Customer Reviews

Time's Up

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Since hearing Vernon Reid's blistering solo on Cult of Personality, I was a Living Colour fan. I actually found the rest of Vivid a little too poppy, and Times Up took several months to grow on me.

It is a far more mature and thoughful work than Vivid, and is one of those albums that always seems to reveal new textures and layers on every listen - that's what keeps me coming back for more. It's a testament to solid production and brilliant musicianship.

As much as I am blown away by Reid's playing outside the boundaries, the rest of the band hold it down equally well. Listen to the interplay between Muzz Skillings' chatty bass and William Calhoun's frenetic drumming on songs like "This Is The Life" - which bears some resemblance to Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir", with its lazy Bonham-like drums and eastern scales. Calhoun, like Reid, is jazz trained and it's evident in the way he can improvise within a groove.

A standout track for me is "Under Cover of Darkness", a funk laden work which lyrically deals with issues of sex and intimacy, and features a ring modulated guitar solo and beautiful bass riffs.

I really feel that black bands, especially stereotype-smashing ones such as Living Colour and Fishbone, did not (do not?) get the recognition and airplay they deserve - and there have been plenty of imitators since.

Consider this album part of an alternative history lesson in rock music.

Arguably their best album, although it does sound a little dated in 2004. Nonetheless, these are incredible musicians, all are at the top of their game here. Corey's singing is amazing, Vernon's a genius who sounds like he's from another planet on much of the album, Will has impeccable timing, and Muzz Skillings (who never really got his props like his replacement, Doug Wimbish did) plays the bass like he has extra fingers. Amazing and sorely underappreciated in its time. It's really too bad after all this time, things they sing about are still going on, including having a Bush in office. Sigh.....

This disc shows just how fabulous rock 'n' roll can be. Cory Glover's vocals are stunningly expressive. Vernon Reid's guitar is genious. The lyrics to songs shed true light on the human condition and in some cases insspire: "THIS IS THE LIFE YOU HAVE!!!" Oh ... and it will rock your socks off. If you can't groove to this disc, you ain't got no groove.

"Vivid" was a great album, but "Time's Up" upped the ante and is one of my favorite albums of all time. It's a brilliant collection of songs with a wide range of influences spanning heavy metal, calypso, blues, jazz and hip hop. The rhythm section is tight, Vernon Reid's guitar blazes and the songwriting is creative with many dissonant and fulfilling chord choices.

My favorite tracks are the dark and dissonant "Love Rears its Ugly Head," "Elvis is Dead" (Elvis has left the building!), the hard driving "Type" and "Under the Cover of Darkness" (with Queen Latifah). The best track of all however is the closer "This is the Life," an epic piece with an inspiring message - "this is the life you have!"

Time's Up is a timeless classic.

This 1990 release actually altered the way I listen to music, ALL music. I was a lad of 21 the first time I heard it and my senses still haven't recovered. The differences between this LP and thier debut "Vivid" are so shocking they may scare away listeners upon first listen. The first thing you notice is the sound of the music; everything here sounds recorded live in the studio and consist mostly of first takes. "Times Up" is a terrifying vision of the impending apocalypse and the bands' blistering delivery drives home the immediacy of the message. Every member of Living Colour is in tip-top form on this opening salvo; drummer William Calhoun is the first one you hear and he introduces this hardcore/punk track with 2 hard snare beats and slams right into the fray with guitarist Vernon Reid and bassist Muzz Skillings thrashing along at such a frantic pace it leaves you breathless. And when lead vocalist Corey Glover enters, wailing 'times up, the rivers have no life, times up, the world is full of strife, times up, the sky is falling, times up, the Lord is calling!', the urgency in his voice is enough to give you chills, for my money, this is the best opening song of any rock album ever. If you're still standing after this track, you'll be blessed with the oppurtunity to catch your breath as "History Lesson" schools you in the significance of music in the Negro/Slave experience (it features sound bites from historical films narrated by Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee and the basso profundo of James Earl Jones). Further driving home the point is "Pride" a blistering heavy rock tune that's significant because it merely exists, and it establishes a recurring theme heard throughout the remainder of "Times Up"(check out Vernon's open-tuned heavy riffing on the bridge of the song right before he launches into his solo, it's a moment of headbangers bliss!) "Love Rears It's Ugly Head" is a virtual showcase for vocalist Corey Glover as his voice dips and soars, perfectly conveying the complex web of emotions faced by most men as they prepare for a long commitment and the inevitable walk down the isle ('I'm not going!,I'm not going!)it's one of a couple of songs that will make you chuckle and think at the same time. Two songs about crisis in the Black community follow: "New Jack Theme" and "Someone Like You"(the latter written by bassist Skillings) and both detail in very plain language just how fragile Black life in the 90's really is. Very insightful. The hilariously over the top "Elvis Is Dead" is the band at it's most lighthearted and grooviest. Easily one of Vernon's best compositions, "Elvis..." should once and for all silence the annoying freaks in the world who have littered the media for years with thier ridiculous tales of 'Elvis Sightings'. The rap by Little Richard is simply priceless, and Maceo Parker's sax solo is just smokin'! "Type" is the album's requisite 'art rock' song (perhaps not deliberately, but I mean that as a compliment) with an insistent, heavy guitar riff, careening tempo changes,and some of the groups' tightest harmonizing, again all members of the band are in fine form; this song has the best fade-out on the album. Side Two opens with some of the most inventive/avant garde guitar effects I've ever had the pleasure of hearing leading directly into "Information Overload" a straight ahead slamming rocker about simply being too full of hurt, emotion and anguish ('sometimes I wish I had a heart made of steel, sometimes I wish I couldn't feel')that also features some fierce drumming from Calhoun and one of Glovers' best vocals (Special Note: What follows an overload? A breakdown, which is exactly how this song ends.) "Under Cover Of Darkness" is another good tune with some of Skillings' most slithery bass playing, chicken pickin' guitar by Reid and a seductive, silky voiced rap by Queen Latifah. Two brief interludes; Skillings bass-laced "Ology" and "Tag Team Partners" featuring Doug E. Fresh's world famous face-farting are only mild diversions that keep the album from being too heavy handed. A pair of message oriented songs, "Fight The Fight" and the lulling "Solace Of You" (Living Colour at thier most subdued) are both final glances into the heart of this band, firmly rooted in the hope that justice and peace will prevail in all our lives. But these guys aren't about to let us off that easily, the closing centerpiece of the album is a masterstroke; "This Is The Life". Fading into a sea of strings, Corey's vocal wails in the backing, and the rest the band sounding like they are simply noodling around on thier instruments, "This Is The Life" launches into a slow, almost funky Zeppelin-ish riff and lyrics that are downright depressing, the point of them being of course, don't waste your life playing 'woulda, 'coulda, 'shoulda', but be thankful for the life you do have because there are no second chances. (Special Note #2: The jazzy interplay between bass and drums behind the guitar solo is especially thrilling when you hear it through headphones, very intricate!) This song closes out one of the best albums ever, by any band or artist, in any era, in any genre. There is no better rock album. Period.

Time's Up was Living Colour's followup to their smash debut album Vivid. Although the album didn't fare as well and didn't have any hit singles like "Cult Of Personality" or "Glamour Boys", Time's Up is just as strong as its predecessor containing several strong tracks and an overall maturity in their songwriting.

The band are all over the place musically here and nearly everything works. Strong tracks like "Pride", "Someone Like You", and "Type" are similar tunes to those on Vivid. But it's the more diverse tracks that really shine such as the bluesy "Love Rears Its Ugly Head", the excellent ballad "Solace Of You", and the very funky "Under Cover of Darkness", which features some excellent bass playing by Muzz Skillings and a very jazzy guitar solo from Vernon Reid. There's also some great heavy tracks here in "New Jack Theme" and "Information Overload." Other excellent tracks include the thrash of "Time's Up", the catchy "Elvis Is Dead", and the metal meets psychedelia of "This Is The Life." This album also shows a quantum leap in their musicianship and lyrics even if the album isn't as catchy or immediate as Vivid. Highly recommended. It's a shame Living Colour were only together for one more album as they were clearly one of the best bands of the late '80s -early '90s.

I consider this CD to be Living Colour's masterpiece and one of my all time favorites, one of my "desert island top 10 must haves."

In my opinion, it is the total package...it has jaw-dropping musicianship and musical execution, exquisite song crafting, near perfect sound production and mixing, tasty song order placement and mood shifting, legendary musical guests,(I'll go on...), strong and (STILL) relevant lyrics, all rapped up in one CD when the band was at the top of their game.

It seems to me that the band put forth a ton of soul, time, and brain power in producing this record, and feels like they wanted to use their new found fame to get the truth out to the mainstream (white) kids who came to the shows. (me included)

I'm 41 now and CANNOT help cranking this up all the way through when listening while driving, one of the few recordings that can still get me geeked after MULTIPLE listens over 17 years now.

A gift to the world of MUSIC (screw genre) by one gifted and special band.

I was pleased to discover recently Living Colour having reformed and posted a fantastic live gig on www.fabchannel.com so I thought I would revisit this album from my teen years and see how it fares today against modern rock acts.

Simply, when did we as fans of music allow the popular acts of today to feed us such drivel? In the early nineties we had such diverse and upcoming acts as Living Colour, Warrior Soul and King's X attempting to change the face of rock and drag us from the stone age imagery of heavy metal. Now we have Limp Bizkit. Linkin Park. Marylin Manson. Unbelievable.

This album is an object lesson in how to play instruments. And sing. With passion and conviction about subjects. Not overly political like Rage Against the Machine, not about 'bling' or heavy metal monsters but more suggestive, catchy in places and psychedelic in others. Actually, reading some of these reviews I actually prefer tracks like 'This Is The Life' and 'Fight The Fight'. Time's Up, the opener, has not only a frightening guitar solo (thanks to the other reviewer) but an unbelievable time change.

Call me sentimental, but thank the powers they've decided to give it another go. A band with depth in a time of total shallowness - this album should be bought by anyone who has an interest in rock music and pretty much anyone who likes to hear a bit of soul and honesty in delivery.

Salute!

Like Faith No More's "Angel Dust," "Time's Up" was that much-anticipated follow-up that far surpassed its predecessor, yet sold far less! Every song here is great (even the little interludes) and show an astounding range, from full-out thrash to slow groove. "New Jack Theme," "Elvis is Dead" and "Solace of You" are just a few of the many outstanding tracks here. Why it didn't become more popular is a total mystery! You can probably picked this up cheap used, so I suggest you do just that!

Words of Power and Truth about the timeless issues
of love,oppression and religion.
An album even more relevant today than it was 14 years ago.
Nothing makes it under the radar here.
One of rocks great abums from maybe the last great rock band to come out of the big apple.