Bria Valente – Lotusflower / MPLSound / Elixer

The notes here say "one song is replaced on the subsequent physical editions". For those curious to know more about that... "The Morning After" appears as the 3rd track in the "lotusflow3r.com" version where "Crimson And Clover" appears on the CD. Why this is the case is anybody's guess.

2nd Album Revolution # 5:

There are times where myself and the public totally disagree on curtain albums...."Prince's" "Lotusflower / MPLSound", along with protegee, "Bria Valente's" album, "Elixer" is one of them....

Now getting "Elixer" out the way, it's a nice offering, but to me nothing groundbreaking....Songs like, "All This Love" and the "Title Track" featuring "Prince", are cool, but in my opinion, nothing more...

Now, let's get to the NITTY GRITTY...

With "Lotusflower", you have a "Soul Rock" vibe...

Redoing "Tommy James's & the Shondells" "Crimson & Clover" is brilliant!!! It was like he wrote the song himself....

The 2 Crown Jewels "4ever" and "Colonized Mind" are ABSOLUTE STANDOUTS!!!! "Prince's" guitar playing on both of these ts are just straight stunning!!!!!!

"Feel Good, Feel Better, Feel Wonderful" is just him having a straight up good time...

Then "Dreamer" is a musicians "Dream"....

Now for, "MPLSound"....

"(There'll Never B) Another Like Me" is "Prince" telling the straight up TRUTH!!!!

"Chocolate Box" (feat. "Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest") and "Dance 4 Me" are strictly for the Dance Floor....

"Better With Time" and "Ol' Skool Company", puts the "Young Folks" on notice...

Then it caps off with "No More Candy 4 U", that has that kooky taunt going on....

Once again we need a Vinyl release here...I do believe personally that if people take a deeper listen to this, they would give this a better chance.....

Well, that's my thought process on this one....

Mostly forgettable tracks here, but believe it or not, the one song I really LOVE here is Bria's "All This Love". Too bad it was completely overlooked though.

Here in the UK, the album retailed at £39.99, which for a three CD disc set housed in a slipcase with no liner notes or lyrics is somewhat shoddy.

It's a pretty decent release altogether. Much in the vein of Crystal Ball and even Planet Earth, most of the Prince tracks in Lotusflower sound more strewn together than anything truly cohesive. Some of these tracks could be years old, only now getting their chance to shine on an official release, but that's just speculation.

With that said the music is still pretty steady in style and energy; Lotusflow3r is more rock-oriented, while MPLSoUND goes more towards the funkier presentation Prince's music; I prefer the latter but enjoy both for the most part. There are a few dullards and filler pieces on both CD in my opinion, but even if I liked only about half of the tracks given I still wouldn't be too upset.

The big problem I have with it, however, is the Elixer album. Why did Prince think it was a good idea to release his 'protege's' debut with some of his? Alone I wouldn't have bought it, and I only feel taken advantage of with it being pushed on me while it's obvious what I was really looking for. Then again, I could just the whole deal off as getting a free bonus CD, providing if that CD were any good. Simply put, it sucks. It's the typical female R&B standards that were spewed out by the hundreds for decades now. Bria Valente has a great voice, but there are tons of people who have great voices, and there's nothing unique about her voice so what's the big deal? The music is all extremely typical slow-beat mellow-melody stuff that all sound like Prince throw-aways. Honestly I could find a dozen R&B albums in a bargain bin somewhere that are the same-if not better-quality.

Another smaller issue is with the CD's themselves; when I ripped the Prince CD's to my computer they displayed the same information as Lovesexy and 1999; I had to rewrite the info like 3 times to get it all right.

Anyway, good for what it is, but don't expect anything truly special.