Time's Up Turns Twenty!

Living Coloür back in the day:
Muzz Skillings, Vernon Reid, Corey Glover, Will Calhoun

Living Coloür's second album, Time's Up, was released 20 years ago today. The band's sophomore effort continued the band's unique mix of African rhythms, hard rock and Vernon Reid's kaleidoscopic guitar technique which owed much to the progressive noise leanings of Robert Fripp and King Crimson.

Time's Up was a challenging, but successful record that pushed the envelope for this New York-based quartet. In addition to hard rockers like the title track, "Pride", and the hit "Type", the songs were connected by short song segments that included samples, bass solos, and even "history lesson", a lecture on African music that incorporated samples and loops.

This record showed the band stretching its range too, whether on the South African-influenced "Solace of You," the ballad "Love Rears its Ugly Head" or the smoking "Elvis is Dead", a searing indictment of the King of Rock 'n' Roll with a guest rap performed by Little Richard. If you're not familiar with Living Coloür beyond "Cult of Personality", this sprawling, brilliant record is a great place to start.