Remembering When Living Colour Ignited the Rock World With Their Debut Album in 1988

Now and again, some aspect of the music scene needs an act to come and shake it out of the doldrums. Such was the case with hard rock in the late 80s. Complacency had set in via a series of glam metal acts whose style often outweighed the substance.

Living Colour provided the jolt of energy the genre desperately needed. Their 1988 debut album Vivid scrambled styles and spoke truth to power, giving folks something to think about while they were banging their heads.

Making a Living

Living Colour was the brainchild of Vernon Reid. The accomplished guitarist made his bones in the early 80s in New York City as a jazz-fusion expert. But he held in the back of his mind the idea of a rock band built on the classic elements of voice, guitar, bass, and drums, albeit one that could make radical stylistic shifts on a dime.

He started up the first version of Living Colour in 1984 as a trio. They were able to play at the legendary CBGB’s while they found their sea legs. Eventually, Reid found his ideal lineup in 1986 with Muzz Skillings on bass, Will Calhoun on drums, and Corey Glover on vocals.

At one rehearsal, Reid built a sledgehammer riff after mishearing something that Glover was trying to sing to him. The rest of the band fell in around him with a groove that combined hard rock power with the rhythmic sway of funk. Reid found lyrics from a notebook of ideas that he had with him. In a matter of hours, Living Colour had created their signature song, “Cult Of Personality”.

Meeting Mick

Unfortunately, it took a while before the band could spring that song on the world. Record label after record label turned them down. That’s when they received a boost from a fan who had more than a little bit of clout.

Reid had played guitar on Mick Jagger’s 1986 album Primitive Cool. When Jagger went out to hear Living Colour live, he immediately fell in love with their heady musical stew. He produced some demos that the band could shop around to labels.

Jagger also began recommending them to anyone who would listen. Word of mouth built and eventually helped Living Colour secure a record deal. They headed into the studio in 1987 with producer Ed Stasium to record their debut album.

A ‘Vivid’ Success

Vivid bowled over the rock world with its eloquent maelstrom of sound in 1988. Here was an all-Black rock group that led with heavy guitars and thunderous drums, all while keeping undeniable swing and swagger afloat on the bottom end. “Cult Of Personality”, released as the second single, even smashed at Top 40 radio.

Reviewers heaped praise upon Vivid, both for its unrelenting musical attack and its willingness to thoughtfully confront social issues in its lyrics. The public followed suit, helping the album go double-platinum when all was said and done.

Although Living Colour broke up after their third album, they reunited in the new millennium. You can still hear them live these days, their sound and their ideas as big as ever. It all started with Vivid, an album title that sums up the impact these guys made.

(Photo by Rob Verhorst/Redferns)