Vivid

Impressions: Funk and hard rock can apparently sound good together. The lead vocalist’s voice is so hot! Favorite tracks: Cult of Personality, Open Letter (To a Landlord), Funny Vibe, What’s Your Favorite Color? Rating: 3/5

"Cult of Personality" is a great tune and has a great video. Honestly, the whole thing in retrospect is a bit cringy. Living Colour was a rocking band which happened to have black members. In terms of mass market radio airplay, they were definitely trendsetters, but in a way, it feels like at the time they were mostly being treated like they were a novelty act. Of course, this is absurd. One of my favorite bands is Bad Brains, and they are totally out there in terms of energy and uniqueness, but that said, they were never put up as some sort of "wow, look at this" by the record label. Anyhow, really good guitar sounds, wide variety of quality in the songwriting, and sure, I'll give them points for "Cult of Personality" which really said something that needed to be said in Reagan era America, but I hesitate to think that this band would have been huge without A) MTV and B) "wow, look, a black band that plays rock!" The cover of "Memories Can't Wait" is pretty great, though.

Hard rockfunk metalheavy metal. Rock pop ochentero.

Cult of Personality is great! One of the best songs from the late 80s/early 90s alternative scene. The rest of the album is just okay to me. There are some cool funk rock songs and the guitar playing is awesome throughout...I especially love the slap bass. Funny Vibe is probably my favorite of the rest of the songs. This is pretty much how I felt when I saw them in the 00s...killer guitar but only a couple songs that really drew me in. The 2nd best song from the live show was a cover of Crosstown Traffic.

I genuinely love the sounds on this record, but as a complete listen it’s pretty uneven. Fun and I listen to it a lot though

Immaculate production? Check. High-quality playing? Check. Squealy rocking-out guitar? Check. Shame about the dull, corporate American, bog-standard tunes

What the RHCP tried to be

Good, lively, upbeat

Like many, I’ve only really heard “Cult of personality”, but the rest of the album really follows through with the same energy and talent as that. A great 90s hard rock listen!

Like a funky Van Halen or if the Red Hot Chilli Peppers didn't suck. Vernon Reid rips all over this album with a huge bombastic 80s tone, shredding solos, some great riffs, and some Nile Rodgers style disco rhythm guitar. The drums are big, reverby as hell, and go at full blast, the bass is busy and propulsive. All that doesn't leave much space for the singer so he creates it by belting out the vocals at the top of his register at film volume. Some prog elements in there, a bit of slide guitar, loads of chorus pedal, a talking heads cover and the all-timer Cult of Personality.

Start with a banger, the rest are okay

I like this but I'm torn on where it stands. Between a 🥉 and 🥈

Några bangers, en det tråk, bra gitarr, stark trea

Pretty funny that this was assigned just a few days after CM Punk was fired again Cult of Personality is the clear highlight of the album, and there’s some good stuff elsewhere with a fun mix of funk and hard rock, but something about the production makes a lot of this sound like sitcom theme tunes (Glamour Boys especially)

3.5

Cult of personality was a huge hit when it came out, and it is still holds up. The rest of the album is a great combination of funk and metal. A lot of it sounds dated now but it is quintessential late 80s early 90s sound. This album definitely influenced future acts. Overall a God album

Good but not great

"Cult of Personality" is a classic, but I thought most of this album was sort of forgettable. Not bad at all, but not something I'd ever return to. I respect this a whole lot more than a bunch of other 80s rock. You can tell these guys have passion, unlike bands like Kiss and AC/DC.

Feels of it’s time but enjoyable! Unexpected rock always appreciated 6/10

Classique Cult of Personnality. Bin correct sans trop de wow. Un peu de funky aussi j'ai pas hai. Note de passage safe

At least a couple of great songs in here, but a lot of it is musically uninteresting however. Some great lyrical commentary is what brings it up for me.

Metal that's thoughtfully written, creative and soulful? Sign me up. Musically, this album is excellent, if very much of its time. "Cult of Personality" is the obvious star track and one of the great songs of the era, but there's also a lot of filler here. Fave Songs: Cult of Personality, Memories Can't Wait, Glamour Boys

highly accomplished poppy hard rock; the cymbals are recorded really well

Cults of Personality still a great one. Rest of the album was just okay.

I'd never heard to this - clearly they didn't make it across the Atlantic. All sort of OK and there's bits on here that reminded me of all sorts of stuff from the 80s. But without any history of the band I'll not be listening again, so it's another 3 star album.

Vivid is the debut album by American rock band Living Colour. This hard rock album also has elements of funk, metal, soul, jazz, pop, and rap. It was one of the most popular albums of 1988 and is certified double platinum in the US. Vivid was groundbreaking for fusing so many genres of music into a cohesive piece of hard rock history, plus the band was made up of all Black members - something unusual for a rock band back in the 80's. Vivid is a great hard rock album and has a little bit of something for everyone. It's not one of my favorites, but it was nice to listen to.

This has a little bit of a lot going on with it. Stadium hair band rock, 80's pop-y vocals, Prince'ish rhythms and funk, and screaming that stylistically pre-dates what comes in the next decade. For me, I preferred the blazing rock tracks but, all things considered, this was a good inclusion on the list.

tylsää rokkia synkältä ajalta... olisi ehkä siedettävää vaikka salilla mutta kuulokkeet päässä nukahtaa alta aikayksikön.... .. noh ei mikään ole virallisesti mikään täyttä paskaa... its weaker in stand of glue its own than in the stronge parts separated, sen verran kehtaan sanoa. basso biisissä funny vibe heh (funny) ok b-osio on hyvä saa kolmosta huoh pakko olla objecive funny vibe (heh) hauskat wibat

3.75

Pleasantly surprised.

Pretty good but I think it skirts on the side of forgettable. No major standouts here which may be the thing that pulls it back. For such a heavy album it's somehow so light at the same time and I don't get it

Cult of Personality went harder than any other song on the radio in 1988. Nobody my age had a clue what the fuck Glover was talking about, but it sounded smart as hell. And hold up hold up - this song goes 100 times harder than any other rock on the radio and these are black dudes??? This blew my young mind. Also - did it cause any kind of waves that he says 'Like Mussolini and Kennedy'? I don't remember there being any talk around this song, but hoo boy, American hero Kennedy being compared to Mussolini is pretty bold! This song will never not be relevant, it seems. But then the second song sounds like something Backstreet Boys would've done, minus the guitars. And the longer this goes on, the less I like it. Open Letter still has some good stuff in it but that initial blast of heat from Cult of Personality is long gone after a bit. Still, in 1988? This was a big swing.

I had never really heard anything by Living Colour aside from the infamous Cult of Personality (which is an absolute jam!), so was definitely not sure what to expect. I enjoyed this album! The first half of the album seemed to go pretty hard, sounding more like general hard rock of the time, whereas the second half was a little bit more experimental, mixing in a lot of rock, hip hop, and funk. This second half ended up reminding me of something like Phil Collins. Their sound permeates the entire album, but I definitely feel like the second half has more of it. The song “What’s Your Favorite Color?” towards the end of the album is a fun way to draw things to a close. What’s your favorite color? Living color! These guys definitely touch on a lot of sounds and do their own fusion of sound uniquely and with skill. It was impressive that this band did all of this on their first album, too, but lightning didn’t really quite strike twice for them; none of their subsequent albums were nearly as successful as this one. This was seemingly a moment in time, but a successful and fun one!

Listened in two halves but surprisingly didn't mind it

Bra klös, lite för funkigt för mig..

I enjoyed this. It certainly took me back. Nearly a 4*

Listened Before? N Pretty good. I always heard good things about this one but never really appealed to me much.. I really liked listening to it, despite this. Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: Cult of Personality

This had all the elements of an album I would be into but I just... wasn't I think it sounded too corny like an over the top dive bar battle of the bands 2.5/5

Cult of personality is the obvious banger but there's some other good tracks here as well. But a good few come off as really cheesy and I feel like they haven't aged super well. The stuff they are talking about is super important though. I didn't love this album but I appreciate what they are doing. Score: 60 Art: 70

A bit of a mixed bag. Absolutely no one can talk badly about the talent of each individual member, and when they come together to show off, it has the best results. However, when they tone down their ability and just play simple stuff, it's pretty boring and unmemorable. Favorite tracks: \"Cult Of Personality\", \"Open Letter\", \"Which Way To America\"

Big fat 3 for me. Had some moments of ripping but ultimately just sounded like relatively outdated rock music. I'm sure at the time the album was a bop.

Interesting album, a little corny.

Good album. Cult of Personality is a classic. Singer's voice is amazing.

classic

Already knew Cult of personality, but I don’t know many of Living Color’s songs. I like the lead singer’s voice a lot, he has really good falsetto! I didn’t really have much to say, I like the music, but a lot of the songs just sounded similar to me in the beginning, but at the end the last couple of songs were refreshing and fun!

Not bad, couple of tunes is not heard before plus a great cover at the end!

One good song, got old

Of course the first song is banger, but the rest were pleasant enough.

Cult of Personality is an all-time great song! It's not an all-time great album, though. Enjoyable, but I'm not dying to listen again.

Why did only the leading track get airtime? It's the only song I know on the album, but the rest of it is so much better than the rock music that was out in 1988. Ahead of their time. I like the variation in sound. A lot of different stuff giong on here. 1 - bad 2 - average 3 - good 4 - great 5 - outstanding

I think I’d have liked this in the 80s but I can do without it now - a bit dated

It really drops in quality after the opening song "Cult of personality" which is a great song. It got some funky similarities to Red Hot Chili Peppers and Faith No More but I think those two are better.

Interesting metal album. ‘Cult of Personality’ is great, but the rest of the album fails to live up to that. It’s still a good album, but not enough to warrant a 4.

This album could be so much more but is squandered under a late 80s production sheen that does it no favors.

Yeah, it was alright. Didn’t know what to expect so wasn’t disappointed and at some points was quite pleasantly surprised. Will instantly forget the whole album though, obvs.

Started out fun, but got wayyy too repetitive.

Good funk rock

Best Song: Which Way To America. Almost metal in its intensity. Worst Song: Desperate People. This band is too talented for such a slow and plodding track. Overall: Slick rock that has a very classic feel. The music feels very technical (at times to a deleterious degree) and something about the guitar tone makes it sound dated. Still, good classic rock is good classic rock.

Nice hard rock opener. Its ok. Good vocals... but their best track, for me, is “Love rears up its ugly head” - which is another style... They have a good stop start thumping style. Which might be their signature sound. Ok. they’re good. But the album is 3.

Funky metal = kinda cringe

Not mine

6/10 musically i really liked this but the lyrics got to me.

Ok

I appreciate the boundary pushing funk/hard rock vibe, but often it feels dated and doesn't totally work for me. Cult of Personality is undeniably a banger.

T3B 1. Cult of Personality 2. Memories Can’t Wait 3. Middle Man

Like an exemplar for 3! Pleasant enough, good fun, some good memorable tunes but never really lifts off.

Cult of Personality is excellent. The rest of the album is average like RHCP. 3 stars for being innovative in its time.

Lyrics that have aged badly, music that is pleasant but just vapid if you think about it too closely - this is a typical 'classic' hard rock album alright! not too invested in it, but would recommend it if only for the novelty of the sound alone

Not bad, not bad. "Cult of Personality" is still my favorite song from the album and used to be the only song I knew from this group. The other songs were all okay (in my opinion) and it had a very strong finish with "Which Way to America." I appreciate the meaningful lyrics and that awesome guitar-playing.

3.5/5

Amazing musicianship, genuine style.

A little dated

There are several songs I had forgotten about and it was good to hear them again, especially “Glamour Boys” but overall this sounds very dated.

A ton of hard rock on this album. Cult of personality is one of the best songs ever. I got a lil bored in the middle of this album but the song open letter brought me back in. Memories can't wait, broken hearts, and glamour boys is a fantastic 3 song stretch. This got way better by the end 6/10

fine, but not my jam

Cult of Personality gave me major Guitar a hero flashbacks. A decent rock album.

The angry, grunge-funk tracks are great (see Cult of Personality), but the 80’s pop sections are not. Still love this album tho

everything all at once

This holds up pretty well 3

I had this album for Cult Of Personality. LOVED that song, but never really got into the rest of the album too much.

It's aight

‘Cult of Petsonality’ is a great tune. I remember when the MTV video came out - supercool as it was great to see and hear a hard rock band with a fresher vibe than the aging glam-rock big-hairs popular at that time. Rest of the album has some great guitars and mediocre songs.

Cult of Personality is great, the rest is better than average. Living Colour is rad because of their guitars, early funky metal sound and succeeding as an all black metal band - glad to have listened again.

From an 80s rock first half to the almost 80s pop in the second half, I enjoyed mostly the vocals, really interesting timbre. I also like that the production was the same throughout. However, no song really stands out. Lacks a bit of personality at times.

What a great, and oft forgotten band/album

A new band for me and a nice alternative to the very white rock scene. Quite the genre-hopping experience for the ears. Like a Phil Collins-Faith No More-INXS-AC/DC-Prince type Frankenstein’s monster. Preferred it when they embraced their heavy side: 'Cult of Personality and 'Middle Man' were the standout tracks for me.

Good fun album which was surprisingly easy to listen to. Starts with a banger, and then treads a fine line with being parody (see Mötley Crüe) without ever getting silly. Tracks like 'Which way to America' and the cover of 'Should I stay' kept up the pace to the end.

I really enjoyed this - a mash up of so many stylings which many will critique as a bit chaotic, but they've brought together so many of my formative musical influences that I think I may have developed a soft spot for them. And they knew how to write a dead catchy tune - Glamour Boys is a fab bit of pop that appeals to my inner 10 year old

Was introduced to this through GTA San Andreas. Lots of fun

Eurgh i wrote a whole load of notes here that didn't get saved. In short, I liked it, a nice surprise as hadn't heard of the band before. Preferred the growly stuff. The bluesy guitar was real nice. I really enjoyed listening to it.... giving it a 3 as probably wont listen to it as an album again.

Top 3 Songs: 1 - Cult of Personality (1) 2 - Which Way to America (11) 3 - Funny Vibe (6)

Solid late 80's rock, sounds like it belongs in Rock Band. Yeesh though some of these lyrics make me physically wince in pain. Cool jams though woooooooooooooo!!!!

A lot of killer music and riffs on this album. The one thing really bringing it down is the singer and the lyrics. If there are an instrumental version, I’d be bumping this often

Heavy, hip hop

The onset had me thinking metal, then I started to imagine these dudes as a hair band full of crew cut bankers. It was pretty Noiseworks with occasional screaming guitar squealing.

i know that first song from somewhere, but cant remember where.

i liked the one about the landlord

At least the opener is catchy

Some nice songs, but some weird ones. I liked Cult of Personality and Desperate People.

Pop-rock. Geinig album. Het heeft dat echte 80s geluid. De nummers zijn verder niet heel bijzonder. ***

I completely understand and am totally alright with why Cult of Personality is the only song I’ve heard off this album. Good, not great. 3/5

Where did they go ? They were good.

Album rips

Good, not great. Hard rock.

Have not yet listened but cannot skip for some reason

Cult of Personality is a huge tube, sort of tailed off after that

Very interesting mix of hard rock and funk and some echoes of Zeppelin and Hendrix as well as foreshadowing the likes of Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Perhaps it's too eclectic and diverse at times, in the end not always clear what direction the music is heading in

Amazing box of frogs kind of album. I know ‘cult of’ well but rest of record was brand new. Hard to tell where the direction was though and style all over the place

Living Colour’s “Vivid” offers a unique blend of soulful, Stevie Wonder-like vocals mixed with funk, metal, and hard rock music. I wasn’t really in the mood for this album, but I respect the hell out of it. Plus, I’m not sure if I’ve ever heard of an African-American Metal or hard rock band–which is ironic considering Black people invented the rock genre. The diversity that Living Colour brought to the rock scene when it was saturated by commercial White bands in the 80s might have been the secret to their success.

A couple good tracks but not impressed overall.

I knew the opening song and that was it. I didn't really enjoy this album much. It felt musically very dated to me and just bland. 2.5/5

Not exciting to me. Probably wouldn't listen again.

Starting with arguably one of the 1980s greatest rock tracks…and subsequently one of its best riffs. It’s unevenness is what leads the album as a whole into okay territory rather then true greatness.

Like it!

Hard rockfunk metalheavy metal. Rock pop ochentero.

Not what I expected to hear. Rocks hard.

Very decent. Not quite a 4 but better than a three. Lets see how I feel tomorrow when I rate it

This was kind of cool, but nothing stuck with me that much. May need another listen.

A cool, unique brand of soulful funky glam metal. Props for creativity. I did think it was too cheesy for my personal taste. It’s one of those albums I admire but don’t super enjoy

Fun groovy rock album. Top songs are “i want to know” and “cult of personality” Trailblazers in the 80s mainstream music industry for being a black rock group. Ok kings!!

There are points when this album just makes me want to like it - but while all the tracks show promise - the band tends to favour virtuosity over style. And lyrically it feels weak after the cutting bluntness of the hip hop canon on the politics of race and poverty. So after many unnecessary solos, slap bass, jazz drumming and lyric restraint, it ends up being a mediocre record in all.

A lot better than I thought it would be. Cult of Personality is an absolute banger of a track that I remember being on GTA: San Andreas. So it's a classic for me for sure. Outside of that I wasn't super familiar with any of the other songs on here.

Not as good as ham.

they had a talking heads cover

Decent

Helt ok!

A couple of good songs, incredible guitar licks. Unfortunately, every Living Colour (Coloür? Never noticed the umlaut before) song loses steam half way through. Like they had a great idea for a song, but then had another great idea before they could put all the finishing touches on that song and so they wrap it up and start on the next one.

It's such a strangely straight down the middle of the road rock album. Fave: Open Letter (To a Landlord)

Jättää avausraidan jälkeen aika kylmäksi. Vähän tällästä itsestäänselvää kitarakaahausta. Ihan jees. 3/4 mut lähempänä kahta pistettä

Eh, ihan jees räminää. Avausraita on klassikko ja oli siellä muutama muukin hyvä, tosin Glamour Boys vähän rasittavan puolelle menevä renkutus. 3/5

Cool

tuneful but not very memorable, like much in 1988

I had heard of Living Colour but had never listened to them. Their brand of socially conscious funk metal fused with R&B and soul is certainly interesting. The music is punchy and was a lot of fun to listen to. The biggest issue for me was just how dated a lot of it sounded. It was quite enjoyable though.

Je n'ai qu'un vague souvenir d'une entame plutôt rock et d'une conclusion assez funky. À moins que je confonde cet album avec le précédent, ce qui ne m'étonnerait pas un seul instant étant donné ma personnalité très tête en l'air.

Ce groupe m'a bien berné. Je pensais avoir affaire à un album très sympathique, mais plus les pistes défilaient, plus je me suis mis à detester cet album. C'est donc sur des pensées confuses que je propose cette note de 3 sur 5.

3.6 - Despite some sophomoric political posturing (e.g. "Open Letter (To a Landlord)"), this is an aptly named album with lots of colorful guitar work. Obvious standout: "Cult of Personality."

The punk indie rock worked sometimes but other times I didn't get it. I hated how it sounded on the cover of 'Should I stay or should I go' but liked it on 'Broken Hearts'.

Nunca los escuché, por alguna razón nunca me topé con ellos. Supongo que su mezcla de rock y funk no era tan popular en Chile, pero lo tiene todo para serlo. Incluso dos hitazos de la época

Not as good as I remember it from the time.

Rock ochentero. Desconocimiento sobre el tipo de música que hacía este grupo. Alguna canción un tanto más cañera, otra más comercial. Se puede escuchar, tiene ritmo

A new album for me. Particularly enjoyed "Funny Vibe", "Memories Can't Wait", "Which Way to America" and the guitar in "Broken Hearts". Very close to being a 4 for me and maybe it will be after a few more listens.

Yeah fine. A bit samey after a while but fairly pleasant.

loved the first song, the rest kind of blurred together

I liked it but nothing that stood out, however it's just good overall classic rock

Hmmmm... kind like Faith No More with about 50% more glam metal. I didn't hate it, but it didn't really grab me either. Fave track - "Broken Hearts", I reckon...

Better than I remember, but you might have been biased back then

Cult of Personality is obviously the main draw here. The rest of the album is fun enough, but nothing really lives up to the opener.

Nothing against them, but seems middle of the road rock. Not bad though and would listen again. I already own another of their albums

Þessi fellur á milli 2 og 3 stjarna, en ég leyfi henni að njóta vafans. Fínt hart rokk, fagmannlega flutt og af innlifun, sum lög eftirminnileg meira að segja. Söngvarinn er samt ekki að gera mikið fyrir mig, og þyngri lögin eru ekki að gera mikið fyrir mig.

i feel the album doesnt really know what it wants, its a mix of glamrock, 80s rock some hip hop all while song by a very 80s sounding singer. Its not bad per song but as a whole its a bit confusing

I've never went far beyond they're hits, so a lot was new to me. They've always been one of those bands I knew had a much denser back catalogue than they're singles led on to, but I just never took the time. They really hit with some great, heavy topics (especially "for the time"). It all, of course, leans a little too 90s rock-funk? But they're more Fishbone, than Chili Peppers, which is a positive, for sure. One of these days I'll continue through they're discography to really get a feel for how they progressed. Not today, but someday...

It was ok. I remember this from Guitar Hero Favorite song: Cult of Personality

Technically good but not for me musically.

Just lacks the swagger and melody of similar late 80s rock bands.

Album started off good and then it was just non-stop filler. Thought I was enjoying it and then it just dragged on. It’s a shame because there are some really cool parts and gems hidden within, but overall just boring

Me ha gustado la take alternativa del sonido del rock duro, no sabía que esperar porque no conocía a esta banda. Está curioso el contenido de la letra, asociado a este sonido, es curioso. El opener (que está en la cultura popular por alguna razón (la razón debe ser simplemente que es una canción famosa)) es totalmente estelar y probablemente el punto más alto del álbum. Otros highlights son Funny Vibe y el remix con Prince Paul. Not mad at all pero no es exactamente para mi, aunque tiene mucha personalidad. Un 2,5. PD: Fun fact que acabo de leer en wikipedieishon después de escuchar: coproducido por Mick Jagger

Very innovative and influential for rock. Was surprised to hear what sounded like metal chords and riffs at points.

Stacked back-half, but still not really for me. I’m glad Living Colour exists, though; they were vertainly better than the Chili Peppers.

It was great when It came out. I don't feel the same love I had for it back then, now. It is still good though. 3/5.

Nice, the Cult of Personality band! Love that song on Guitar Hero 3, love it here as well. Didn't know these guys were a black rock band, that's pretty sick. They've got a great sound, especially the vocalist who is both clear and powerful. Great guitar work too, as if that's a surprise. Can't say I loved too many individual tracks on here, but it was an enjoyable ride with enough hits to carry. Favorite tracks: Cult of Personality, Desperate People, Broken Hearts. Album art: Lives up to the name, very colorful. No idea what I'm looking at it, but I like it. All the negative color stuff going on is fun here. 3.5/5

I started this album after reading the Wikipedia page on "Living Colour", so I was with very high expectations. After listening to it, I'm a little bit disappointed, because the mixture of all these music styles could be a great album, but it's just "casual and chills". Maybe I'm biased because I'm sure that this album influenced a lot of bands that I like and so I see just the same song style every day, but how knows. It's a nice album and just it.

Cool riffs, and I like the funk mixed in to the rock. It's good music and it's enjoyable to listen to. I think the album starts off really good and then dips a bit until the last three tracks which are bangers.

Reid was an amazing guitar player. There's a weird combination of great songs and questionable songs on this album. Really feel like they should have stuck to 8 or 9 songs and would have made it a fantastic album. They kinda dribbled out the shot clock and then passed the ball.

It was OK - of its time I guess

Top picks: Cult of Personality and Desperate People. Didn't listen to the whole thing, but I liked the first half well enough.

Fun harder rock album. Cult of Personality slaps of course. Really enjoyed this

Good background music

Enjoyable listen! Wouldn't mind hearing this again every once in a while.

I really like the funk rock sound of this album, a really good listen, some of the guitar riffs (while strong) were a bit redundant for me personally, but a really solid album from the late 80s.

Some songs better than others, but a great example of 80s rock

This album is weird. It's like new age and rock, very strange. It makes me uncomfortable. Not very good, pretty average, and uninteresting.

Interesting, nice mix of genres and good production but boring

Cult of Personality. What an opener! I wasn't too familiar with the rest of the album. Enjoyed it, but nothing else really stood out.

This was a decent album. Good riffs and some fun songs, however it gets tiresome by the end.

Pretty decent rock album. Felt like this band combined a few elements of hard rock, hair metal, and pop alternative. The album had a lot of diversity it in which was good and bad. Overall it was decent. 6.4/10

Did like this one - a couple poor songs but overall it was good.

fun and a little sassy

it was decent. Hasn't aged super well and it wasn't my bag when it came out. the racial profiling song is still relevant today. They added some decent swag to the Clash cover.

not my thang but it was kind of good.

Above average 80s hard(ish) rock

No Again, Public Enemy influence. Enjoyable metal

Cult of Personality on Guitar Hero was my first and only foray into Living Colour. For a US based band there is a noticable British rock/punk sound in the beginning of the album. When you find out the bassist was British born, this connects the dots. It then moves to more of a funk vibe, and finishes off the album with turn to some metal. Best: Cult of Personality Worst: Open Letter (To a Landlord)

Cult of Personality will always be a banger. Then the rest of the album is kinda meh.

One great song. I used to listen to this quite a bit when it came out. I don't remember most of the songs now.

3.5

Cool.

Pretty good I think

Beetje funk, beetje rock. Best grappig!

Classic rockish.. I didn't really like the vocals.

Not that notable but I didn't dislike it

Unfortunately, the quality of songs varies massively after the opener, which deservedly became a hit.

It's alright, the first track was easily the best, no questions what so ever.

Pretty much what I expected. Just ok.

got me rocking :) added the broken hearts track to my allsorts playlist

Some good bops, better than metallica

I think I saw this band live as a warm up to a dinosaur band. It might have been the Stones? I'm falling behind on my 1001 homework so had a chance to play this but didn't really have a chance to listen.

Tge music part was enjoyable and for a style of singin I generally dislike and cringe at, this was not offensive at all. Concept was kinda weak - seemed like it was just.... we're black! But given the time, I won't fully blame them. Anyway, it was entertaining at the least, but a 3 (really more of a 2.7) at the most.

Best tof om weer eens te horen, maar niet helemaal af kunnen luisteren

Yeah decent. Very 80s and political messages. I liked track one, but I can’t remember what it was called. I watched the video on YouTube. You should check it out.

Fijne stem. Ik kende al een paar nummers maar vond niet alles op deze plaat je-het.

i dunno. it was music. has the cult of personality song. then a bunch of their songs all started sounding the same.

Today I worked on pulling louver and flush window details from Train A and adding them to the Train B set. Also began working on the demo plan and the slab plan for the addendum due on Jan 20th. This album was super easy to work to and kept me motivated through the day.

Liked it more than expected/feared

6

Not really for me.

It was nice to revisit this one. It was such a big deal when it came out. There were some songs I didn't really remember, and then some I was excited to revisit. It's not terribly inventive, but there are some solid songs.

A lot of good variety in sounds and some killer guitar work/vocals

It was ok... definitely a big drop off after “Cult of Personality” Favorite Track(s): “Cult of Personality”

i really dig the lead vocals. electric bass slaps pretty hard. all in all, id say this is a pretty solid rock album. some socially progressive lyrics to boot

S'alright. I know the one song from the sketch show and "Cult of Personality" - possibly from GTA and other Best-of lists.

7

Not bad. not totally my thing, bit of punk and rap though.

3 stars

kinda catchy. not really what I wanted to listen to. cover so cool

kinda cool don’t know really

At first I was like, ehhh generic 80s-90s "classic/hair metal rock" sound, but it got better as it went on. It's cool that they were pioneers for people of color in this genre though. I guarantee many racists listened to this band, found out they were black, and were like "I'M SO CONFLICTED". Listened to some live performances on YouTube and they seem to get much heavier and more interesting to me. I can see some RATM vibes, I'm guessing they were influenced by LC a bit. Lyrics seem to be a bit socially conscious which is nice to hear. I have heard "Cult of Personality", not a huge fan. I've heard Desperate People, that one is not bad, cool guitar work. Overall very good control of his voice, but not my type of vocals. I got to Memories Can't Wait and was like HOLD ON A SEC. Man, many people covering Talking Heads from our list so far.

Not bad. First song definitely a hit. Some really cool and interesting instrumental bits. I'd like to listen to again but doubt it would be in my rotation

On my second listen, and enjoying the album overall. 'Cult of Personality' is obviously the stand-out, but there's some other notable tracks on here, as well, like 'Desperate People'. That said, I am feeling that, other than the aforementioned stand-out, the other tracks are fairly generic sounding. The guitar work is incredible, but the songs themselves fall pretty flat. It might be because 'Cult of Personality' is such an incredible song, that it just sets a bar the rest of the album can't match.

I wouldn’t say metal, considering the musical landscape of the late 80’s, but fun time.

BRa stuff, GH3 !

Some catchy stuff but I'm just not feeling it overall.

hey, i recognise this from san andreas. doesn't hit the same irl

Meh! Pretty crappy really

not for me, but bless them

meh.. nothing to write home about except track 1 do like these guys but they aren't a whole album kinda band for me. this record is muddy/bland non-descript 2.5

The guitars against the softer sound of the vocals is curt, abruptly cutting into his guy-next-door voice with force.

I have always felt there was something off about this album. The opener is such a killer track but then I could quite comprehend what came after - even at the time. I think the off kilter rhythm/riff of COP is what makes it really stand out and gives it an edge to this day. Everything else is a but pedestrian. I feel like they need more live seasoning or something. Songs are all well played but things need to be mucked up a bit. Lyrics are occasionally goofy. And Corey Gs voice doesn't always work. I have not listened to this album in decades. It is slightly better than I remember but still can't quite transcend into something I want to listen to again - save the opener.

Tunge grooves, fede riffs osv. Lugter af sved, tror ik lige jeg var i det humør i dag.

the last quarter was bearable

I didn't know this band. Not bad but a little to hard for me. Fair album.

Hey mais c’est la musique de cm punk ! Ce rock à papa pue des aisselles Là je subis l’écoute par exemple, je trouve ça sans intérêt Je crois que c’est un des pires albums de rock que j’ai écouté. Apres il y a cult of personnalité quand même

Debated between a 2 and a 3, but feel like it's on the lower end of that area. Didn't care for much of the tunes, a little too metal/punk for my taste and the more approachable tracks were heavily 80s. Pretty eclectic overall. Appreciate the black rock crew.

What a confusing journey. [Cult of Personality starts] : ah a rock album. I've heard this song before. It's good. Let's see what else Vivid has in store for us. [an hour of every single 80s theme/genre/stereotype] I... Uh... What? Songs are unnecessarily long, but not bad.

First song immediately sent me back to waking up to music blasting on a Saturday morning and working in the yard 🫩. Not my vibe but very Brett-coded. I could maybe get down with “I Want Know,” given enough beers and a boat. 2.5/5 stars

Om man lyssnar noga, finns det någonting långt bort i bakgrunden med en antydan till ett funkigt groove. En lite basslinga, en kör, ett riff. Men du måste vara uppmärksam. Lyssna noga. Annars går det dig lätt förbi i trista metalriff. Glamour Boys sticker ut både soundsmässigt och som ett riktigt lågvattenmärke i ett i övrigt ganska svagt album. Troligtvis den svagaste tvåan någonsin.

Funk metal really had a moment there didn’t it? Wayne’s World metal really. Anyway, these guys are well respected in the genre and everything and they’re obviously very good players but it leaves me cold.

Obľúbený album môjho najlepšieho kamaráta. Ale nie môj. Muzikanti sú to určite skvelí.

Remember when they had just one decent song? And some dickhead decided to include the whole-ass album that contained that song on a list of albums I should listen to before I die? That guy has wasted so much of my time. What a prick!

A melange of all things 80’s soft rock and as a consequence nothing stand out. Listened in the car with my brother and he would think I’m being generous at 2*

Sounds like so many bands doing the rock/funk/pop crossover thing in the late 80s. Nothing to see here. 2*

Heard Cult of Personality before. Just some average late 80s rock. Nothing spectacular, it was ok 2/5

2.8

I like funk, and I like metal. They are two genres that work very well independently of each other, but not so much when they are put together. In rare cases is can be done well, but this unfortunately is not one of them. It's just such a weird conflict of styles that makes it come across as more cheesy and honestly quite immature than anything, even though it doesn't seem to be the intention. It's frustrating, the actual instrumental performances are absolutely fine, but the whole blending of genres here is really what drags this album down. It's almost nu-metal adjacent (although nu-metal seems to be having much deserved critical reevaluation at the moment), except without the same edginess, just really the cringe but still seemingly taking itself very seriously.

Kinda too much early 90s vibe for me.

Meh

I remember the buzz around the album/band when it came out in the late 80s. To me it was pop hard rock…too glam in sound. The lyrics have good strong political messages, and I like Glover’s voice well enough. It’s energetic too. But I just don’t love the music. And other than the band being one of very few in the genre with a Black singer, the music isn’t really notable to me, even though the hits are recognizable.

Classic, but not great.

Cults of Personality is a straight banger. the rest represents all that was wrong with 80's rock

An okay album, just liked I Want To Know and Should I Stay Or Should I Go the most.

This was a weird album. The first half was like the kind of rock music you hear in a dingey American bar where all the tables are sticky, and then the second half was.... reggae? funk? what?? Maybe I'm missing something, but this album felt confusing and unenjoyable.

Quite easily forgettable 80's hard rock album. Couple of highlights raise it above totally forgettable (well, highlights on this album at least). The standout tracks for me are 'Cult of personality' with it's Led Zeppelin type of riffing and Talking heads cover 'Memories can't wait'.

Sound is so end 80s. I don't even know what to think of this... This just doesn't speak to me but in the same time totally fine listening exercise.

not for me

I am aware of the existence of Living Colour and have 1 song liked by them on Spotify - which is their radio hit "Cult of Personality" but that's it. I don't think I ever really listened to this whole thing - so I'm very interested to dive into this more and see how this goes. Thoughts after listening 3 times... "Cult of Personality" - was interesting to listen to again in 2026 - where in the USA we have an actual cult following of one of the worst humans in world history. I don't understand why, but for some reason at least 1/3 of the citizens of this country actually love the criminal's personality. I find the felon's personality repulsive and completely buffoonish. Have cults of personality always been this incredibly stupid?? "Middle Man" - pretty cool "Open Letter to a Landlord" - pretty good "Broken Hearts" - liked this one - not as spastic or squealy Outside of these 4 songs, the rest of this doesn't seem to be grabbing me. I'm not sure how much of a fan I am of the high pitched squealing guitars and the often spastic feeling of some of these songs. I've noticed I've had this same issue with some other heavy metal/hard rock bands. Although some of my favorite bands are in the "hard rock" category (such as Led Zeppelin, The Who, Pearl Jam) - they just do it better I guess. Liked songs on Spotify: 4/11 Rating: 2/5

The metal stuff on this album was very grating. The ska/funk inflected stuff was much better but still not terrific.

anscheinend hard rock… idk tbh.. also finds bissi lame einf idk. aber per se nit schlecht, i mag anscheinend hard rock einfach nicht. open letter (to a landlord) gefällt mir der anfang und memories can‘t wait is mein fav

Why is this here? It's fine, but there is nothing what so ever that stands out. It's fine, even enjoyable. But is this truly a top 1000 album to listen to before I die?

In the end this is still 80s rock. Not my thing. It feels corny. Wasn't expecting it to go as hard as it does, but its not for me.

It was ok

One good song then a bit derivative.

**An ok album

Just ok. Pretty funky, their hit “cult of personality” stands the test of time but the rest is just meh. I also dug the Prince Paul remix of “funny vibe”.

I can visualize how INTOOOOO ITTTTT these guys are. Blegh.

My previous album was a country album, and I stated that I can't digest country. But there is at least one more genre I find even harder to tolerate, and that one is American Hard Rock, specially the one coming from the 80's. Well, this is not technically just Hard Rock, as it is also labeled as Funk Metal, and it shows with the funky bass and occasional funky guitar lines, but I think it approaches more the Hard Rock sound and does a couple of things I totally despise: First, the drums sound super loud and have that particular sound of the 80's that I can't stand at all. Second, the vast majority of the guitar solos have no taste and only show how fast can they play. There maybe some exceptions, like in the song "Broken Hearts" where the solo feats the ballad tone, but I still didn't care about it. Having said that, I have to give them some credit: they certainly sound passionate and the funky elements gives them a lot of personality. However, these elements didn't make my experience much better, but they keep me away from giving this project a lower score. Hard rock is something that truly exhaust me, but for anyone that likes it, maybe this will be a really great experience.

just whatever

I'm all for conscious rock music but the 80s sound and production really ruins it for me.

just a bit dull

I found this pretty dull and dated. Shredding solos are not my thing.

Some great drumming, good songs overall but nothing standout? Cool to see so many styles/energies on one album though.

The music here isn't bad, it's just dated. And it's sort of earnest in embarrassing way, like a dad singing at his daughter's wedding.

This sounds so dated

One that I won't circle back to. Not bad but for me it was forgettable. 2/5 stars.

Love that they helped push against the norms regarding ethnicity and genre, what type of music people 'should' play, etc. But holy cow, the music is...not good.

1 star if this didn’t have Cult of Personality.

I had obviously heard Cult of Personality. The others were pretty decent as well.

This is one of those albums that seemed cool when it came out but just doesn’t hold up. Screams 1988/1989. Saw them open for the Rolling Stones. I guess that was neat.

I was really looking forward to this going in, the album cover is really great, and it felt like this could be a band that stood out from the rest of the pack of 80s metal, but it just didn't connect with me unfortunately. There's no doubt there's a great degree of skill on display, particularly from Vernon Reid and Muzz Skillings on Guitar and Bass respectively, but none of the tracks really live up to the opener Cult of Personality (especially going into the 2nd track), it all suffers from that shiny 80s production that is a real turn off for me. I did enjoy the main guitar riff on Desperate People, and the concept and sound of Open Letter (To a Landlord), but then you have the track Funny Vibe with a great premise for a song, themed around the lived experience of everyday racism and micro-aggressions and they even got a feature from Public Enemy, who proceed to say one sentence and then dip. Why even get them on the track if they're not going to deliver even a single verse? Feels like a huge missed opportunity overall. Fav track: 1 - Cult of Personality Best Three Track Run: 3, 4, 5

CM PUNK

Listening Notes My only real exposure to this record was Guitar Hero Real eclectic mix of stuff for a funk rock album Standout Tracks "Cult of Personality", "Desperate People", "Funny Vibe", "Which Way to America?" First time? Yes Will it go into your rotation? No

Cult of Personality is a great song. The rest didn’t do anything for me. Not a fan of that particular style of rock.

80s clean theatrical singing-styles really don't fill my cup

Didn't do much for me. Noisy and not particularly musical.

I’m giving this 2 as it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. It was still pretty bad but just not as bad.

First song was amazing! Loved it for years. Every song after sounded like a watered down version of it.

Enjoyed hearing this for the first time, but not enough to add it to my collection

I was surprised by how weak this was.

Cheesy af one hit wonders. They seem like good dudes though.

Not really for me. A strange clash between Beastie Boys and something else I can't quite put my finger on. It's fine.

There has never been a moment in my life when I felt the mood required some Living Colour.

It's the feel of seeing a proficient band in a small music venue, where they can play but can't quite nail a melody. I've been trying to decipher why this is so bland. If one listens to 'Middle Man', or the verses of 'Open Letter' or many others, they offer no chord progression. It's generally hanging on one chord and relying on funk-bass or guitar riffery to add interest. This sort of schtick gets extremely dull quickly. Notably, when 'Open Letter' breaks into the chord-shifting chorus, it suddenly gets some life. Interesting to read Mick Jagger championed the group, and produced some of this. Maybe not so surprising given the Stones' mid to late 80s output was also pretty drab. Better than Bad Brains.

90’s US softish rock. Though some tracks could be Bill and Ted playing screeching guitar I n a Bill and Ted movie. Bodacious. Also Huey Lewisesque in places. Hip to be Square. Too American for me. Detected some possibly admirable social commentary in some lyrics and who doesn’t like a brief bit of Chuck D / Flavor Flav but can’t get past the bad sound. Disliked most aspects of this. Memories Can’t Wait my favourite - a bit more Faith No More like. 2.

Got into it a little as it dragged on, but overall well intentioned but poorly executed.

This sounds like a bad mix between Guns‘n‘Roses and Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Why was this famous?

oh no

I'm not an '80s hard rock person at all but this was a particularly fun example of it, so I can't hate at all. This was a fun time. Unfortunately I can't give this more than a 2 because this is not my kind of music. But glad I heard it!

Cult Of Personality hat einen dicken Bonus wegen Guitar Hero, ansonsten ist die Musik ziemlich schlecht gealtert.

Nichts bahnbrechendes. Habe oft geskipt.

Idk. I liked it?

I've never understood the hype on this band. They're fairly plain and sound pretty dated.

Just wasn't my thing. The first song is all you need. It just got tiring after that.