This Underrated Rock Album Turned 35 and Needs a Revisit
An underrated rock album that has flown under the radar for too long. Living Colour‘s Vivid just turned 35. Let’s revisit. May 3, 1988. I’d love to tell you I…
An underrated rock album that has flown under the radar for too long. Living Colour's Vivid just turned 35. Let's revisit.
May 3, 1988. I'd love to tell you I spent my paper route money on Vivid the day it dropped. I mean, I did, eventually. Bought that sucker at the Strawberries on Rt. 1 in Saugus, where I did all of my music shopping back in the day. But no, I was a mere sixth grader and wasn't yet an early adopter or a tastemaker or a maven or any of those other cool terms. Thankfully, though, I was an MTV watcher. And Living Colour was all over MTV.
Now remember, I'm just an 11-year-old kid. It's the summer of '88, and "Cult of Personality" is getting major play on MTV. My still-developing brain is on fire: an all-black rock band, singing a song about a concept I wouldn't learn about in school for years, with quotes from American presidents, maybe? And they looked so damn cool! The lead singer was rocking a Body Glove wetsuit! Like, as clothes! I had a Body Glove boogie board! I needed more.
I don't remember when I finally picked up Vivid, but it was either that summer or fall. And I devoured it. It sounded like nothing I'd ever heard before, yet simultaneously sounded like everything. In fact, if you go to the Wikipedia page for the album, it says: "Vivid has been described as hard rock, funk metal, alternative metal, heavy metal, funk rock...funk, soul, jazz, avant-garde jazz, arena rock, pop, punk rock, and rap." Yes. All of it. I didn't even know what half of it was at the time, but I wanted it all.
This Underrated Rock Album Turned 35 and Needs a Revisit
Vivid couldn't have come along at a better time. Sandwiched between the decline of hair metal and the rise of grunge, it truly is one of--if not the best--rock albums of 1988. It was groundbreaking: an all-black rock band, combining multiple genres of rock music in a never-before-heard way. All of that counts for something. So why doesn't it get more love from the "history of rock" perspective? That I can't answer. But as a fan, I can show it love. And I hope you'll show it love, too.
"Middle Man"
I'd completely forgotten this was the album's lead single...
"Cult of Personality"
...because I thought that this was the album's lead single!
"Glamour Boys"
"I ain't no glamour boy...I'm fierce!" Another nail in the coffin for hair metal.
"Open Letter (To a Landlord)"
Living Colour were smart and deep. And this song, sadly, resonates today as much as it did when it was first released.
"Funny Vibe"
Again: smart and deep. And unafraid! This album pushed boundaries and redefined rock. Respect it.
