Vivid

I never much cared for their hit “Cult of Personality” so I’m surprised by how much I enjoyed this one.? There’s a fair bit of funk mixed in with this rock. Musicianship is tight. Nice surprise.

Cult of Personality & Open Letter are two really great tracks. Lyrics are thoughtful & have depth, and the sound is excellent. Then there are several other tracks that just fall into the late 80’s pop metal blah

Didn't hate this, some of it was quite samey but it had some good tunes on it. Bonus points for Cult of Personality (being a WWE fan)

Pretty disappointing after cult of personality. Cheesy 80s rock mostly, with some occasional cool parts Standout songs: Cult of personality Memories Cant Wait

Honestly this album never belonged on the list. While I acknowledge Vernon Reid’s vocals are excellent and Cult of Personality is a good song, this is really an average pop metal album. It’s got that 80s guitar sound with pretty good distortion but not enough Fuzz or reverb for my liking. There should be some rough edges on albums. The secret to greatness is not about perfection but it is the imperfections, this happy accidents that create emotions and subconsciously allow us to connect with the music. It’s why we want to see things live and it’s rarely interesting to hear songs played exactly as on the album. Such is the case here where I bet the live versions were killer. So, where does this album live when the album comes off as a little cliched. Time has not been kind to the production either. This frankly, is an era I hope never to see return. 2/5

It was ok, but would only listen to cult of personality again (which is really fucking excellent)

Excited for this one - I'm very familiar with Cult of Personality but never listened to the whole album. I really enjoyed it and will listen again.

Its like the guys wanted to show they can play like whities, and they can. And its awful. Black American answer Jon Bon Jovi. Disingenuous empty noise

A solid listen

Bezveze album, baš ništa posebno, zaboravila bih ga dok trepnem. 1/5, 1/10

Favorite songs: Cult of Personality, I Want to Know, Open Letter (To a Landlord), Broken Hearts, Glamour Boys

Pretty solid album. I’ve listened to Time Up’s and found this to be on the same level. It’s interesting at times but not all my cup of tea.

Quite fun

Incredible musicianship. Lost me after cult of personality until the middle of side b. At times it felt intangible but I love the funky moments blended with the metal core influences and the at times math rocky riffs. Like, it’s good. Not something I’d return to besides maybe a fave song here and there and I’m not dying to listen to the rest of the discography, but it’s cool.

I know this is late 80s, but this sounds so quintessentially early 90s to me (complimentary). Really only knew Cult of Personality, but I loved this entire album.

Remember when this came out. Surprised to see this today, not because of merit or anything just surprised. It for me holds up better because the fusion is more the "other" than the rock. As a youth and liking rock at the time I now really struggle with that 80s heavy rock sound. This was ok today, enough variation I the playing. 3 Star . 3 Star

Gotta say I'm a bit disappointed. It's fine, listenable late 80s hard rock. That's really all it is. The uniqueness of it being played by an all black band doesn't change that fact.

Heard it once, never again.

Yuck.

Oh I know this one. Cult of Personality has some fantastic guitar work. But I think I only heard thie rest once before. Cult of Personality is such a huge opener. The rest of the album is pretty decent, exactly what I expected it to be. Some great guitar melodies and drum beats and not a lot else. And tbh the quality continues throughout. That fucking guitar is nasty AF. Incredible. Vernon Reid has done a fantastic job here. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Sweaty

627/1089 - It's decent hard rock with a bit of funk sometimes.

There’s some highlight tracks in here (obviously the first one but also both side’s closers at least), and I can understand the historical importance to it as a recognition of black rock bands and a stepping stone along the way to some other even further politically minded acts like RATM and helping bring a bit more funk and soul to other rock bands besides. But a lot of it just feels very jumbled as to what they want to do - sort of a jack of all trades of influences rather than nailing a sound down - and a lot of that then doesn’t feel like it pays off well. The fact that the band are good also gets buried a bit between that and the production just sort of flattening things down. A disappointment as a whole album, but at least that single is killer.

I enjoyed most of it, some of the tracks were a little bit more boring than I hoped, cult personality is one of the best of all time. But in all right album otherwise, three stars.

Bon, comment dire que c’est de la merde sans brusquer les quelques fans qui pourraient encore en 2026 pointer le bout de leur nez ? Et bien en le disant tout simplement, c’est de la merde. Voilà, c’est lâché, le mot est posé, le décapant industriel est étalé bien large sur la table d'autopsie et on peut enfin respirer deux secondes avant de commencer à attaquer la bête. Parce que oui, comme je sais aligner plus de deux mots les uns derrière les autres, je vais argumenter un minimum car il est hors de question qu'on me reproche d’exécuter froidement un album sans lui accorder un semblant de procès en bonne et due forme. Alors déjà, pour évacuer immédiatement le sujet qui fâche et fixer les règles du jeu une bonne fois pour toutes : je n’ai absolument jamais aimé les Red Hot Chili Peppers. Pas une seconde, pas un quart de mesure, pas un refrain braillé torse nu, pas une foutue ligne de basse slappée avec des chaussettes sur les parties génitales. Je pense très sincèrement et très humblement que c’est une raison largement suffisante pour aborder ce genre de disque avec des gants de boucher, des pincettes rouillées et un masque à gaz étanche. Ce funk-rock bavard, baveux, hystérique et arrogant a le don quasi surnaturel de me crisper l’échine en moins de temps qu’il n’en faut pour allumer un ampli. Mais ici, mes chers amis, avec Vivid, on plonge encore un cran plus profond dans le supplice acoustique et l'embarras sonore le plus complet. Ensuite ça sonne exactement comme du très mauvais Huey Lewis qui se serait accouplé avec un très mauvais groupe de heavy metal, qui lui-même aurait fricoté au fond d’un parking de supermarché mal éclairé avec un très mauvais groupe de funk. De cet accouplement déjouant les lois de la nature, en résulte une chimère grotesque, bâtarde et stérile, qui n’a réussi l'exploit d'extirper de ses géniteurs que la lourdeur d’enclume du hard FM le plus daté et les tics les plus indigestes du funk synthétique calibré pour les spots publicitaires de la grande distribution. Une véritable soupe tiède, surproduite à l'extrême, qui prétend secouer les foules alors qu'elle ne fait qu'agresser les tympans. Musicalement, soyons honnêtes et ayons le courage de regarder le problème en face : on est tout simplement proche du néant absolu. Et pourtant, Dieu sait que le néant, en tant qu’amateur exigeant de dark folk, de clair-obscur, de textures dépouillées, d’ombres acoustiques étirées et de silences abyssaux, c’est quelque chose qui devrait me parler intimement. Le vide, je sais pertinemment l'accueillir et l'aimer d'amour quand il est habité par la poussière des cordes, la mélancolie pure, l'angoisse sincère ou la désolation brute. Mais pas ici, pas ce putain de vide, car ici c’est un vide criard, clinquant, un néant fluorescent en spandex bariolé qui tape sur le système nerveux à grands coups de saturations sans âme et d'effets périmés. C’est de la bouillie pour les rotations en boucle sur MTV entre deux réclames pour du soda, balançant de la gymnastique de manche stérile pour masquer l'absence criante d'écriture, de souffle mélodique et de dynamique humaine. Ce qui me rend véritablement dingue avec un tel naufrage, c’est cette manie exaspérante de vouloir absolument cocher toutes les foutues cases du cahier des charges de la fin des années quatre-vingt pour planquer sous le tapis le vide sidéral de la composition. On nous empile de la technicité démonstrative, des solos chirurgicaux qui défilent à la vitesse de l'éclair sans raconter le moindre début d'histoire, une basse qui claque bêtement sur le bitume en croyant réinventer la poudre et le groove, et des refrains braillés qui singent l’efficacité FM la plus usée sans jamais en trouver la grâce populaire. Au final et à force de vouloir tout faire en même temps sans idée précise, l'album n'aboutit à rien de sérieux et le groupe donne l'impression de brasser du vent. Et puis, cerise moisie sur ce gâteau déjà particulièrement indigeste, je me demande encore très sérieusement ce que Mick Jagger est venu foutre dans cette galère à jouer les parrains bienveillants et à poser de l'harmonica sur deux titres. Le vieux devait sans doute s’ennuyer à crever en 1988, cherchant désespérément à s’acheter une caution branchée pour prouver aux patrons de studios new-yorkais qu’il comprenait toujours ce qui bougeait sur le pavé urbain. Grand bien lui fasse, mais le résultat est sans appel... Ça reste de la merde et quoi qu'on dise on ne fera jamais du chocolat avec de la merde. Au bout du compte, ce Vivid n’est qu’un gigantesque trompe l'oeil que seule une nostalgie mal placée pour les vestes à motifs criards et la fusion survoltée tente encore de réhabiliter aujourd'hui. Un album usé, insipide, qui a vieilli à une vitesse supersonique. C'est gonflant, c'est pénible, c'est chiant, ça n'a plus rien à dire depuis des décennies. Un bon gros 1 sur 5 assumé jusqu'au bout, et sans l'ombre d'un remords.

Not too bad. I had higher expectations I guess -- I would certainly not describe this as metal. Much softer than that. Actually almost cringe or cheesy at times. But, it's still a very cool group making good music. The 80s-isms bring it down a bit once again, but on the whole I'm a fan. Fave tracks: - Cult of Personality - Middle Man - Desperate People - Open Letter (To A Landlord) - Funny Vibe - Memories Can't Wait - Which Way to America

Vivid Living Colour 1988 Genres: Metal, Rock Styles: Hard Rock, Funk Metal 1. Cult of Personality (★★★★★) -Contexto: Trata sobre el carisma y la devoción hacia líderes. Según Reid, el tema menciona a Gandhi y a Stalin en el mismo aliento porque el fenómeno "trasciende lo bueno y lo malo": la gente puede dar la vida por una causa justa (cita el movimiento por los derechos civiles) o seguir a alguien destructivo. Reid dice que una de las cosas más subversivas que hicieron fue lograr que la radio masiva pasara la voz de Malcolm X. -Fav 2. I Want to Know (★★★★☆) -Contexto: Según Reid, es "angustia no correspondida": el deseo y la obsesión por alguien que te atrae. Él mismo dice que hoy, con otra sensibilidad, hay cosas de la letra que son discutibles (menciona la imagen de estar "en las sombras") y que la editaría en retrospectiva. 3. Middle Man (★★★★★) -Contexto: Fue la primera colaboración de Reid y Corey Glover. Reid cuenta que se basó en parte en una nota de suicidio que Corey había escrito de más joven, algo que él supo mucho después. Para Reid es una celebración de la actitud de "no tengo que ser el número uno": rechaza la mentalidad de aplastar a todos para llegar arriba y se lee como un himno del trabajador de oficina. -Fav 4. Desperate People (★★★★★) -Contexto: Según Reid trata de la adicción y también de quienes la facilitan: los que están felices de alentarte a destruirte, y la gente desesperada que se junta a acompañarse. Aclara que no es un dedo acusador ni habla del consumo recreativo, sino de cuando la vida se sale de control. 5. Open Letter (To a Landlord) (★★★⯨☆) -Contexto: Nació de pensar en el parque cerca de la casa de los padres de Reid (jugaban al básquet, una vez apareció un Harlem Globetrotter) y en qué pasaría si lo cerraran. Eso lo llevó a la idea de barrios que cambian y recién llegados a los que no les importan la comunidad ni sus tradiciones. Es una carta contra la gentrificación. 6. Funny Vibe (★★★⯨☆) -Contexto: Reid cuenta que, de muy buen humor, entró a una tienda y en el ascensor una señora blanca se aferró a su cartera con miedo. La mirada de desprecio fue "la gota que rebalsó el vaso" y de esa bronca salió la canción. Trata sobre el racismo cotidiano y la sospecha automática hacia los negros. Según los créditos del disco, colaboran Chuck D y Flavor Flav (Public Enemy). 7. Memories Can't Wait (★★★★☆) -Contexto: Versión de un tema de Talking Heads. Reid dice que era fan del post-punk, que Talking Heads estaban ligados a CBGB (el club donde Living Colour se formó como banda) y que sintió que la canción tenía una onda con la que podían hacer algo propio. No hay declaración de la banda sobre la letra; el clima es oscuro y nervioso. 8. Broken Hearts (★★★☆☆) -Contexto: Según Reid, es "una canción de amor directa" y un intento de mezclar country blues con hip-hop, algo que compara con lo que años después hizo "Old Town Road". Dice que ambos géneros comparten el formato de contar historias. 9. Glamour Boys (★★★⯨☆) -Contexto: Reid dice que surgió de entrar a una tienda y ser completamente ignorado, y de la superficialidad que había en la vida nocturna y la moda de Nueva York en esa época: los "fabulosamente vestidos" y vacíos. Es una crítica a la apariencia por encima de la sustancia. 10. What's Your Favorite Color? (Theme Song) (★★★☆☆) -Contexto: Según Reid, es irónica ("tongue-in-cheek") y quería tener una canción-tema como las de Chic o Bad Company. Lo define como "una diversión inofensiva" al hacer esa pregunta. 11. Which Way to America? (★★★⯨☆) -Contexto: Reid dice que habla de la distancia entre la América idealizada del hogar y la vida real en la calle: dónde está el camino que lleva a los símbolos de haber "llegado", atados a productos y consumo. Es una canción sobre la brecha entre quienes tienen y quienes no, y sobre divisiones raciales. -TOTAL = ★★★⯨☆ (3,91)

Got kind of bored with it. 2.5/5

Ts so ass😭

Interesting

This sounds quite dated and is definitely a fair bit underwhelming, almost like none of the songs ever really get going.

At worst it's a little knockoff Motley Crue but some really good fast guitar riffs and great bass parts. Don't love the singer. The Talking Heads cover is fun it's like what if David Byrne wasn't so trapped by being David Byrne.

Um no

- 5 because Vernon Reid is the shit .... he's one of the only reasons to stay on xitter (follow him). -

Often busy, sometimes fun. Two.

Schlocky and kitsch 80s hard rock, kinda fun but nothing special and not really for me

Better with age

a lot of times, lyrics just flow through one ear right out the other for me. man i hope that was the case for this album. maybe this is a generational difference, but this feels like an amazing groove rock album marred by childishly surface level lyricism. cult of personality is still a banger.

Ach, immer diese furchtbare blecherne hallige 80s-Snair Drum. Nervt ab Minute 1 und klopft sich dann penetrant auf jede 2 und 4 durchs ganze Album. Wenn ich versuche die Snair auszublenden, ist das Album ein eher fader Mix von Funk und Hard Rock. In der zweiten Hälfte kommt endlich mal etwas mehr Abwechslung rein, vor allem weil der Funk mehr aufgedreht wird. Aber mir fehlt die Tiefe und Komplexität. (Nichts gegen Alben, die einfach nur Spaß machen sollen, aber das hier macht mir persönlich kaum Spaß.) 2/5 - unterdurchschnittlich

There were a couple of years back in the '80s/'90s when we were really into this band. At the time it was a fresh, new, exciting sound. I remember we went to see them in Bristol, Bad Brains opened for them and were a bit crap. It's been about 30 years since I listened to this but it's still a cracking rock album, even if it sounds a little dated now. 'Cult of personality' 'Open Letter (To A Landlord) and 'Funny Vibe' are some real bangers.

It’s alright. Personality and the Talking Heads cover are sick.

I liked this one well enough, but it only has 1 or 2 songs that I'd consider very memorable.

5/10 - quite an interesting sound, starts of pretty heavy rock then the elements of hip hop can be heard now and again

Good song with incredible guitar riffs

Hey Kids! Earnest 80's rock can't hate it.

This blended so many genres. Obviously rock. Cult of Personality was a ton of fun. There were bass lines on here that ranged from funk to disco. I really enjoyed it.

Bof

Мне сильно понравился, куча фанка, рок н ролла, все быстро и мощно 💪

Uneven but the highs are high

Really like the funk with the heavy guitars. Great playing.

It is quite interesting that in the same week I was recommended Jane's Addiction's music I also get yet another heavily influential project in nearly the same exact styles of Hard Rock and Funk Metal with Living Colour's Vivid. I didn't expect this album to be so lighthearted and very influential for its' time. This album mixes Funk, Metal, Pop, Rock, and even Hip Hop with its' occasional sampling. This album is a lot more upbeat than Jane's Addiction music as it feels like the golden child of the two bands as they both delve into different sides of the same coin. The music here is jumpy, fun, and feels like a blast to hear even if it does come off a bit dated. You can't take the fun out of the music no matter how hard you try and Living Colour is proof of that. Vivid very much surprised me in almost all fronts and is one of the best surprises I could have asked for when diving into this weird and wacky list.

Cult of Personality on Guitar Hero III... oh, the memories.

Ja dit vind ik dus echt helemaal geweldig. Dit is gewoon zo'n ongelofelijke nostalgieboost, die je hier meteen krijgt. Heerlijk om even weer te mogen denken aan die mooie oude tijd aan de diepenveenseweg 35, waar we met zn allen kunnen genieten van een potje risk. Niemand die weet dat ik repelsteeltje heet, en daar komt dan ook nog eens bij kijken dat ik hier zit te genieten van een kantoorgenoot die gewoon durft te zingen in mijn bijzijn. Wirklich heel erg bijzonder en ik denk niet dat iemand mij ooit zal begrijpen. Ook al wil ik in het hier en nu wel even benadrukken dat deze kantoorgenoot wel uiterst voorzichtig is en ook niet per se volluit zit mee te zingen. Maar goed, dan zou het leven ook wel heel erg mooi zijn, vind je ook niet?

No es mi estilo, pero reconozco que tienen fuerza.

Bien

All over the place, with Cult of Personality and Glamour Boys being complete polar opposites. Kept me engaged and was a good vibe. Rating: 6/10 Favorite Song: Cult of Personality

Pretty good, a lot of it just kind of blended into classic rock. Favorite Track: Cult of Personality

I loved this album when it came out. It occupied fresh space - funky heavy rock. Will Calhoun is a monster drummer. Vernon Reid a heavy duty guitar player, and Corey Glover a great front man. This one is between four and five stars for me. I'll round up to five for their ability to blend so many elements into a coherent whole.

Did nothing for me in the slightest. Most "Now That's What I Call Music" album thus far.

2,on va pas se mentir c'était pas fou

I wanted to really like this and it wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either. Some of the timing was off by a significant margin and that made it hard to appreciate some of the other good aspects of the album. It seemed pretty basic musically although there were some interesting instruments used.

This is really good. It sounds like a lot of bands I already listen to. I had never heard of this band before, but I might listen to more of them.

Worried it was going to be all downhill from Cult of Personality after the next couple songs, but it really picked up throughout the album. Public Enemy feature rocked. Geese and Black Country New Road probably don't exist without this album (I say as if I know anything)

It's like if Van Halen didn't fucking suck

Dare I say the first song on this album is The Best In The World! Loved this entire project, they were absolutely shredding on every song. I love when an album feels like the guys were in a studio jamming out and. And up with these great songs. The lead singer’s voice is incredible to me too, no notes, five stars!

There's some enjoyable rock tracks on this record, but for me everything feels too cliché and formulaic, as if the record was designed to be a soundtrack to the next Cars movie. Maybe that's a lazy view on the songwriting, but the production, writing and delivery of each song feels overproduced and too simple. Ultimately, it got boring very quickly, and that's no bueno.

Quite enjoyed it, RHCP but less self indulgent and a bit more generic

There’s nothing I ever return to in this album except Cult of personality, even though it’s never bad (except maybe Glamour boys)

i hate to hate an album with cover art this good

This album rocks! I knew cult of personality but the whole album is heavy, groovy and full of sick solos and riffs. Love it.

Somehow, I had expected more from it.

An album mistakenly labeled as metal, many such cases. This was a really cool album... for like two songs in the middle.

RATING: 6.5/10 HIGHLIGHT: Cult of Personality LOWLIGHT: Funny Vibe

It was good.

*1988. *Cult of Personality of course. *Not sure what to call this - several music genres here (blues, jazz, pop, etc.) But it mostly works. *We saw these guys for at Epcot (like 30 minute set), and it was good but totally unmemorable. *I wouldn't actively listen to this again, but I wouldn't be upset at all if someone had it on. RATING - 6.5/10

Not really my style of music, but I appreciated the virtuosity of the instrumentalists.

Boah ne

Whoever though metal funk was a good idea.

Strong album. Really loved the writing on this one.

This is one of the great opening riffs of all time. The combination of Corey and Vernon was unlike anything the world had seen. Right place, right time, right music.

3.0

7 - GOOD

4.5

More American rock. Not good

First listen Saved 4/11 Top track: Cult of Personality

niet slecht, maar niet goed genoeg om een hele plaat na elkaar te degusteren

Kevin loves me!

Some of the best singing, bass playing, and guitar playing you’ll ever hear.

Cult of Personality is a great song in desperate need of a lead guitarist with some melodic sense. From there it‘s a series of completely forgettable, often cringe-inducing tracks that sound like outtakes from the WB studio band. Brilliant technicians, with no capacity for artistry, aiming squarely at commercial success.

Fun and high energy throughout. A little boring in the middle but overall enjoyed. Which Way to America was a fave.

A massive hit song enough to carry an entire album is a minimal statement. That song soars!

Maybe I'm being too kind here but I need a rating REVOLUTION THIS IS GETTING 5 STARS

This was fun. Cult of Personality might be one of the best album openers out there, and in general there’s just a lot of energy and swagger on this record. I like the funk influence, and the guitar playing is hard to top. Strong 4.5/5

I genuinely always thought they were white guys until I read the bio today...

I had high hopes for this album because "Cult of Personality" is such a banger, but the rest of the album fell a bit flat.

It's hip to be colour

Veeeery 90s. Not always in a good way.

Fun album! Cult of Personality is a classic, but I also enjoyed several other tracks, including Glamour Boys and Which Way to America. It's a shame that this style of black hard rock didn't take off at the time, but I'm glad we have this album.

I had Cult of Personality as a 7” single back in the day, and owned this album. Haven’t listened to either song or album in a *very* long time though. Cult of Personality is certainly the highlight of the album. Overall it’s ok, but has got some terrible tunes too (Glamour Boys I’m looking specific at you…) I think one of the problems I have with a fair amount of rock/metal, especially from the 80’s, is they often come across as comedy pastiche bands. Lyrics that are quite cringe and sounds which are not in the slightest bit heavy compared to their appearance. Is there really any need for tracks like Glamour Boys and What’s Your Favorote Color? Or really most of this album?

I loved the Talking Heads cover - unusual choice but very well done.