Friday 25 January 2008

LIVING COLOUR – LOVE REARS ITS UGLY HEAD (CBS RECORDS)


LIVING COLOUR – LOVE REARS ITS UGLY HEAD (CBS RECORDS)

Living Colour was a band that at one stage I really liked.  With a slight tweak/change of sound, they managed to get their piece/bite of the alt rock movement of the nineties.  However those gestures were not quite evident when they released “Love Rears Its Ugly Head”.

“Love Rears Its Ugly Head” is a definite tough sell with its cod reggae chops and mainstream rock power chords with seemingly wet sentiments, it is the kind of stuff that you would expect Lenny Kravitz to churn out and be rather proud of.  And from an alternative nation perspective, that is not a good thing.

Despite all these elements I still have time for the song.  Sure the message is soppy and the funk rock weak but there is still enough in its being to enjoy, appreciate and justify its flow.  Am I writing this on a soft day?

Ultimately Living Colour were a safe band, the sort of proposition a person could indulge without fear of excessive mockery or contest because they ticked more than enough alternative boxes.  And dare I say despite my aggressive and edgy leanings, I actually dig/dug this song and what it extracts.

Lyrically it does send out mixed messages of which my original interpretation was of falling hard but with time it has started to sound more of a tale about being under the thumb.  Why isn’t his other half complaining when he comes home late?

This single version of the track was the “Soul Power Mix” which contains a more dub baseline along with Roddy Bottum-esqe atmospherics.  These were definitely confusing times for/in rock.

There is nothing I can of to add to your reaction to this song.  A guilty pleasure that’s not that bad.

Thesaurus moment: submission.

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