Living Colour Celebrates 35 Years of ‘Times Up’ in a Powerful NPR Tiny Desk Concert

In honor of Black Music Month, NPR invited the incredibly talented members of the band Living Colour, who performed a powerful set for the legendary Tiny Desk Concert series. Thy started the set with their prescient hit “Cult of Personality” from their 1988 album Vivid before celebrating the band’s 1990 album Times Up with three songs, specifically “Pride”, “Times Up”, and “Solace of You”.

Did we really squeeze the big sound of Living Colour behind the Tiny Desk? Yes, we did. And, yet, the band lost none of its intensity at a slightly lower volume. Living Colour starts with “Cult of Personality,” the shot heard around the world, but spends the rest of the set celebrating 35 years of Time’s Up.

While a great deal of time has passed since the album’s release, Living Colour sounds just as fresh as they did 35 years ago.

Guitarist Vernon Reid’s sonic bag of tricks is on full display as are the deep grooves of drummer Will Calhoun and bassist Doug Wimbish. Corey Glover’s voice cuts through it all.