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 Vividly Vibrant. Jun 23, 2009
Forget the tacky outfits they wore in their music videos. Forget the dated artwork gracing the album cover. Fact is, anytime you hear "Cult of Personality" on the radio, in a video game or on your iPod, you are compelled to turn the volume up as loud as humanly possible. The crunchy guitar riffs, the funky bass, hard-hitting drums and the smooth vocal stylings of Corey Glover all combined to make this song, and much of Living Colour's breakthrough album, "Vivid," a smash-hit as well as a glimpse into the future of hard rock and metal.
As one of the bands at the forefront of the funk-metal boom, Living Colour stood out from the pack, not only because they were an all African American rock band, but because of their superb musicianship and willingness to explore many, many genres. "Livid" runs the gamut from arena rock ("Cult of Personality") to power-ballads with messages ("Open Letter to a Landlord") to funk jams ("What's Your Favorite Colour"). Much can be written about "Cult of Personality" itself, as it serves as an excellent intro to the album - complete with quotations from John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. - and is the one track that sticks out the most and carries the album. "Middle Man" comes close to catching the same energy, as well as the punk-funk-metal fusion of "Desperate People."The fact of the matter is there isn't one bad song in the bunch. Musically, this album is a sonic success, with Glover's vocals serving as the focal point. Vernon Reid's guitar riffs are equally as loud and in your face, while the rhythm section is both tight and funky at the same time. The only shortcoming to be found here are in some of the awkward lyrical moments, a prime example being "Funny Vibe." Considering how good the album sounds, though, such flaws are forgivable.
"Livid" is a snap-shot of a time when mainstream bands weren't afraid to experiment and to bend genre rules, and anyone who adores the likes of Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Mother's Milk" or any early Faith No More (we're talking pre-Mike Patton here) will find an album that is fun, fresh, funky and loud. An album that has soul and power, has maybe dated itself a bit, but ultimately sounds just as good twenty plus years later, "Vivid" - like all good music -- stands the test of time.
0 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 great to drive Jan 23, 2009
Excelent product, strong sounds and amazing lyrics. Best songs Desperate People, Which Way to America and Funny Vibe. Great music from late 80s and 1990. I seriously recommend singing the songs very loud.
What's your favorite color, baby?! Jan 22, 2009
I got this CD because I love the song "Cult of Personality" and found out that I recognized a couple other songs. My favorites are "Open Letter to a Landlord", "Cult of Personality", and "Desperate People", but in all honesty, the entire album is amazing. The drumming is incredible. Great CD from a highly under-rated band.
0 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 Vivid by Living Colour Sep 08, 2008
I only recognized/remembered a couple of the songs on the cd. I basically got the cd for one song - "Cult of Personality", but the other songs were pretty good too.
1 of 3 found the following review helpful:
"What's your Favorite Colour Baby!!!!!!!!" Jun 19, 2008
Alongside Mother's Milk, there was another album by a band that was mixing up funk with rock. The band Living Colour. But, unlike the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Living Colour were flawlessly fusing rock, hip hop, and funk. And these guys could really ROCK. Vernon Reid dished out furious riffs (from hard the funk) and blistering solos like Jimmy Page did when he was in Led Zeppelin. The rhythm section keeps a groove that you would be a fool not to dance to it. And Corey Glover with his charisma and versatility could tear off your wallpaper with attitude or make you stop in your tracks with his awesome, passionate sining. Even better, they made it look so easy. What they were doing looked like child's play.
Aside from two songs, every song on here kicks @$$ in a whole different style. The hardest rocking songs, Cult Of Personality (from Guitar Hero, you probably know that), Desperate People, and Middle Man will make you air guitar and bang your head, and groove at the same time. Vernon Reid goes ultra funky on What's Your Favorite Colour Baby (if you can't dance to this, I pity you), and goes funky on Which Way To America, and suddenly switches to a slab of catchy hard rock. Funny Vibe features a cameo from Public Enemy, with jazzy, funky drumming and, er... chanting?
Glamour Boys will make you dance and it will feel good to know your not one of those boys, and I Want To Know and Open Letter (especially Open Letter. Awesome, soulful performance) show Corey Glover's soulful vocals the best.
Living Colour, aside from being great musicians, can write good lyrics. Topics like black stereotypes (Funny Vibe), someone being themselves (Middle Man), Love (I Want To Know), America (Which Way To America? And this song for me has multiple meanings), Landlords (Open Letter, too easy), and, my favorite, Glamour Boys (Glamour Boys. There's many definitions this song says to me, not just one group).
There is two thing that brought the grade down: The awful Talking Heads (Talking Heads suck) cover and Broken Hearts. I also don't quite think that the songs are AS strong enough to keep it at a 9.5 (there isn't enough 10 out of 10 songs, though none of the remaining songs fall under 9 out of 10). But that's a minor problem.
Vivid has tight, well played, catchy guitar riffs, blistering solos, raging funk, infectious beats and bass, soulful, aggressive, playful, and wild vocals, a wide range of different styles, and lyrics that will stick with you. With a remastering (though you might want to find a cheap version of the longer 3 minute Favorite COlour theme song that is not one of the bonus tracks) and bonus tracks, there's no reason not to get this. So get it or consider yourself lame (yes, an exaggeration, of course).
9/10
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