Living Colour Returns With “Shade”

Living Colour: ShadeIt’s been eight years since the last Living Colour album, but the wait has been worth it. The band has just released Shade, a 13-song record that brings their unique blend of rock, blues, and funk to 2017. This time, it focuses particularly on the blues.

The spark for the album came from performing a spiritually charged version of pioneer Robert Johnson’s “Preachin’ Blues” at Harlem’s Apollo Theatre. “That was really the beginning of us thinking of the direction we want to take for our next project,” says guitarist Vernon Reid. “Hearing that blend of blues and metal was really what got the wheels turning.”

Shade had the band working once again with Andre Betts, who first worked with the band on Stain in 1993. That was the same album to first feature Doug Wimbish.

“Making records is an art and a process, and sometimes it can be easier to herd cats. But, when it connects and we come together, it’s a beautiful thing. Shade is a testimony to who Living Colour is, to our chameleon quality,” the bassist said.

Besides “Preachin’ Blues”, the band also covers the Marvin Gaye classic “Inner City Blues” plus a rousing version of The Notorious B.I.G.’s “Who Shot Ya?” in protest of ongoing gun violence and racial profiling. Check out the video for it here:

Shade is available now on CD, vinyl and as a digital download (iTunes and Amazon MP3).

Shade Track List:

  1. Freedom of Expression (F.O.X.)
  2. Preachin’ Blues
  3. Come On
  4. Program
  5. Who Shot Ya (Christopher Wallace cover)
  6. Always Wrong
  7. Blak Out
  8. Pattern in Time
  9. Who’s That
  10. Glass Teeth
  11. Invisible
  12. Inner City Blues (Marvin Gaye cover)
  13. Two Sides

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