SpenniesLiving Colour - Stain
June 28th 2006 09:49
LIVING COLOUR
Stain (1993)
Sony Music Entertainment
Produced by Ron Saint Germain & Living Colour
Link to amazon w/ audio samples
I'm going to say it before I begin - I'm a huge Living Colour fan. I think their mesh of metal, funk and rock is probably the best out there and rivals the mighty Fishbone in terms of innovation. Having gotten the chance to see the band live a couple of months ago, they are absolutely brilliant musicians. Technical and mind-blowing, but still easy to listen to. Stain, their third record, is much heavier than the first two and features more of a thrash influence with possibly an industrial feel that runs throughout the 13 tracks. I think this has more to do with the production though, as the actual songs are still deeply rooted in metal and funk.
The first three tracks "Go Away" "Ignorance Is Bliss" and "Leave It Alone" are all perfect singles. Huge riffs and great songwriting, although only "Leave It Alone" got the release. Guitar virtuoso Vernon Reid is as much a shredder as he ever was, playing fluent rhythm sections and fast as hell solo's (although I think sometimes he just reaches for the whammy bar a little too often... this is definitely part of his style though). This album didn't do as well as "Vivid" and "Time's Up" which is a real shame, as they continued to push their creativity and explore different sounds while not straying too far from their formula. There are a couple of interesting instrumental pieces featured - "WTTF" which is a strange mish-mash of hip-hop beats and a thumping bassline with what sounds like about a thousand guitar tracks soloing over the top. Somehow it rounds out coherently and sounds quite good. The other, "Hemp" is a short track with a minimalist string phrase and a sampled speech over the top, something that features throughout the album and reminds me of Rancid's "Life Won't Wait."
For the most part, Stain is a huge wall of sound that throws big riffed rock "Leave It Alone", more laid-back funk "Bi" and thrash "Auslander" "Mind Your Own Business" at you. One of the strongest songs however is the spacey ballad "Nothingness" which has an awesome sense of atmosphere and features Corey Glover's vocals at their very best. It's the sort of song I can always be in the mood to listen to. The lyrics for the most part deal with social and political issues, although there are a few moments of oddity like the strange "Bi" - a humourous musing on bisexuality of all things.
Another aspect that makes this record awesome to listen to is the production values. You can tell if you really pay attention that a lot of thought has gone into how it sounds - there are phasing effects, samples, reversed guitar effects etc which doesn't necessarily make for over-production, but more adds to the overall feel of Stain and gives it something a little extra.
I would say this is probably my favourite Living Colour album, although I love their other releases too. Stain just has something addictive about it - it's really different while not being incredibly out there. It definitely doesn't sound like anything else and to put it bluntly, the songs are just really awesome and creative. I think Stain is Living Colour at their musical and lyrical best, and also reckon you should totally buy it.
Stain (1993)
Sony Music Entertainment
Produced by Ron Saint Germain & Living Colour
Link to amazon w/ audio samples
The first three tracks "Go Away" "Ignorance Is Bliss" and "Leave It Alone" are all perfect singles. Huge riffs and great songwriting, although only "Leave It Alone" got the release. Guitar virtuoso Vernon Reid is as much a shredder as he ever was, playing fluent rhythm sections and fast as hell solo's (although I think sometimes he just reaches for the whammy bar a little too often... this is definitely part of his style though). This album didn't do as well as "Vivid" and "Time's Up" which is a real shame, as they continued to push their creativity and explore different sounds while not straying too far from their formula. There are a couple of interesting instrumental pieces featured - "WTTF" which is a strange mish-mash of hip-hop beats and a thumping bassline with what sounds like about a thousand guitar tracks soloing over the top. Somehow it rounds out coherently and sounds quite good. The other, "Hemp" is a short track with a minimalist string phrase and a sampled speech over the top, something that features throughout the album and reminds me of Rancid's "Life Won't Wait."
For the most part, Stain is a huge wall of sound that throws big riffed rock "Leave It Alone", more laid-back funk "Bi" and thrash "Auslander" "Mind Your Own Business" at you. One of the strongest songs however is the spacey ballad "Nothingness" which has an awesome sense of atmosphere and features Corey Glover's vocals at their very best. It's the sort of song I can always be in the mood to listen to. The lyrics for the most part deal with social and political issues, although there are a few moments of oddity like the strange "Bi" - a humourous musing on bisexuality of all things.
Another aspect that makes this record awesome to listen to is the production values. You can tell if you really pay attention that a lot of thought has gone into how it sounds - there are phasing effects, samples, reversed guitar effects etc which doesn't necessarily make for over-production, but more adds to the overall feel of Stain and gives it something a little extra.
Vernon Reid shredding live
I would say this is probably my favourite Living Colour album, although I love their other releases too. Stain just has something addictive about it - it's really different while not being incredibly out there. It definitely doesn't sound like anything else and to put it bluntly, the songs are just really awesome and creative. I think Stain is Living Colour at their musical and lyrical best, and also reckon you should totally buy it.
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