Meant to Be Mint (1992)

The Twin Cities sextet Mint Condition has a top 10 single, ''Breakin' My Heart (Pretty Brown Eyes).'' It's a sweetly seductive slow jam, destined to be appearing at a prom near you, but it's just a taste of what the group can do. Whether they're singing effervescently funky buppie love songs, the new-jack lite ''Do U Wanna,'' Take 6-esque jazz harmonies on the exuberant ''Try My Love,'' or the out-and-out nasty, pedal-to-the-metal crunch of ''I Wonder if She Likes Me,'' Mint Condition can shift musical gears without letting you see them sweat. A little sweat wouldn't hurt, though. The record sounds great, but it's shallow. By touching so many stylistic bases, Mint Condition shoots itself in the foot, creating a sound that's commercially expedient (and not bad for a party), but that in the long run can be less than satisfying. For all the group's good intentions and grooves, there ain't a lot of soul in this R&B odyssey titled Meant to Be Mint. B-