Library Rock's Backpages

Living Colour: Time's Up

Charles Shaar Murray, Q, October 1990

LIVING COLOUR'S CHOICE of guest stars for their debut album Vivid was a significant one: Mick Jagger (who had produced their original demos and virtually blackmailed Epic into signing them in the first place) blew harp on one track, and Public Enemy's Chuck D and Flavor Flav rapped. Apart from demonstrating the phenomenal range and breadth of Vernon Reid's address book, the subtext was clear: Living Colour were more than prepared to face up to the contradictions of simultaneously being both rock aristocracy and outspoken Afrocentrics.

Total word count of piece: 392

Subscribe

Becoming a member is easy. Membership gives you access to all the thousands of articles in the library.

Click here to go to Subscribe page.

Click here for academic and other group subscriptions.