Customer Reviews

The Chair in the Doorway

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

How did this happen? Where did THIS come from, and do we deserve it?

No...we don't.

I love this band, and you do too. This collection of songs has been put together over the years in many studios in many countries with songs co-written by many people over a period of time when nobody was thinking of them. Sneak attack. I feel like a 10 year-old on the playground that just got suckerpunched by a girl who liked me-shocked, and pleased...

The songs...you have the riffs, the beats, the soul...there is a STRONG emphasis on SONGS here...Vernon keeps his much-loved SKRONK to a minimum...and to SUPERIOR effect. Corey sounds truly AWESOME, while Doug and Will lay the foundation down SOLID.

Long story short-for me, this is a record I continue to return to time and again...4 plays in one day by a guy with thousands of cds (yeah, I still buy those plastic things...call me a luddite).

Living Colour in 2009...who knew??? The production is warm and fuzzy, and the vibe is anything BUT funny...(sorry). The sound of great musicians getting together when the feeling is right...and getting it right.

Woulda been 5 stars...but come on..."Time's Up" only happens once a career, if at ALL.

Thanks again Will, Corey, Doug and Vernon...you still got it, BIG TIME.

P.S.-The BONUS TRACK? It's about me.

In all honesty, I'd probably give this one more like 3.5 stars, but I'm rounding up to 4 instead of down to 3 for two reasons: first, a band this great just deserves it. This is one seriously talented and under-rated band that's delivered a lot of incredible music over the last 20+ years! And second, I've only listened a couple of times, and just like their last two albums (1993's "Stain" and 2003's "Collideoscope") I'm sure this one will grow on me after a few more listens.

Which is not to say it's not GOOD (it is!), but I still find LC's first two albums to be unquestionably their best. Vivid (1988) and Time's Up (1990) had such tremendous variety in sound and style and yet through all of both of them flowed the band's signature sound while giving us many of their best songwriting efforts. "Stain" in 1993 saw them get mega-heavy and rely on an almost industrial metal sound with mixed results, but it was still a mostly solid effort with some really great tracks ("Nothingness" might be the best thing they've ever recorded).

And most people will think that brings us to this new record, but they did put out an album in 2003 when they reformed after temporarily disbanding in 1995. It was called "Collideoscope", and while the production on that one is questionable, the songs and performances are not (although I could have done without the cover of AC/DC's "Back In Black"). For any fans of the band that didn't realize they were back, "Collideoscope" is recommended even though the guys in the band tend to dismiss it in interviews as "rushed" and "un-focused". I think it might be better than "Stain" and possibly better than their latest release as well...

Which does bring us to "The Chair In The Doorway". This is a more commercial sounding record than "Stain" and is definitely a better recorded, mixed and produced album than "Collideoscope," but song-wise, it still falls short of their best work. However, "less-than-their-best" from Living Colour is still pretty damn good. This is a real live rock and roll band not afraid to vary their sound and push some boundaries, and with plenty of musical muscle to pull it off. In this day and age, that is increasingly difficult to find, so on that alone, this cd is worth exploring if you're into hard rock that's not afraid to incorporate other styles as well.

"Behind The Sun" takes a great groove and nice repeated guitar lick from Vernon Reid to deliver a song that approaches greatness, but lyrically and melodically, I don't think the song ever quite fully takes off. "Bless Those" is a song I believe performed in concert going a year or more back and originally sung by bassist Doug Wimbish, but the vocals on the recorded version found here are turned over to lead singer Corey Glover which greatly improves this track.

My personal fave is "Young Man", which is musically agressive, yet with a groove, and incorporates a brief borrowing from "Cha Cha Slide" by Mr. C! (move to the left... now back to the right!). Interesting choice, but it works to remind us that while Living Colour are incredibly talented musicians who are intelligent and not afraid to write songs with a message, music is also meant to be fun, and this little insertion shows that Living Colour haven't forgotten that.

I won't go on with a track-by-track description, but suffice to say if you're already a Living Colour fan, this is another solid effort you'll want to add to your collection. If you're not a fan (or you like them but only know them from their radio hits like "Cult of Personality," "Glamour Boys," "Type" or "Love Rears Its Ugly Head"), this album is still recommended, although I would explore "Vivid" or "Time's Up" first if you don't already have those. Both are available used for dirt cheap here on Amazon and are among the best albums from ANY band over the last 20 years.

Regardless of which cd's you do or don't have, check this band out live if you get the chance. They are on tour in 2009 and they deliver the goods each and every night with a nice cross-section of their best songs from all of their albums.

I mean it. I never review albums but I love this record. Defo the best Living Colour record since Vivid.

I surprised I have not heard much news on this band as they have produced a gret record an should really do well from it.

The sounds is very Living Colour and its different to whats out there in a good way. It sounds fresh, rocks and has a heart.

Six years after the good but poorly produced Collideoscope, Living Colour is back with an exceptional release. The Chair in the Doorway is by far the best album I've heard this year. It is also the band's best release since Time's Up. In a way, it could their most cohesive work, as every song seems to speak to the others. Every song is a killer but the albums works even better as whole: it is more than the sum of its parts. The sound is heavy as usual (Decadance and Out of my Mind are particularly agressive), but there is room for melody and groove. One of Living Colour's main virtues is their ability to combine musicianship and experimentation with a strong pop sensibility. That balance is very present in this album, especially in songs like Burned Bridges, That's what you taught me and first single Behind the Sun, which features one of Vernon Reid's most mesmerizing riffs (a tapped arpeggio that will drive guitar players nuts). The arrangements are complex and intrincate, it takes several listens to get all the details. The exception is Bless Those, a delicious mix of blues, rock and funk that features simply the band playing live in the studio (with Vernon playing some mean slide guitar). The band is incredibly inspired in this album, especially Corey Glover, who gives us a handful of mesmerizing performances. This is the album all Living Colour fans have been waiting. I highly recommend it to every music fan on the planet. What's your favorite colour? LIVING COLOUR!!

Living Colour is one of the most unappreciated great bands. From their debut, Vivid, through Time's Up (in my opinion their masterpiece), and Stain, they were a versatile, extraordinary fusion of funk, hard-rock, and a whole lot in between. I was very pleased when they reunited some years back and came out with Collideoscope - and The Chair in the Doorway is an even better album.

Though firmly entrenched in hard rock, some of the eclecticism of their earlier albums has returned. I particularly like songs like "Young Man" and "Bless Those," which marry great beats with Reid's still-amazing guitar work. Corey Glover's at his best when he can let loose on a great melody, and there's no shortage of those here as well.

20+ years after Vivid, Living Colour's still going strong.

Been a hardcore fan of this band since the beginning, and IMHO, this is their best yet! I literally cannot stop spinning this cd. GET IT NOW!

There are certian facts of life a guy just can't get away from: you're gonna die, you gotta pay taxes, there will never be another real Beatles album, and you just can't go wrong buying one by Living Color.

True, this album does not thread together as well as Vivid or Times Up--but then again, the whole idea of an album as a piece has suffered a lot since the late 1980s, if I had to find a band that really still understand how to do it right, I would put my money on these guys.

There are, of course, with many great albums and all Living Color albums, many styles here: funk, avant-metal punk, jazzy work, soul. But if you listen to solo work by either Vernon Ried or Cory Glover and then go back and here this, you realize, it is synergy. Like the Beatles, it is not the playing, it is not the singing, it is not the writting, it is not the amazing way all the styles are meshed together to make one big wonderful lump of music that runs through virtually every African Amerian style, and some not so African American.

It is four talented players that always meet at the right place at the right time and, together, always make the music bigger than the sum of the parts.

Much bigger. Almost as wide and massive as music itself.

A fine return to form - if you consider 1993's "Stain" a hard rock benchmark. For me, 2004's "Collideøscope" had some very good moments ("Song without Sin", "Flying" and "In your Name") but sounded too much like a bunch of half-baked home-studio experiments to maintain my interest for a whole album. Plus it had not one but two cover versions AND a song that had previously been released on their 1995 compilation! Lazy! On the other hand, "The Chair in the Doorway" is focused, punchy and with enough electronic high-jinks to keep a fresh edge. It took a few listens, mind. All band members turn out solid performances - something we should demand, given their track record: Cory Glover has the pipes of an angry angel, Reid is still equal parts genius and nutter, Wimbish takes a restrained approach (welcome!) and Calhoun's chops are more tasty than a fine Burgundy. Most of the songs are definitely at the heavier end of Living Colour's repertoire, which I have to say is no bad thing. Another review on the web said that the sheer heaviness blunts the album's effect; I disagree but would say that the mix (or is it just Vernon Reid's guitar?) can get a bit too mid-friendly and sometimes sounds muddy when not soloing. But the bottom line is that the songs are all pretty good: not too "noisy", not too meandering, and even "That's What You Taught Me", a tune I thought was a not-so-veiled attempt at the singles chart, ultimately won me over. Overall, Living Colour has made a great little album with enough variations on their signature sound to keep it exciting. Not a classic but 4 stars should suffice.

What a fun album. Good Rock riffs...excellent guitar and drums. First rate vocals. Some funky beats and provocative lyrics. I have loved this band since Vivid. Back in the day I went to the Rolling Stones concert (because they opened) and left after they opened and sold my ticket to a Stones fan.

This is a great album, a few stand out songs. I still find myself humming the tune to AXX-Hole. Sample the songs and give the album a try. Not your typical cookie cutter repeat boy band. Actual music from artists, not corporations.

One of the best, most original bands to come out of the 80's, Living Colour is back with a new disc, "The Chair in the Doorway".
After listening to the new disc a few times it took me back to what drew me to them in the first place; Corey Glover's blistering vocals, Vernon Reid's blazing guitar playing and the very fine rthymn section of Doug Wimbish and Will Calhoun.
This is some of the band's best music since their ground-breaking debut "Vivid".
If you want some great hard rock music by one of rock's most talented and under appreciated bands, check this out.