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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