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Living Colour biography
LIVING COLOUR BIOGRAPHY
Living Colour
Since their formation in 1986, New York outfit Living Colour have long been the standard bearers for black rock music. They grew out of the Black Rock Coalition, an organisation of which guitarist Vernon Reid was a founder member, and successfully fused guitar-driven rock, funk, metal, punk and rap music into a melange that was indisputably theirs. The original foursome comprised Reid, singer Corey Glover, bassist Muzz Skillings and drummer Will Calhoun, and although Skillings parted ways with them in 1992, the band recruited former Tackhead bassist Doug Wimbish, and went on to further success. As well as being something of an antidote to the stereotypically white, poodle-permed hard rock groups of the 1980s, Living Colour's eclectic approach, and mastery of a wide range of musical genres opened up barriers and cleared a path for their successors.
Vernon Reid had been born in London, but grew up in New York, and well before Living Colour had arrived, he was a name on that city's jazz scene, playing in the experimental group Roland Shannon Jackson's Decoding Society. He embraced new technologies, particularly the guitar synth effects that were to become a constant feature of the Living Colour sound (in particular, the hectic, multi-layered guitar sounds on ' Information Overload', the opening track of the second side of their 1992 album 'Time's Up', has often been likened to the noise of an old Spectrum loading up. Well...by me, anyway).
Reid recruited Glover on vocals (having heard him belting out 'Happy Birthday' at a party) - and Muzz Skillings on bass, despite a lack of previous band experience. Calhoun was something less of a gamble though, having graduated with honours from the prestigious Berklee School of Music. As with so many Big Apple bands, the legendary CBGBs venue was to be the location where they honed their craft, and coined their sound. Not only that, but a following for the band formed, most notable among which was a certain Mick Jagger, who produced a demo for them and helped gain them a deal with Epic records. (Note to all fledgling bands - there are worse people to have in your corner than one of music's biggest ever stars).
This was no mere rock-star pet project, however...these boys could play. Each of the four possessed virtuosic dexterity on their given instrument, and Glover was a gifted front-man, manipulating the crowd at will. It should perhaps come as no surprise that he was aware of the importance of stage presence, given his acting abilities - Glover was also one of the stars of Oliver Stone's Vietnam epic, 'Platoon' (playing Francis, the soldier who stabs himself in the leg with a bayonet, for anyone interested).
The band's first album release was 1988's 'Vivid', co-produced by Jagger and Ed Stasium, which turned out to be one of that year's most popular albums. It fused the band's rock sound with punk sensibilities, funk grooves and some poignant, intelligent lyrics that helped set them apart from other rock acts. The album's opener, 'Cult of Personality' was a case in point - a sledgehammer riff, soaring vocals, and smatterings of samples from political speeches - Malcolm X, JFK, and finishing off with Roosevelt's famous quote: 'The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.' The following year the band won a Grammy award for this track, the first ever 'Best Hard Rock Performance' gong, and the remainder of the album stood up to scrutiny. 'Open Letter (To a Landlord)' showed more of the band's political side, likewise 'Funny Vibe' - joined on the track by Chuck D and Flava Flav, Glover thumps out the words: 'No, I'm not gonna rob you...so why you wanna gimme that funny vibe?'
Aided in no small part by consistent MTV play for the 'Cult of Personality' promo, the band became a big deal. This was well-illustrated in 1989 when, along with Guns n' Roses, they renewed acquaintance with Jagger once more to open for the Rolling Stones on their 1989 USA stadium tour. The following year brought the release of their second album, 'Time's Up', boasting a rich mixture of genres that showed well the band's versatility, and mastery of several different musical stylings - from hip-hop to jazz, from funk to the comedic blues number 'Love Rears its Ugly Head'. The band's importance on the scene was exemplified by the calibre of guest cameo performances they managed to employ - Queen Latifah, Doug E. Fresh, Maceo Parker and Little Richard all threw their hats in the ring, the latter making a rap contribution to the track 'Elvis is Dead'.
After participating in the first Lollapalooza Tour, and a mixed-bag EP release entitled 'Biscuits' in 1991, Muzz Skillings did the 'creative differences' thing and was replaced by Tackhead bassist Doug Wimbish. The new line-up released the album 'Stain' in 1993, a darker and less readily-accessible record than its predecessors - reflected in the lesser commercial success. The pressure of trying to unite behind a musical direction pushed relationships in the band to breaking point, such that by 1995 Living Colour went their separate ways.
Several solo efforts followed - however, they were eventually to reunite in the summer of 2001 - and after the September 11th attacks, were moved to include yet more dark, brooding material on their first release in a decade, 2003's 'CollideOScope'. 'Flying' specifically covered the deaths of people in the twin towers, but songs such as 'A ? of When' also studied the constant states of high alert in the USA, and atmosphere of near-paranoia precipitated by the war on terrorism. In contrast, the album also included covers of the Beatles' 'Tomorrow Never Knows' and AC/DC's 'Back in Black' - and in the latter case, Glover said in interviews that there was certainly something remarkable and all together different about a black man singing the lyric '...they gotta catch me if they want me to hang.'
2005 saw the release of 'Live at CBGBs', recorded in the group's heyday in 1989 at the legendary venue, and the following year an international tour had the foursome filling venues once more, playing favourites old and new. In September that year they even played with Skillings, albeit for friend Jack DeJohnette's wife's birthday party, and because Wimbish could not make it back from a trip to Europe in time. Reports on their current doings are varied, but having spent a great deal of time and effort honing material for 'CollideOScope' ('four albums' worth', according to Calhoun) it would not necessarily be a huge surprise if 2007 saw a new album release for one of the most significant black rock acts of recent years.
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