Vivid (Living Colour album)

Vivid
Studio album by
Living Colour
ReleasedMay 3, 1988 (1988-05-03)
Recorded1987–1988
Studio
  • Skyline, New York City
  • Sound on Sound, New York City
  • Right Track Studios, New York City
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

Vivid is the first studio album by Living Colour, an American rock band. It was released on May 3, 1988. It was released by Epic Records. Vivid was one of the most popular albums of 1988.[2] It went to number six on the Billboard 200, a music chart.[3] It was certified platinum by the RIAA.[4]

A song from the album ("Cult of Personality") won a Grammy Award.[5] Critics liked the album. They said that it was an important part of Black rock music.[6][7] The album talks about many problems, such as racism.[8]

Musical style

Vivid is primarily a hard rock, heavy metal, alternative metal, funk metal and funk rock album.[9] There are also elements of soul,[10][11] jazz,[11][12] pop,[12][13] hip-hop,[12] arena rock,[14] punk rock[14] and avant-garde jazz.[14]

Track listing

Vivid 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

Personnel

Living Colour

  • Corey Glover – vocals
  • Vernon Reid – guitars
  • Muzz Skillings – bass
  • Will Calhoun – drums

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

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[23] Platinum 100,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[24] Gold 7,500^
United States (RIAA)[25] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

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. ↑ Wazir, Burhan (2006). "Living Colour: Vivid". In Dimery, Robert (ed.). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Universe Publishing. p. 589. ISBN 978-0-7893-1371-3.
  3. ↑ Hart, Ron (2018-05-03). "'Vivid' at 30: Living Colour Reflects on the Rough Road to Their Game-Changing Classic Debut". Billboard. Retrieved 2022-12-20.
  4. ↑ "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  5. ↑ "1989 Grammy Award Winners". Grammy.com. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  6. ↑ Berman, Stuart (November 20, 2022). "Living Colour: Vivid Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
  7. ↑ 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. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  8. ↑ Fricke, David (June 16, 1988). "Living Colour: Vivid". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 2, 2007. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
  9. ↑ Kessler, Jordan (April 27, 2023). "Living Colour's 'Vivid' Turns 35: An Interview with Vernon Reid". PopMatters. Retrieved February 19, 2026.
  10. ↑ Pratt, Greg (December 1, 2016). "Hall of Fame Countdown: Living Colour's Vivid". Decibel. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  11. 1 2 "Living Colour: Vivid - Album Of The Week Club Review". Classic Rock. November 19, 2018. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  12. 1 2 3 Heller, Jason (July 9, 2013). "One of Living Colour's hits illustrates an era in transition". The A.V. Club. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  13. ↑ Ives, Brian (May 2, 2018). "Living Colour 'Vivid' Resonates in the #BlackLivesMatter Era". Loudwire. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  14. 1 2 3 Cite error: The named reference rs2 was used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page).
  15. ↑ "Chartifacts > Week Ending September 23, 1990 (from The ARIA Report Issue No. 37)". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved November 20, 2022 – via Imgur.com.
  16. ↑ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 6381". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
  17. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Living Colour – Vivid" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
  18. ↑ "Charts.nz – Living Colour – Vivid". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
  19. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Living Colour – Vivid". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
  20. ↑ "Living Colour Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
  21. ↑ "Top Selling Albums of 1989". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  22. ↑ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1989". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 24, 2015. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  23. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Living Colour – Vivid". Music Canada. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
  24. ↑ "New Zealand album certifications – Living Colour – Vivid". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
  25. ↑ "American album certifications – Living Colour – Vivid". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
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