Vivid (Living Colour album)

Vivid is the debut studio album by the American rock band Living Colour, released on May 3, 1988, through Epic Records. It was one of the most popular albums of 1988, peaking at #6 on the US Billboard 200 chart and certified double platinum by the RIAA.

Vivid
Studio album by
Living Colour
ReleasedMay 3, 1988 (1988-05-03)
Recorded1987–88
Studio
Genre
Length49:13
LabelEpic
Producer
Living Colour chronology
Vivid
(1988)		 Time's Up
(1990)
Singles from Vivid
  1. "Middle Man"
    Released: 1988[1]
  2. "Cult of Personality"
    Released: July 14, 1988
  3. "Glamour Boys"
    Released: 1989
  4. "Open Letter (To a Landlord)"
    Released: 1989
  5. "Funny Vibe"
    Released: 1989
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Chicago Sun-Times[3]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal8/10[4]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[5]
Kerrang!4.5/5[6]
The Philadelphia Inquirer[7]
Rolling Stone[8]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[9]
Spin Alternative Record Guide7/10[10]
The Village VoiceB[11]

Music

Vivid has been described as a hard rock,[2][12][13][14] funk metal,[15][16] heavy metal,[17] and glam metal album,[18] with elements of funk,[19][12][13][8] soul,[12][13] jazz,[13][19] avant-garde jazz,[8] pop,[19][20] arena rock,[8] and punk rock,[8] and rap.[19]

Reception

The album is also featured in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[21]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Cult of Personality"Vernon Reid, Muzz Skillings, Corey Glover, Will Calhoun4:54
2."I Want to Know"Reid4:24
3."Middle Man"Glover, Reid3:47
4."Desperate People"Calhoun, Reid, Glover, Skillings5:36
5."Open Letter (To a Landlord)"Reid, Tracie Morris5:32
6."Funny Vibe"Reid4:20
7."Memories Can't Wait" (Talking Heads cover)David Byrne, Jerry Harrison4:30
8."Broken Hearts"Reid4:50
9."Glamour Boys"Reid3:39
10."What's Your Favorite Color? (Theme Song)"Reid, Glover3:56
11."Which Way to America?"Reid3:41
Total length:49:13

(Note: Track 10 runs 3:56 on original CD issues, and 1:41 on original vinyl and remastered CD issues.)

2002 CD reissue bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
12."Funny Vibe" (Funky Vibe Mix) 3:43
13."Should I Stay or Should I Go" (The Clash cover)Mick Jones2:27
14."What's Your Favorite Color? (Theme Song)" (Leblanc Remix) 5:39
15."Middle Man" (Recorded live at Cabaret Metro, Chicago; November 9, 1990) 3:49
16."Cult of Personality" (Recorded live at the Ritz, New York City; 1988) 4:59

Personnel

Living Colour

Additional personnel

  • Mick Jagger – harmonica on track 8, backing vocals on track 9
  • Chuck D – rapping on track 6
  • Flavor Flav – social commentary on track 6
  • The Fowler Family – additional backing vocals on tracks 2 and 5
  • Dennis Diamond – carnival barker on track 8

Production

  • Ed Stasium – producer and engineer on tracks 1-8 and 10, mixing on tracks 9 and 11
  • Mick Jagger – producer on tracks 9 and 11
  • Ron St. Germain – engineer on tracks 9 and 11
  • Paul Hamingson – engineer on tracks 1-8 and 10, mixing
  • Danny Mormando, Debi Cornish, Stephen Immerwahr, Mike McMackin, Tom Durack, U.E. Natasi – assistant engineers
  • Greg Calbi – mastering

Charts

Certifications
Country Organization Year Sales
USA RIAA[33] 1994 2× platinum
Total available sales: (+ 2,000,000)

Awards and accolades

Grammy Awards

Year Winner Category
1990 "Cult of Personality" Best Hard Rock Performance
Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
Rolling Stone US 100 Best Albums of the Eighties[34] 1989 64
LA Weekly US Chuck Klosterman's Favorite Hair Metal Albums[18] 2011 23
Loudwire US The 50 Best Metal + Hard Rock Debut Albums Ranked[35] 2015 33
Loudwire US Top 80 Hard Rock + Metal Albums of the 1980s[36] 2016 37
Rolling Stone US The 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time[37] 2017 71

References
  1. @LivingColour (July 14, 2020). "Cult was second single. Middle Man first. Wiki is wrong (often)" (Tweet). Retrieved December 10, 2020 – via Twitter.
  2. Prato, Greg. "Vivid – Living Colour". AllMusic. Retrieved November 30, 2014.
  3. McLeese, Don (April 18, 1988). "Chapman, O'Connor bring fresh air to popular music". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on February 14, 2018. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
  4. Popoff, Martin (November 1, 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. pp. 198–199. ISBN 978-1-894959-31-5.
  5. Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0857125958.
  6. Watts, Chris (May 7, 1988). "Living Colour: Vivid". Kerrang!. No. 186.
  7. Tucker, Ken (April 28, 1988). "Living Colour: Vivid (Epic)". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
  8. Fricke, David (June 16, 1988). "Living Colour: Vivid". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 2, 2007. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
  9. Considine, J. D. (2004). "Living Colour". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 491. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  10. Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  11. Christgau, Robert (May 24, 1988). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
  12. Pratt, Greg (December 1, 2016). "Hall of Fame Countdown: Living Colour's Vivid". Decibel. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  13. "Living Colour: Vivid - Album Of The Week Club Review". Classic Rock. November 19, 2018. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  14. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Everything Is Possible: The Very Best of Living Colour - Living Colour | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  15. Light, Alan (September 6, 1990). "Living Colour: Time's Up". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on February 21, 2009. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  16. Fricke, David (November 1, 1990). "Living Colour's Time Is Now". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  17. Prown, Pete; Newquist, Harvey P. (1997). Legends of Rock Guitar: The Essential Reference of Rock's Greatest Guitarists. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 208. ISBN 978-0-7935-4042-6.
  18. Westhoff, Ben (December 6, 2011). "Chuck Klosterman's Favorite Hair Metal Albums". LA Weekly. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  19. Heller, Jason (July 9, 2013). "One of Living Colour's hits illustrates an era in transition". The A.V. Club. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  20. Ives, Brian (May 2, 2018). "Living Colour 'Vivid' Resonates in the #BlackLivesMatter Era". Loudwire. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  21. Dimery, Robert; Lydon, Michael (February 7, 2006). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 0-7893-1371-5.
  22. "Dutchcharts.nl – Living Colour – Vivid" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  23. "Charts.nz – Living Colour – Vivid". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  24. "Norwegiancharts.com – Living Colour – Vivid". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  25. "Living Colour Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  26. "Top Selling Albums of 1989". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  27. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1989". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 24, 2015. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  28. "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  29. "Mainstream Rock". Billboard. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  30. "Rock Digital Song Sales". Billboard. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  31. "Alternative Song Sales". Billboard. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  32. "Hard Rock Song Sales". Billboard. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  33. "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  34. "100 Best Albums of the Eighties". Rolling Stone. November 16, 1989. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
  35. "The 50 Best Metal + Hard Rock Debut Albums Ranked". Loudwire. November 18, 2015. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
  36. "Top 80 Hard Rock + Metal Albums of the 1980s". Loudwire. January 13, 2016. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
  37. "The 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. June 21, 2017. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
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