valente's Elixer, is a tepid afterthought.
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The problem is that not enough of Elixer sounds strong or fresh.
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A palatable but undistinguished batch of slow- to medium-tempo R&B fare.
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Her ten tracks are disposable, and redeemed only by Prince’s extraordinary production ear.
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Elixir showcases Bria Valente, whose sultry-but-dull vocals don’t foretell great things.
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Her 10 strenuously generic tracks are pure R&B Ambien, and the lady is no Sheila E.
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Valente has a pleasant, if thin, voice--she doesn’t have the chops to elevate this material into anything memorable.
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It's about average for albums from Prince proteges.
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This attempt at old-fashioned star-making might have worked if Bria Valente had a smidgeon of star charisma but she's merely a pleasantly breathy crooner, slipping easily into Prince's shimmering quiet storm production.
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Elixer is at least a more pleasant listen; ignore the Prince mystique and it's a collection of reasonably well-turned pop ballads.