Customer Reviews

From the Mint Factory

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
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Mint Condition is my favorite R&B Group period. It is a damn shame that a band as talented as them have not gotten the props they deserve. Unlike their other R&B counterparts they write,produce,and play live instruments.They probably could not point out a beat machine if their lives depended on it.This album is filled with classic MC songs such as the hypnotic ballad"You send me swingin."Which is one of my favorite songs of all time and other classic songs such as "Someone to love","Always","So Fine", and the mid tempo infectious "Nobody does it better." Which is a song that should be based on their music. This is a sick Cd from start to finish. What bothers me most about the music industry is that Talented bands like MC don't recieve substantial video or radio play.However, artist such as Tyrese and Tank who really have no talent recieve ample airplay, and end up going platinum off that "One" hot song they have on their whole cd.It just goes to show how watered down the industry has become and how you really don't need talent to make it in the industry. At least with MC you can rest assuure that with any one of their cd's you are definitely going to get a double dose of great instrumentation, heartfelt ballads and lyrics, and the complete embodiement of what a band or group should be. This album as well as all the other albums will definitely stand the test of time! Real music always does. Nobody does it like Mint Condition!,ya dig!

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.

Mint Condition is my favorite R&B Group period. It is a damn shame that a band as talented as them have not gotten the props they deserve. Unlike their other R&B counterparts they write,produce,and play live instruments.They probably could not point out a beat machine if their lives depended on it.This album is filled with classic MC songs such as the hypnotic ballad"You send me swingin."Which is one of my favorite songs of all time and other classic songs such as "Someone to love","Always","So Fine", and the mid tempo infectious "Nobody does it better." Which is a song that should be based on their music. This is a sick Cd from start to finish. What bothers me most about the music industry is that Talented bands like MC don't recieve substantial video or radio play.However, artist such as Tyrese and Tank who really have no talent recieve ample airplay, and end up going platinum off that "One" hot song they have on their whole cd.It just goes to show how watered down the industry has become and how you really don't need talent to make it in the industry. At least with MC you can rest assuure that with any one of their cd's you are definitely going to get a double dose of great instrumentation, heartfelt ballads and lyrics, and the complete embodiement of what a band or group should be. This album as well as all the other albums will definitely stand the test of time! Real music always does. Nobody does it like Mint Condition!,ya dig!

While I absolutely love hip hop music (I'm a South Bronx native who remembers the genesis of the artform) I am somewhat dissapointed by the subsequent fall of true Rhythm & Blues (thank you Teddy Riley!). It is difficult to find any contemporary Black artist that touch me with the same energy that Stevie Wonder or Earth Wind & Fire did in my youth. Though not on the level of "Songs in the Key of Life", "From the Mint Factory" is the very best of Mint Condition to date. While other Mint albums have produced better singles, none were as consistently good from beginning to end as FTMF. The instrumental continuity of this album gives you the feeling of listening to a concert where one song just flows into another. Stokley demonstrates what true soul vocals are (check out "So Fine") without sounding dated. More importantly MC show that a real band cannot be bound by categories when it has soul (check the differences in style between "Fidelity" & "10 Million Strong"). There is no single song on this album that is enough, it keeps your attention from start to finish. Though released in the middle of the hip-hop/r&b heyday, the music speaks for itself without the benefit of flashy videos or gimmicks. In retrospect, this may be the finest "Real R&B" album of the 90's.

Mint Condition is by far the best R&B band in history and while they have been terribly ignored by mainstream attention, they have created a level of music no group has ever touched.

I became an instant fan in 1991 and I continue to be a true blue fan. No Mint Condition album has ever disappointed me and it's because every effort put into them is straight from the heart. This album was one of my favorites because it contained " So Fine " one of the most beautiful ballads I've ever heard. From the minute the album begans, Stokley's heavenly vocals takes you from the grips of Heaven to unchanted waters with blues and jazz sequences only Mint Condition could create. This is a MUST buy for Mint Condition fans and like their other albums, you get your money's worth and more!

Long Live The Mint!

Although I enjoyed listening to songs like "Breakin' My Heart" and "Forever In Your Eyes" from Mint Condition's first album Meant To Be Mint, I wasn't really interested in buying it. But I got a wake up call when I heard tracks from this album. From The Mint Factory is a very good album, contrary to popular opinion from my friends (this came out when I was in seventh grade, and it wasn't cool for guys to be listening to any non-rap albums).

Things start out right with the intro, "Welcome To The Mint Factory". That's one thing I've always enjoyed about this band: even the interludes are entertaining. There's also the innovative "My High" and the catchy "Gumbo". But let's not forget about the full-fledged songs. There are smooth ballads like "So Fine" and the low-pitched but still enjoyable "10 Million Strong", as well as my two favorite tracks, "U Send Me Swingin'" (who DOESN'T like that song?) and "Always".

Since I didn't hear much of Mint Condition's first album except for the two aforementioned singles, I was a little skeptical when I found out that some songs on here are uptempo. But the fast songs are actually good. "If The Feeling's Right" is irresistibly catchy, and "Nobody Does It Betta" is another one of those so-simple-yet-so-dope songs...the lyrics ("If you don't feel good/Then I don't feel good/Don't you know I love you so crazy"), the production, and the vocals.

So, this sophomore offering from Mint Condition is enough to keep anyone happy. They've never made anything close to a bad CD, and while Definition Of A Band remains their best work, this album, as well as their other albums, isn't far behind. Pick it up.

Well This Is One Of My Favorite Albums By My Favorite Band
Mint Condition.The Album Starts With A Funky Song "Nobody Does It Betta" Then The Sexy "If The Feeling's Right" Then The Ballad
"Devotion" & "Someone To Love,U Send Me Swingin'.And My Favorite
Song Smoothy "10 Million Strong" And The Funky "Gumbo,Good For Your Heart".And Stokley (lead singer) Song & Smooth "Harmony".
Then "So Fine" Just Did It For The Whole CD.Here Ballads Come In Some More "Back To Your Lovin, Always, Baile De Febrero." Then The Funky & Rock Song "My High & Fidelity" MINT CONDITION FAN BABY!

"From The Mint Factory" may very well be the most well-put-together album of the last 25 years. With solid Production value and unstoppable grooves, Mint Condition has it all. Artists who can actually play their instruments and perform their vocals without a lot of studio "gloss", MC puts together an album that flows from start to finish. I can't recommend this album enough to anyone who wants to hear the creme de la creme of Urban Contemporary R&B. It deserves many more than five stars, but I suppose reviews must have limits.

BEING A DEVOTED MINT FAN FOR YEARS, I'D RECOMMEND ALL R&B LISTENERS TO BUY IT AND IF ANYONE OUT THERE COULD TELL ME HOW I COULD GET THE CD REMIX OF, YOU SEND ME SWINGIN, I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE IT.

This alibum has so many tight tracks, you could put it on repeat and just jam!!! Check out "Nobody Does It Better," "If The Feeling Right", "You Send Me Swingin'"....damn, just BUY the thing!!! If you like genuine music, you will be satisfied!!!