Review Summary: Living Colour is one of those bands that were somewhat popular yet overlooked. One of the most creative and original bands of the time. After numerous line-up changes, Mick Jagger discovered them at CBGB's, and helped them with their first album, [i]Vivid
The first review I gave this disappeared, so I'll give it another go.
Band members:
Corey Glover - Vocals
Vernon Reid - Guitar, Backing Vocals
Muzz Skillings - Bass
William Calhoun - Drums
Vernon Reid is one of my favorite guitarists ever. His solos are incredible, and he's extremely underrated when it comes to riffs. His solos on "Cult of Personality," "Open Letter (To a Landlord)," and "Funny Vibe" are awesome. Not to forget his riffs on "Cult," "Desperate People," and "Middle Man." He is also the creative genius behind the band. What other hard rock/metal bands would have covers of Talking Heads and (if you have the remastered version of the album) the Clash on one album? What about songs like "Funny Vibe"? Vernon IS Living Colour.
Adding the backbeat is Will Calhoun. He's obviously not a spectacular drummer, but he makes his presence known, and he always looks like he's having fun doing it.
Despite being replaced by Doug Wimbish after this album, Muzz Skillings is a severely underrated bassist. Giving this album a great funky feel, Muzz is always audible and always sounds pretty good. Look for him on "Funny Vibe" and "Which Way to America."
Although the rest of the band has the ability to be a great instrumenal trio (just look at the opening of "Desperate People" or most of "Funny Vibe"), the one who puts the whole thing together is singer Corey Glover. Demonstrating a strong vocal range and powerful voice, Corey always sounds passionate and loud. Every song on the album features good work from him.
Getting to the actual music--
Vivid has a great mix of hard rockers ("Cult of Personality," "Desperate People," "Middle Man," "Which Way to America"), decent pop songs ("I Want to Know," the clever "Glamour Boys," "What's Your Favorite Color?," to a lesser extent, "Open Letter (To a Landlord)"), one bad ballad ("Broken Hearts"), and some songs that mix the weird with the awesome ("Funny Vibe"--an anti-racist half-instrumental featuring Chuck D and Flavor Flav of Public Enemy--and their cover of Talking Heads' "Memories Can't Wait"). Go buy it if you don't have it.
Ratings:
Cult of Personality - 10/10
I Want to Know - 6/10
Middle Man - 8/10
Desperate People - 9/10
Open Letter (To a Landlord) - 9/10
Funny Vibe - 9/10
Memories Can't Wait - 8/10
Broken Hearts - 4/10
Glamour Boys - 6/10
What's Your Favorite Color? - 7/10
Which Way to America - 9/10
