Time's Up

One of my absolute favourite albums of the 1990s. Fantastic rock, metal and funk played by a fabulous band. Vernon Reid is an all-time guitar legend. Live they were great at the time, but I also saw them this year and it was a lot of fun. Glover has lost his energetic movement and the drum- and bass solo's were unnecessary, but hearing all the great songs of the first three albums was a delight.

I see you, fellow Corey Glover lover, and I nod knowingly. I owned this album and preferred it over Vivid (though I loved them both). Elvis is Dead is one of my favourite songs to giggle over with friends. Pardon my nostalgia. (Don’t really.)

Most 90s rock is a chore for me, so I was really impressed with this one. Casting a really wide net of influence, really reminds me of that Fishbone album from the main list

This is a pretty decent album, although I would find it very difficult to give any indication as to what it's like. Some jazzy, some rappy, some funky, some punky. I'm glad I've listened to it.

Why is this one not on the official 1001 list? It's much much better than the one selected there. Thanks for the picker of this album.

With "Vivid," I remarked that "I kept wanting it to show me something besides the one-note wailing hard rock. Then they did with 'Broken Hearts,' and I quickly regretted my desire." On Living Colour's follow-up, "Time's Up," they break from those genre constraints sooner, more often, and with more success. I understand "Vivid's" place on the list, due to the success of "Cult of Personality," but I found this to be the better album.

A solid 4, really, but I marked at 5 because "Love Rears Its Ugly Head" is such a great song.

Love these guys so much. 80s (90s) rock it's OK to like.

4.5

Interesting pick, it brings something to the table that is missing from the original list.

Not quite as connected to this as their first album, but still enjoyed it. Really loved the song Type!

Living Colour is badass

Can we just take a moment to appreciate how cool the singer’s voice is? There is a lot to enjoy on the album, but the vocals are the highlight for me. I was surprised to find that Love Rears Its Ugly Head seemed familiar, as prior to listening I’d have said I only knew Cult Of Personality by this band. I didn’t recognise any track titles before listening. Anyway, the guitar is groovy, but with enough distortion to get you rocking. The vocals are crisp. I like this. Banging album.

Pretty good. Lots of great memories listening to it again. Not as great as the first album but still a good listen.

A lot of variety in the genres.

Not listened to any ton of this band but t always liked what I heard. Feel like this was more challenging, both musically and conceptually. Not pulling punches or sugar coating anything. But in a good way. Demanded and rewarded attentive listening. Glad for the recommendation.

Reviewed this, then lost it somehow. I liked the sound of the first album better. This one is cool, Living Colour is still an incredible band after all, but it just doesn't grab me the way the first one did 4/5

I can't remember if I've heard this. I floated around this genre for a while in the early 00s, got right into FNM, Infectious Grooves, Mordred etc but no idea if I heard Living Colour's second album. If it's as good as Vivid, that'll be nice. Anyway, it does the same thing as the first album. That's a good thing though. Funk metal was a really short-lived genre and sometimes I think that's a shame. It does get a bit much at times, but when I'm in the mood for it, it really hits the spot. 4/5.

8/10 not really my thing, but it’s definitely refreshing for a hard rock album far more unique and experimental than most of their contemporaries

A legendary and underrated band from the 80’s/90’s. So funky

A classic that missed the boat somewhere. The problem is the production. The drums, especially the snare, are too full, too loud, and therefore too forced. Typical sound of that era, a legacy of the 80s. It sounds dated because of it. But still, when I hear "Type" again. My god, what power and soul all at once. Unique and effective, still. Living Colour were genuinely ahead of their time. A Black rock band mixing metal, funk, jazz, and hard rock when that combination was virtually nonexistent in the mainstream. Vernon Reid's guitar work is phenomenal, Corey Glover's vocals have real soul and power, and the rhythm section is tight and inventive. The music here is better than their debut Vivid, but the production was better on Vivid. Time's Up is the more adventurous, mature album, but it got sabotaged by the era's sonic trends. The songs and performances are strong enough to overcome it, even if you're constantly aware of what could've been.

A great album by a hugely underrated band - but falls just short of full marks

Yeah, liked this more than "Vivid" - had a bit more variety to the sound. If I'd had easy access to all the world's music back when I first got into Faith No More, I imagine I'd have got into these folks too... Fave tracks - "Love Rears Its Ugly Head", "Elvis Is Dead", "Type", and "Solace of You"

This album is just a smidge longer than it needs to be. I really enjoyed it, though. Really great experimental instrumentation. His voice is genuinely good and has a lot of range. They have a unique sound and I found it very easy to maintain my interest. I’d just cut one or two songs. Very nice stuff. Glad to have listened. 4/5

Brown pop-rock! I dig the energy and listenability. 4, likely.

Hard rock, heavy metal, funk metal, art rock. Ni fu ni fa.

Lo que viene siendo un grupo de rock de los 90. Canciones guitarreras, normalmente con el mismo tempo, buena voz, pero sin hacerlas únicas. Puede gustar, pero también parece un poco predecible

Nah nah nah

My experience listening to this was almost identical to my experience listening to Vivid, the Living Colour album that is actually on the official list. So I'll repost that here: Really enjoyed this album. Why aren't there more Black rock bands? Started out mid-level but as the album progressed I loved the diversity of Genres they played with. Early tracks reminded me of 80s Hair rock, later tracks reminded me of Barenaked Ladies. Some ska, reggae, metal, and even rap in there. FUN. GOOD JOB GUYS. My only real complaint is... does this album achieve anything that Vivid doesn't? Do we need a second/different Living Colour album here? I'm not sure.

Time's Up is as cool as you expect Living Colour's stuff to be, it's rocky, it's jazzy, it's funky and it's a good listen. It lacks the punch of some of their best work but stuff like Information Overload is a quality deep cut and there are some cool guest spots too. I gave Vivid a 3/5 on the main list and this is on the same level, just solid good-time music.

Guys. Comeon Ok. It's not as bad as I thought 3

Vivid was really good. This isn't a bad album but doesn't compare to the first album.

This should tick my boxes. I'm a guitar teacher, love a good riff, a funky beat, and high energy music. But it just sounds like such a product of its era, including treble-heavy production and overly earnest singing. I should feel something from it, but feel nothing. Not unpleasant, but not particularly pleasant either. Definition of a 3.

Maybe my opinion has shifted, but I liked this more than ”Vivid”. Unfortunately still quite off its time, but the good music still shines through

This seems significant but doesn't hold up, unfortunately.

It was fine, a bit plain rock. Sounded like background music for a specific type of teen american movie.

Yeah a bit of classic rock fun! I was up for it

Strong sense of personality and a unique voice here – the runtime wore me down a bit given how consistently heavy the arrangements lean, but that’s better than being bored to death by another singer-songwriter LP

Another “don’t know what I was expecting but it wasn’t this” album. Didn’t hate it, didn’t love it. The opposite of marmite?

Nice

Rating: 6/10 Best songs: Time’s up

Hard rock, heavy metal, funk metal, art rock. Ni fu ni fa.

It's fine. A little long but fine. Surprised this isn't on the original list (or another album by them isn't). My personal rating: 3/5 My rating relative to the list: 3/5 Should this have been included on the original list? Slight yes.

I’d say this is an interesting choice as this isn’t Living Colour’s most popular album, however that’s up to the person that submitted this. This is a rock album from 1990 that very much has the sound of rock/alternative of the late 80s while still having several other genres thrown in to some songs. I didn’t necessarily love this album but it was easy to listen to and nod along with. The biggest drawback is it feel a bit dated while being a bit to heavy rather than melodic. 6.5/10

Favorite songs: Information Overload, Pride, New Jack Theme Least favorite songs: History Lesson, Under Cover of Darkness 3/5

Another OK album. Love Rears Its Ugly Head is great. Elvis Is Dead is interesting. Everything else is meh.

Clearly they are trying to deliver a message, which is a positive thing, but layered over this frenetic (at times) wild assembly of jazzy heavy rock is at times intolerable. They have moments of catchy hard rock, but it is never far away from what seems like some bad musical ideas... yeah, i'm looking at you "Elvis is Dead".

Sorry, as much as I've tried (and I *did* try again here), I never could enjoy Living Colour's music. I find their melodies flat overall, the production values of the albums they released in their heyday aged like milk, and the studio performance on the first couple of tracks is even out of pace from one instrument to the next, which is surprising coming from musicians with such a stellar reputation live. Sure, Vernon Reid is a technically proficient guitar player, but that can't redeem the late eighties sins this record is filled to the brim with, so apparent in its first half (gosh, that awful gated drum sound!). As a matter of fact, it was incredibly difficult for me to reach the end of this LP. "Type" goes on forever for no discernible reason, and in spite of its endearing main vocal hook, "Information Overload" probably has the most cloying and heavy-handed hard-rock riffs I have heard in a while. Add the expected virtuosic solo that actually doesn't bring much on the table. It's too bad, because the last leg of the album explores interesting turf at the eleventh hour. The softer and more lush jazz-funk tones of "Under Cover Of Darkness" fare far better than the rest, and Queen Latifah's featuring there is pretty on point in an old-school hip hop fashion. "Fight The Fight" and closer "This Is The Life" are distinctly atmospheric cuts that sound almost prog, and feel quite nice overall. And "Solace Of You" displays Afro-beat flourishes that aged pretty well compared to the American band's main late eighties shtick. That's the thing, though, isn't it? Living Colour are not remembered for those deep cuts today. They are remembered for said main shtick, mixing hard rock, funk and soul in a not-so-neat package in my ears. And in a somewhat close pot-pourri genre, I vastly prefer Fishbone, Faith No More or Bad Brains. So, in spite of that pretty good last leg in *Time's Up*, this one is no-brainer for me. 2/5 for the purposes of this list of essential albums. 7/10 for more general purposes: 4.5/5 for the musicianship and production values + 2.5/5 for the artistry. Number of albums from the original list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 465 Albums from the original list I *might* include in mine later on: 288 Albums from the original list I won't include in mine: 336 ----- Number of albums from the users list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 46 Albums from the users list I *might* select for mine later on: 57 Albums from the users list I won't select for mine: 109 (including this one) --- Hey, Émile. J'ai enfin trouvé le temps de répondre ! Regarde sous la review de *Young, Loud And Snotty* des Dead Boys !

I don't dislike Living Colour but I don't quite see the point either. Other bands have better songs than this.

Hard rock, heavy, metalart, rock. Menudo rollo.

Living Colour just doesn't do it for me. It sounds like the most generic 80's rock with absolutely nothing interesting about it. 1.5/5

Government mandated generic rock album of the week.