These guys are one of those bands that never got the credit they deserved, probably because they broke every rule in the book when it came to what a rock band was supposed to look like in the late 80s. Vernon Reid on guitar, Corey Glover on vocals, Muzz Skillings on bass, and Will Calhoun on drums, four Black musicians making some of the heaviest, funkiest rock music you ever heard come out of New York City. They formed back in ’84 but it wasn’t until ’88 when they dropped Vivid that the world finally caught on.
This album is pure fire from start to finish, man. You got “Cult of Personality” opening things up, that riff that sounds like Led Zeppelin getting into a funk fight and winning. But honestly, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. “I Want to Know” throws you a curveball with these Beach Boys harmonies mixed with KISS-style hooks that shouldn’t work but totally do. Then “Middle Man” comes in like a wrecking ball, turns out Glover wrote it based on his own teenage suicide note, which gives the whole thing this raw, desperate energy that cuts right through you. “Desperate People” brings all their influences together in one massive hit, and “Open Letter (To a Landlord)” is this beautiful, angry song about gentrification that hits just as hard today as it did back then.
The thing about Vivid is it sounds like nothing else from that era, these guys took funk, metal, jazz, hip-hop, and alternative rock and somehow made it all work together without sounding like a mess. Mick Jagger even produced the damn thing, which should tell you something about how special this record was. It won them a Grammy for “Cult of Personality” and basically opened the door for bands like Rage Against the Machine and everybody else who wanted to mix genres without asking permission. If you’re into music that doesn’t stay in its lane and actually has something to say, Vivid is essential listening, it’s one of those albums that reminds you why rock music can still matter.