Living Colour - Stain
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Free Music Notes for Stain
Free Music Review: Stain!
Hit: 5 Stars
The addition of legendary bassist Doug Wimbish was an inspired move! The brothers in Living Colour have never sounded angrier and more focused than they do on this, thier final studio album. The opening "Go Away" roars and sounds like a battalion of tanks coming to flatten everything in it's path. Corey Glover unleashes a parched, barking, gruff and soulful delivery on this track that may frighten you upon first listening and the lyrics are classic ("I don't want anybody to touch me, I think that everybody has AIDS, What's the point in praying for you, You're gonna die anywayhay!"), frightening? You better believe it! and that's whole point. Upon it's release in 1993, guitarist and band founder Vernon Reid described the album as "music for misfits" and he couldn't be more right. As violent as most of "Stain" sounds, the LP also has moments of sheer beauty the most notable example being the guitarless ballad "Nothingness". Recorded outside at night (listen close and you'll hear the crickets chirping in the background) with lead vocalist Glover singing into a satellite dish for a stunning double tracked effect, "Nothingness" is a moment of absolute perfection, it simply can't be touched. My personal faves are the walloping "Leave It Alone" (don't you just love the coda with Vernon soloing over the top of Doug's funky, popping bass and William Calhoun's fat bottomed drumming?), the punk attack of "This Little Pig" (the reference to the Rodney King beating that opens the track will drive the point home) featuring one of the albums most inspired solos( Vernon simply riffing hard, heavy and relentless on the same three chords for nearly a minute) it WILL have you banging your head. The art-rock pretensions of "WTFF", "Hemp" and the trippy, multi-layered, psychedelic closer "Wall" which bangs you over the head with it's message of Acceptance and Non-Predjudice. Special Musical Note: Drummer William Calhoun is in especially fine form on "Auslander", his snare and foot work on the choruses is ferocious! I really hated to see them go, but the the best black rock band on the planet went out with a bang! Living Colour, you are sorely missed.Free Music Review: Perfection - The bands best album, it doesn't get any better
Hit: 5 Stars
When Stain came out in 1993, it was lost in a sea of the new music of grunge and alternative, seemingly meant to be forgotten. What ended up was a perfect album with the new member of Doug Wimbish who within 30 seconds of his introduction flattens any pre-conceived notions and questions of his ability to replace former talented bassist Muzz Skillings.Stain is an album that has perfect flow, great groove, killer sonic power, and songs that hold your attention one after the other. The band litteraly plays it's BUT off, and the album is not just mixed with the great talent of rock musicianship, but also of various styles, and with some good industrial sampling to boot.
Lyricaly it's also the most provocative, from songs of alienation , guilt and indifference ('Go Away', 'Ignorance is Bliss', 'Leave It Alone'), humour ('Bi', 'Mind Your Own Business'), political issues ('Auslander', 'This little Pig', 'Wall') and touching moments typified in 'Hemp' and the brilliance of the track 'Nothingness'.
The album is in simply one word: flawless. It was a crying shame that the band called it quits after this album. The darkness of this album and it's previous album 'Times up' was an oddity compared to it's fun rocking begginings long since past.
The album has everything including the kitchen sink. Gem mint, get it.
Free Music Review: Unfairly neglected, even by this fan
Hit: 5 Stars
I very much enjoyed Living Colour's first two albums, and received this one as a birthday present. I listened to it a bit, didn't "get" it, and it languished on the back shelf of my tape collection for 6 years. Maybe I was still a little miffed that they showed up late and evidently drunk for that London show a couple years before. Anyway I dug it out a few months ago just for kicks, and could not believe how good it sounded to me now. I agree with an earlier reviewer who believes that Living Colour found a genuinely original voice with this last album. This band's strength had always been carefully managed dissonance, and here they played to this strength on every song. Even apparently melodic tunes like "Nothingness" and "Bi" juxtapose sweetish music with ironic or nihilistic lyrics. The intensity they manage to sustain is most impressive--check out even the little 3 minute throwaway song "This Little Pig" with its rapid changes in rhythm and and texture.It is indeed too bad that Living Colour broke up when they had apparently reached a new level of creativity. From what I understand, it was a minor miracle they stayed together long enough even to get Stain finished, so I suppose we should be grateful. Buy this and prepare to rock at a new level.
Free Music Review: Integrity over popularity = masterpiece
Hit: 5 Stars
Living Colour after the album Time's up were in a place where they could have been radio friendly and quite popular - they had some great songs before - pushing the envelope as such as to what popular music was and made some great rock stuff.
Then with the adoption of Tackhead/On-U sound Bassist Doug Wimbish - a very progressive and way out outfit came this album which was very much a generation ahead of just about anything else out there. And now still this CD sounds like it was released yesterday - it's absolutely brilliant - moody, sharp, edgy, fun, whatever - it's musically extremely high level with some incredible players but it maintains some terrific songs.
You get enough from the first four songs - they are brilliant - so fresh in their sound. Incredible from start to finish - with another highpoint being 'nothingness' - a masterpiece in the centre of the album recorded with the guitar played into a satellite dish.
Best album for them by far, but all this bands stuff is brilliant. Perhaps not for everyone but worth a try for sure.
Free Music Review: Living Colour's dark side
Hit: 5 Stars
Living Colour's original sound from their first few albums (Vivid, Time's Up, Biscuits) was just incredible. These guys had it figured out. My biggest regret in regards to this band is that I did not see them play live before they split up.
Flash forward (or, in retrospect, back) to "Stain", their last full album release, and you have a totally different sound. Anger, rage, power, bitterness, blown through your speakers (or headphones) without regret or apology. The CD is pure, raw emotion and it is amazing. If you liked Living Colour's orignal sound (i.e. Cult of Personality), you may find this CD to be a little hard to swallow. But if you love hard rock with jazz infused bass lines and a drummer that can deliver a backbeat from hell, plug in, hold on and enjoy.
Living Colour continues to record and tour with changes in the line-up, but the power of "Stain" will never be duplicated. Truly a rock & roll classic.