Rather, it was the fact that this was all being done by four Black men-an anomaly that, by all historical precedents, really should’ve been the norm.ĭuring the post-war 20th century, Black artists were the agents of rock‘n’roll innovation and subcultural mobilization, from the genre’s early-’50s infancy on through its subsequent mutations into garage, psych, proto-metal, arena rock, punk, and hardcore. (Arsenio was never known for subtle expressions of enthusiasm, but this might’ve been the first and only time he felt compelled to head-bang his appreciation.) Alas, for many viewers, Living Colour’s bright sartorial choices and mid-song calisthenics routines weren’t the most striking features of the band. After casually strolling off the stage during the second verse, Glover made a beeline for the audience and began running up and down the aisles with his mic like a Day-Glo Donahue, before returning to the stage for some synchronized dance moves and cyclonic hair-whipping as the song raced toward its furious double-time finale. Decked out in a matching orange tank top and spandex Body Glove shorts, singer Corey Glover looked less like the typical rock frontman than a guy on his way to the gym, and partway through the band’s electrifying rendition of Vivid’s lead-off crusher, “Cult of Personality,” he decided to get his steps in. Making their network television debut that week on The Arsenio Hall Show, the New York hard-rock band delivered the sort of performance that-even without easy YouTube recall-can still be mentally conjured frame-by-frame decades after the fact. 16, Living Colour took a well-deserved victory lap-literally. 194 before embarking upon a slow, steady climb that seemed to move one rung at a time. Released in May 1988, Vivid took nearly half a year to chart, entering at No. On February 25, 1989, Living Colour’s Vivid entered the Top 20 on the Billboard 200 chart-an impressive feat for any debut album, but odd for a record that was already 10 months old.
Today, we revisit a groundbreaking 1988 album, a crucial document in Black rock music with huge, brawny riffs and a complex socio-political message. Each Sunday, Pitchfork takes an in-depth look at a significant album from the past, and any record not in our archives is eligible.
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