1988 studio album by Living Colour
Vivid Released May 3, 1988 (1988-05-03 ) Recorded 1987–88 Studio
Skyline, New York City
Sound on Sound, New York City
Right Track Studios , New York City
Genre Length 49 :13 Label Epic Producer
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 .
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 [ ]
1. "Cult of Personality " Vernon Reid , Muzz Skillings , Corey Glover , Will Calhoun 4:54 2. "I Want to Know" Reid 4:24 3. "Middle Man" Glover, Reid 3:47 4. "Desperate People" Calhoun, Reid, Glover, Skillings 5:36 5. "Open Letter (To a Landlord) " Reid, Tracie Morris 5:32 6. "Funny Vibe " Reid 4:20 7. "Memories Can't Wait" (Talking Heads cover) David Byrne , Jerry Harrison 4:30 8. "Broken Hearts" Reid 4:50 9. "Glamour Boys " Reid 3:39 10. "What's Your Favorite Color? (Theme Song)" Reid, Glover 3:56 11. "Which Way to America?" Reid 3:41 Total length: 49:13
(Note: Track 10 runs 3:56 on original CD issues, and 1:41 on original vinyl and remastered CD issues.)
12. "Funny Vibe" (Funky Vibe Mix) 3:43 13. "Should I Stay or Should I Go " (The Clash cover) Mick Jones 2:27 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 [ ]
Album [ ]
Singles [ ]
Year
Single
Chart
Position
1989
"Cult of Personality"
Billboard Hot 100 [26]
13
Mainstream Rock [27]
9
"Open Letter"
Billboard Hot 100[26]
82
Mainstream Rock[27]
11
"Glamour Boys"
Billboard Hot 100[26]
31
Mainstream Rock[27]
26
2011
"Cult of Personality"
Rock Digital Song Sales[28]
21
Alternative Digital Song Sales[29]
12
Hard Rock Digital Song Sales[30]
2
Certifications [ ]
Country
Organization
Year
Sales
USA
RIAA [31]
1994
2x platinum
Total available sales:
(+ 2,000,000)
Awards and accolades [ ]
Grammy Awards
Publication
Country
Accolade
Year
Rank
Rolling Stone
US
100 Best Albums of the Eighties[32]
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[33]
2015
33
Loudwire
US
Top 80 Hard Rock + Metal Albums of the 1980s[34]
2016
37
Rolling Stone
US
The 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time[35]
2017
71
References [ ]
^ @LivingColour (July 14, 2020). "Cult was second single. Middle Man first. Wiki is wrong (often)" (Tweet). Retrieved December 10, 2020 – via Twitter .
^ a b Prato, Greg. "Vivid – Living Colour" . AllMusic . Retrieved November 30, 2014 .
^ 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 .
^ 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 .
^ Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press . ISBN 978-0857125958 .
^ Watts, Chris (May 7, 1988). "Living Colour: Vivid". Kerrang! . No. 186.
^ Tucker, Ken (April 28, 1988). "Living Colour: Vivid (Epic)". The Philadelphia Inquirer .
^ a b c d e Fricke, David (June 16, 1988). "Living Colour: Vivid" . Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on October 2, 2007. Retrieved February 14, 2018 .
^ 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 .
^ Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide . Vintage Books . ISBN 0-679-75574-8 .
^ Christgau, Robert (May 24, 1988). "Christgau's Consumer Guide" . The Village Voice . Retrieved February 14, 2018 .
^ a b c Pratt, Greg (December 1, 2016). "Hall of Fame Countdown: Living Colour's Vivid" . Decibel . Retrieved April 20, 2021 .
^ a b c d "Living Colour: Vivid - Album Of The Week Club Review" . Classic Rock . November 19, 2018. Retrieved April 20, 2021 .
^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas . "Everything Is Possible: The Very Best of Living Colour - Living Colour | Songs, Reviews, Credits" . AllMusic . Retrieved April 20, 2021 .
^ Light, Alan (September 6, 1990). "Living Colour: Time's Up" . Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on February 21, 2009. Retrieved September 2, 2021 .
^ Fricke, David (November 1, 1990). "Living Colour's Time Is Now" . Rolling Stone . Retrieved September 2, 2021 .
^ 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 .
^ a b Westhoff, Ben (December 6, 2011). "Chuck Klosterman's Favorite Hair Metal Albums" . LA Weekly . Retrieved March 4, 2021 .
^ a b c d Heller, Jason (July 9, 2013). "One of Living Colour's hits illustrates an era in transition" . The A.V. Club . Retrieved April 20, 2021 .
^ Ives, Brian (May 2, 2018). "Living Colour 'Vivid' Resonates in the #BlackLivesMatter Era" . Loudwire . Retrieved April 20, 2021 .
^ 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 .
^ "Billboard 200" . Billboard . Retrieved April 21, 2021 .
^ Hung, Steffen. "Living Colour - Vivid" . hitparade.ch . Retrieved April 21, 2021 .
^ "charts.org.nz - Living Colour - Vivid" . charts.nz . Retrieved April 21, 2021 .
^ "norwegiancharts.com - Living Colour - Vivid" . norwegiancharts.com . Retrieved April 21, 2021 .
^ a b c "Billboard Hot 100" . Billboard . Retrieved April 21, 2021 .
^ a b c "Mainstream Rock" . Billboard . Retrieved April 21, 2021 .
^ "Rock Digital Song Sales" . Billboard . Retrieved April 21, 2021 .
^ "Alternative Song Sales" . Billboard . Retrieved April 21, 2021 .
^ "Hard Rock Song Sales" . Billboard . Retrieved April 21, 2021 .
^ "Gold & Platinum" . RIAA . Retrieved April 20, 2021 .
^ "100 Best Albums of the Eighties" . Rolling Stone . November 16, 1989. Retrieved June 15, 2021 .
^ "The 50 Best Metal + Hard Rock Debut Albums Ranked" . Loudwire . November 18, 2015. Retrieved June 15, 2021 .
^ "Top 80 Hard Rock + Metal Albums of the 1980s" . Loudwire . January 13, 2016. Retrieved June 15, 2021 .
^ "The 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time" . Rolling Stone . June 21, 2017. Retrieved April 20, 2021 .
External links [ ]
Alex Mosely
Jerome Harris
Carl James
Greg Carter
Pheeroan akLaff
J.T. Lewis
Geri Allen
D.K. Dyson
Mark Ledford
Muzz Skillings
Studio albums Live albums Compilations Extended plays Singles Video releases Related articles
Authority control