VIVID 1988 (Epic)
- Standouts: 'Cult of Personality', 'I Want to Know', 'Middle Man', 'Desperate People', 'Open Letter (To a Landlord)', 'Funny Vibe'
I'm not sure if funk metal is really a genre or if it was just a movement that took place around the late 80's and early to mid 90's. It's not exactly a sound you hear everyday with new bands. Faith No More kinda ditched the vibes after The Real Thing, Suicidal Tendencies went through a funk metal phase in the 90's, but never returned to it by the new millennium. That doesn't make it an inferior type of music, although it does make a lot of albums that used this kind of style sound quite dated, by default. Living Colour released this debut album, titled Vivid, in 1988, and it reached no. 6 in the US album charts and they even won a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance in 1990 with 'Cult of Personality'. Even though they followed this record up with 2 other well-received studio albums in the 90's, they didn't sell as well as Vivid, and they never really became as big as you'd assume they could have been, given the fact they won a Grammy award for a song of their first album. Shame really, because Vivid is pretty damn good stuff overall. Living Colour were certainly unique, and in a way, they still are. I know the whole 'funk metal' thing was prevalent during the late 80's, but even so, I haven't really heard anyone else that sounds like Living Colour - probably because they aren't especially funk 'metal' - more like funk rock despite the fact they're usually labelled as metal. They definitely had a lot going for them. For a start, they were an entirely African-American band - not unusual in general, but certainly rare for a band in this style. Secondly, Vernon Reid is a kickass guitar player, and severely underrated in his field. Third, vocalist Corey Glover had a role in Platoon, one of my favourite films! He was the dude in the foxhole with Charlie Sheen during the final battle! Fourth, they wore horrific, vibrant clothing of the period - think Will Smith in the earlier seasons of the Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Fifth, they're still awesome live - I know 'cos I got to seem 'em at Riot Fest 2015, in Chicago. Sixth, they're American yet they actually spell 'colour' CORRECTLY, i.e. by actually spelling it with the 'u'!
'Cult of Personality' is an absolute classic. The riffs kick-ass, the political lyrics are powerful, the hooks are memorable - it's just an awesome song. No wonder CM Punk used it as his entrance theme. It was also included in the GTA: San Andreas soundtrack, on Radio X. Absolute classic, and probably the best funk metal song of all time if you ask me. Calling this whole album 'funk metal' is a bit of a stretch however. Tracks like 'I Want to Know', 'Open Letter (To a Landlord)' and 'Funny Vibe' are excellent, but they're more like hard rock songs with funk playing techniques, from the bass-lines to Reid's staccato, palm-muted chords and leads. 'I Want to Know' even sounds a little poppy, but it sure is catchy. 'Broken Hearts' is maybe the least funk-driven track on here, and is pretty much a pop rock ballad. The album does still have it's heavier moments though. 'Middle Man' is extremely infectious funk metal, and 'Desperate People' - an anti-drug anthem - has some killer riffage going for it.
I must stress that the 'funk metal' label confuses me when discussing Vivid. Only 'Cult of Personality', 'Middle Man', 'Desperate People' and 'Which Way to America' really come anywhere near metal. That doesn't mean the whole album is weaker because of this, but it's definitely misrepresentation if somebody groups it with, say, the funkier Suicidal Tendencies records. While the good tracks on here are really, bloody good, Vivid hasn't aged all that well. Like I said at the beginning of this review, in a way, it sounds dated by default. Songs like 'Glamour Boys' and 'What's Your Favourite Color?' ('colour' spelt INCORRECTLY this time for some reason) really do sound like products of the 80's both musically and thanks to the extremely reverby production job; whether or not that's a good thing is up to you. Overall this is an enjoyable album from an extremely talented band that still kill it live to this day. However, 'Cult of Personality' is the best track on here, and it pretty much overshadows everything else - it isn't really a good summation of what this record actually sounds like as a whole - thus, I do find the album to be a bit overrated even if the majority of it is still very good.
Adam's rating: 8/10
