Customer Reviews

Vivid

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

While I respect the view of the listener below, I must disagree with him/her on several points. First off, this is an amazing album from first song to last, with literally no filler. There are plenty of songs on here that rival anything that has come before or since -- they will stand the test of time as testaments to the potential of what passionate, talented rockers can produce.

The reader below asks "In how many ways do we need to hear how unfair society can be?" What an awfully naive question. Apparently, the answer for Living Colour is "not enough"! Sure, their agenda is clearly social justice and racial equality, but what do you expect coming from an African-American band playing "white" hard rock? In my opinion, Living Colour's message is one that needs to be repeated over and over.

As far as Vernon Reid "going overboard," I don't blame him for wanting to show off his considerable chops on this debut. But don't fail to point out how different he is from mere mindless Van Halen clones. Reid's style is all his own, a strange, broiling brew of influences including funk, jazz, rock, country, and more. He is a sharper, smarter player than just about any of those shredders from the 80's.

I'm not sure why their funky songs sound "contrived" to the reader below, but to me they sound awesome. What is contrived about them? They funk like crazy, and prove that Living Colour are probably the best rock funkers ever (aside from the Red Hot Chili Peppers). If you want contrived, listen to the garbage that's on the radio these days. THAT'S contrived.

All in all, a landmark album from a much-missed group.

When I heard of Living Colour it was the fall of 1987 when i read an article of the Black Rock Coalition and was looking foward to the release of their first album, in May of 1988 I bought Vivid expect your typical heavy metal album but with a black twist. Nothing ever prepared me for the sonic assault on my musical senses. From corey glover's soulful singing to a rythum section that actually sounded like a one in heavy rock music from Muzz Skillings and Will Calhoun and the Jazzy yet heavy as heck soloing from the best guitar player of the past 20 years Vernon Reid.I told all my friends from metalheads to soulsters to get this album, from the Zep-like riffs to the ornette coleman like soloing from Reid on "Cult of Personality" to the Bad Brains/AC/DC like thrash of "Desprate People" to the country blues hip-hop of "Broken Hearts" and the socca-rock riffage of "Glamour Boys " the lyrics make you think without being preachy and this is the band I thought (and still think)this band as the true heirs to the Led Zeppelin heavy metal mantle diverse music like they played and musicianship that is top-notch. get this album now.

Living Colour exploded onto the music in 1989 with Vivid their powerful debut record. The band explored subjects such as racism, living conditions in the inner cities and the style but no substance lifestyle. Vernon Reid is one of the best guitarists around and he plays in manic, buzzsaw style. Muzz Skillings and Will Calhoun provide a solid rhythm section with Mr. Skillings playing an extremely heavy bass. Corey Glover plays the rock frontman to a tee. "Cult Of Personality" is a monumental rock song with Mr. Reid's guitar work standing out. The song is intercut with snippets of dialogue from political leaders like JFK & FDR. "Middle Man", "Desperate People" & "Broken Hearts' are all great songs while "Memories Can Wait" is an interesting cover of an old Talking Heads song. "Open Letter (To A Landlord)" may be the best song on the album with Mr. Glover really letting loose on it. Mick Jagger shows up as producer on two tracks, "Glamour Boys" & "Which Way To America" and the songs have a funkier vibe. The album was a top ten hit and the band toured with the Stones on their Steel Wheels tour. The band made a couple more solid records after Vivid, but none of them could match its excellent. Unfortunately, the band has faded into obscurity and finally disbanded.

I literally wore out this cassette and have nearly worn out the CD. Every musician in this band is phenomenal and their particular mix of soul and hard rock was really a breakthrough when they came out and hasn't been done as well by anyone else. These guys had bottles thrown at them when opening for the Stones in arenas and not because they were playing too loud - who says mainstream music can't be radical?

They shredded El Corazon in Seattle last night - what a great show. So glad they are back :)

Living Colour came and went like a thief in the night, leaving behind 1 album that garnered them at least some of the attention that they deserved, and this was it! "VIVID" is a masterpiece of funky hard rock produced by Ed Stasium in a pristine, in-your-face style of ground breaking (and ground shaking) proportions...

Perhaps the 80's were not the time that LC could have achieved everything they should have because, in a time when the emphasis was too much on pretty boy, hair band rockers, they had to make some people go "whoa...what's this???". However, even now (some 13 years from it's release)- their musical stylings and playing ability, along with the quality of the songs and the aforementioned production make VIVID a classic that will withstand the test of time for years to come. They were named one of the "100 Greatest Hard Rock Bands of All-Time" by VH-1 because of this!

Corey Glover's vocals are a force to be reckoned with... no holds barred. Sweet and soulful (when they need to be), and belting like an erupting volcano (when they have to be) as they carry some pretty radical lyrical messages to the place they belong (HEARD!).

Vernon Reid is nothing short of maniacal on the guitar. His rhythms are tasty and funky, and (conversely) his leads can best be compared to a fire truck en route to a 6-alarm blaze. Actually, when I think about it, his guitar may have been the CAUSE of the blaze as well.

Muzz Skillings' bass work and Will Calhoun's skin-bashing is nothing short of genius (individually) and sizemic (collectively). Ed Stasium's mix makes the great sounds of their instruments well defined... perhaps the best bass and drum production I've ever heard!

This is some pretty serious stuff lyrically...stuff that normally doesn't "fly" when it comes to commercial success ('cause it just scares some people too much in certain parts of this country and world), but there's never any question that Corey feels what he's singing and the band's conviction tilts whatever meter you would use to measure such a thing.

Living Colour is what's exactly missing from Music now.a Sense of Depth&Challenge.They were a Better Band than the CHilli Peppers&Coutless others.Not Quite as Deep as Fishbone but still a Good Solid Band.Nevertheless Vernon Reid Rocks on Axe.He is Following African-American Tradition of Rock&Roll.Where is The Rock in Our Music Nowadays? aside from a few it's Sadly Missing.Corey Glover can Blow period.Cult of Personality is TIght.Funny Vibe is a Straight take on Racisim.it pulls no punches.Glamour Boys is Banging as well.it was Refreshing&Great Seeing Brothers Rocking&Rolling.it's sadly missing today as is The Funk Band.I wish this Group Could Have Stayed Together.

One of the best late '80's hard rock albums hands down!! The first time I ever listened to this CD I was hooked. The guitar work is first rate. The vocals are killer. Not a bad song on this CD. I just wish Living Colour could have kept this fire going!! One of the best albums of the 1980's for sure.

This band, IMHO, blew away every hard rock band and poodle-haired heavy metal band of that decade. When I first heard "Cult of Personality" it was lke a breath of fresh air. Finally, intelligent thoughtful lyrics with hard rock/heavy metal music with some funk and rap throw in for good measure. Reid is one of the best guitarists out there, but what really caught me was the rythym section of Calhoun and Skillings. These guys add a lot of texture and creativity and propelled the already good songs to become great songs. The complexity and tightness of these muscians are so far ahead of what was out there at the time it's ridiculous. The wide range that this band exhibits here cannot be touched by other bands of this genre in this period. The lyrics are much more mature and it helps make the music on this CD stand up through the years. This band got me back to listening to hard rock.

Ground breaking music that has been unmatched by any other black rock group. They created a new, unique sound. Rock with soul. The music is a mix of hard rock, funk, and r & b.

Living Colour may very well be the defining band from my youth. Growing up in vanilla suburbia, this was a band that charted songs that made an impact in my school's music scene. "Glamour Boys" was the single that made it to my high school and the bass player from a band I was in covered it. That led me and others to pick up the album. "Vivid" is one of the most successful fusions of rock with political consciousness in history, and may be the best poltically conscious album by a black or post '70s band. All the musicians are virtuosos, the songwriting is strong, and rock fans see a cathartic band at work.

Looking back, there are a few things that strike me as revealing about *how* Living Colour approached making rock music from a politically black consciousness.

Living Colour embraced sampling. "Cult of Personality"'s use of samples is a creative device that hammers home the message of the song. It begins with a sample of Malcolm X and uses soundbites from Kennedy and FDR. The restricted use of samples is something that hurts Living Colour on their recent comeback work, much like De La Soul was hampered creatively after sampling was greatly restricted.

Secondly, Living Colour was not afraid to include to make some bridges to black america in their work. In a lot of ways, they came towards Public Enemy from the opposite direction. "Funny Vibe" includes a brief cameo from Chuck D and Flavor Flav or Public Enemy. Why did Public Enemy collaborate with Anthrax instead of Living Colour? Ego? Artistic differences? Desire to crossover and broaden markets? Don't know why, but I think it's a tragedy for both groups.

Lastly, many people forget how Living Colour could have been a killer funk band if they had wanted to. This is more explicit on tracks like "Elvis is Dead" on the next album, "Time's Up", but it's present on "Vivid" with tracks like "Funny Vibe" and "What's your Favorite Colour?"

Living Colour was an outstanding band that set the table for me to really examine my history and develop a far more culturally grounded agenda as a musician and an intellectual. I owe them big time for the way they went about their music. I hope more people will discover their music through their currently active reunion work.

5+ stars

--SD