Customer Rating:  
Summary: Minty, but not the total mint flavor...5 out of 11 good tracks
Comment: Early r&b was the best and these guys were not like the rest, they were a band and played their own instruments. My five are, Someone To Love, U Send Me Swingin, So Fine, Back To Your Lovin' and Always.
We are not all the same so whatever I say, may or may not help you but, I think what someone has to do is find a review who has similar taste in music and check out their other reviews.
Customer Rating:
Summary: "Mint Condition is the best band in the land"
Comment: What can you say about a group of fellas who is dedicated to the real definition of "music", and to one another called a "band". They take my breath away each time I see them perform live. The engery is so live,and my daddy always told me if a band sounds better live than they do on an album then they are truly muscians. And that is what MC is. Get this alblum, get them all, you will not be disappointed at all. I love Mint Condition forever.
Customer Rating:
Summary: UNHERALDED CLASSIC R&B
Comment: Much has been debated about the demise of the band within black music. From the mid-' 60s to the mid-'80s, packs of self contained singers, rhythm sections and horn players ruled the land. They were not only able to reproduce records exactly as you heard them on the radio, the amazing showmanship chops, dazzling choreography and charisma. Though their reputations were rarely staked upon it, most of these bands were well versed in all styles of music. Beyond R&B, they could usually hold their own in whatever vibe was called for. But as disco morphed into techno and hip hop strains, and records began to be more producer-powered than musician-driven, bands slowly faded from the landscape. One band had the fortitude, talent and multiplicity to keep the torch not just lit, but BLAZING. That band is Mint Condition.
"From The Mint Factory" is probably one of the BEST and yes I say BEST R&B/Soul albums in the last 25 years. It has everything from Afro-Carribean to Blues to Contemporary to Funk to Jazz to Rock and is held captive to no genre of music. Mint Condition is the only R&B act that can play to any vibe and do it at a superior level. Check out the dizzingly hooky "U Send Me Swingin'", or the searing guitars on the soaring ballad "So Fine" and the masterfully arranged "Someone To Love". Other standouts are the rock inspired "Fidelity" and the whisper smooth "Ten Million Strong". I would put Mint Condition in the same class as the Legendary Earth, Wind and Fire, Parliament, Frankie Beverly and Maze and Kool and the Gang.
Mint Condition is one of those better bands, but their biggest hurdle has always been that they were a R&B band with no outlet to be a R&B band. What's more, unlike the rock and country genres, there is almost no American infrastructure for live Soul music. I believe that is the reason this LP is so overlooked. Perhaps Mint Condition came too soon to the music business to truly be appreciated, trying to make their old school skills appreciated amidst a '90s scene that was deeply entrenched in the last days of New Jack Swing and the heyday of Puff Daddy's shiny suit rap. But as any good band does, they developed a strong and loyal fanbase.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Comment: Truly excellent! These guys are the best. And, deserve so much more credit. I can listen to "So Fine" on repeat all day.
Customer Rating:
Summary: AH! The Memories!
Comment: Mint Condition... this was a band that made their mark in the early 90's with two sensational albums. Of course they've made more sense but to me, the first two were the best and most notable. Especially this one - "From the Mint Factory".
What can I say? I get so many memories about this. What I loved about this album was the highlights on the actual music and melodies along with the crazy soul and funk in the cuts. Just check out the track "Swingin'". Talk about mixing ballads and beats! Or how about the climaxing in with "Fidelity". As I remember the cuts on this, I feel drawn to put this sweet album in again and remember some of the other hightlights of 2003... Chicago Bull's 3rd championship, North Carolina beats Michigan with Chris Webber and the infamous "time-out", Toronto wins the World Series, Beavis & Butt-head take hold of America. HEY... all of this is better than "Whoomp! There it is!" or the cheap knock-off that came later.
I highly recommend it. I look back to some of the bands that were also out at the time... Jodeci, Silk, Shai... and while those were good bands, Mint Condition was my band of choice because of just how ALIVE the music was, and how un-predictable they were. Then again I grew up with siblings significantly older that were into Marshall Jefferson on one side then Fishbone blasting on the other, so there you go! Check this out!
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