Time's Up - Living Colour (1990)

Ideated from: a Black History Month reminder that black artists largely built the modern world of music

Vernon Reid is an underappreciated guitar mastermind. I’m sure it’s partly because he hasn’t spent a lot of time in big name bands, and it’s partly that he crosses from jazz to avant garde to hard rock so he disperses his audience.

But regardless, he deserves a lot of credit for making Living Colour what it was. The whole band is great, but it’s all a bit of a showcase for Reid’s raging, grinding, lavaflow guitar stylings.

This is a gorgeously played, excellently recorded, hard-driving record that stands up well even decades later.

Tracks I Liked

Time’s Up - a hardcore-flavored kickoff

Love Rears Its Ugly Head - aside from being a great tune, this track is the platonic ideal in my head of a perfect recording. there’s so much crisp detail and separation. You can picture where the musicians are in the room. The whole album is crisp and clean, but this track in particular is amazing.

Elvis Is Dead - smashing good early culture war shot

Under Cover of Darkness - funky and relentless