Mint Condition | Music @ The Speed Of Life

Mint Condition Music @ the Speed of Life (Shanachie Ent.) By Peggy Oliver

Longevity is a rare commodity in the world of show business, especially for the sake of musical ensembles. Many bands remain for a long time but their personnel moves are a constant for whatever the reason. Thankfully there are high quality bands who are able to maintain their core members; persevering through the long course of recording, touring and other media commitments. Mint Condition has weathered this relentless course since its inception, losing only keyboard player Keri Lewis in 2005. They are also rooted in a strong musical legacy out of Minneapolis that boasts mega producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, gospel choir The Sounds of Blackness and funk master Prince. In an R&B/soul world where vocal groups predominately rule, Mint Condition remains one of the few influential bands standing today that is self-contained – from the instrumentation replete with jazz, hip-hop and funk to their production and arranging – driven by Stokley’s electrifying lead voice.

From their heyday with Jam & Lewis’s Perspective Records in the nineties to independent soul icons in the millennium, Mint Condition follows their 2011 Shanachie Entertainment release 7 with release number eight, Music @ the Speed of Life, filled with M.C.’s perspective of life’s joys and triumphs. The first single, “Believe in Love” is one of several tracks reminiscent of Mint Condition’s magnetic ballads from the nineties: “Would you believe in trust like I believe in trust…” The inspirational “Blessed” leans more toward the modern R&B side with a smidgeon of funk:  “In this world I just got to remember / So blessed to have you right here by my side.” The Minneapolis sound strikes big on the mid-tempo jam, “Never Hurt Again,” topped by a talk box solo by Bobby Avila. “If I had you / You would never hurt again.” On the opposite side of love, the old-school frosted “Nothin’” denounces a former significant other:  “Because you lied to me, I want you out of my world.”

What makes M.C. a stand out is their willingness to occasionally step out of the smooth soul box while relaying fascinating storylines. “Girl of My Life,” about a M.C. member still looking for a permanent love of his life, is densely layered with spacey scratches by DJ Jazzy Jeff and climaxed by a fiery drum solo from Stokley backed by equally fiery strings and brass. “649 Changes,” featuring a rap by The Rhymesayers’ Brother Ali, documents M.C. saxophonist Jef’s (multi-generational) childhood.

Mint Condition’s sophomore project was entitled Definition of a Band. That was in 1996. Sixteen years later with Music @ the Speed of Life, their longevity as a band still lives up to that album title.

Four and three quarters out of five stars.

Peggy Oliver
The Urban Music Scene