Shade (Living Colour album)

Shade is the sixth studio album by Living Colour, released on September 8, 2017.[1] It is their first studio album in eight years, following The Chair in the Doorway (2009).

Shade
Studio album by
Living Colour
ReleasedSeptember 8, 2017
Recorded2013–2017
Length48:32
LabelMegaforce Records
ProducerAndre Betts[1]
Living Colour chronology
The Chair in the Doorway
(2009)		 Shade
(2017)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic(74/100)[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
PopMatters(9/10)[4]
Q[5]
Rolling Stone[6]

Background and production

Living Colour began working on Shade about a year after the release of The Chair in the Doorway. In a 2010 interview with The Break Down Room, vocalist Corey Glover hoped that a new Living Colour album would be released in 2011, and stated, "We're going to do something different [for us] and make a real record, right now, right after we've done this one. Imagine that."[7] In a May 2012 interview with Rolling Stone, guitarist Vernon Reid revealed that "Living Colour just got together a few weeks ago – preparing to do a bunch of writing in preparation to make a record for 2013." He added, "Everyone is insanely busy, but it feels so good when we're together and connecting that I really look forward to making the next record."[8]

On June 30, 2014, it was announced that Living Colour's sixth studio album, titled Shade, would be released in the fall.[9] However, the album's release date was later pushed back to early 2015.[10] For unknown reasons, the release of the album would continue to be delayed. Asked in March 2015 about the meaning of the album's title, Glover replied, "As time progresses, a shadow falls, and it's about the progression of time. We're trying to dissect and really take the roots of the music that created us and take it to task."[11]

On the making of Shade, Glover explained to Loudwire in June 2016:

"It took us almost four years to make this record. We went through problems with managers, with record companies and schedules — it just took forever and finally we got it done. I can't wait to get that process over with so I can go back and start working on new stuff again, personally, and just start writing new things. Part of the process was that we weren't going to compromise on a lot of stuff. There were some sonic things that we weren't going to compromise on; we needed to get it right. It took long enough, so hopefully it's right. I mean, we'll still have to fix things — 'right' to us is that you don't go, 'Uh, if only I had done this.' At the same time, there's something about discovering something as you play it that changes it and that makes the difference between the recorded version and the live version. "Cult of Personality" live doesn't sound the way it was recorded because we've been playing it for almost thirty years and it changes based on the environment, the gear and the temperament and all that. I think we're satisfied with Shade for what it is as a recording."[12]

On May 12, 2017, it was announced that Shade would be released on September 8, and its artwork, by Washington, D.C. area artist Anike Robinson, was released.[1]

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Freedom of Expression (F.O.X.)"2:54
2."Preachin' Blues" (Robert Johnson cover)4:20
3."Come On"3:22
4."Program"4:43
5."Who Shot Ya?" (The Notorious B.I.G. cover)3:38
6."Always Wrong"4:04
7."Blak Out"2:29
8."Pattern in Time"2:56
9."Who's That"4:10
10."Glass Teeth"2:59
11."Invisible"3:45
12."Inner City Blues" (Marvin Gaye cover)4:00
13."Two Sides"5:12

Personnel

Charts
Chart (2017) Peak
position
Scottish Albums (OCC)[13] 66
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[14] 25
US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[15] 12

References
  1. "LIVING COLOUR To Release 'Shade' Album In September; Cover Artwork Unveiled". Blabbermouth.net. May 12, 2017. Retrieved May 14, 2017.
  2. "Shade - Living Colour". Metacritic. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
  3. Deming, Mark. "Living Colour: Shade > Review". Allmusic. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
  4. Evans, Morgan (September 8, 2017). "Living Colour: Shade". PopMatters. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
  5. columnist (September 27, 2017). "Living Colour: Shade". Q: 111. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  6. R. Weingarten, Christopher (September 11, 2017). "Living Colour: Shade". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  7. "Living Colour Treads Conceptual Ground with The Chair in the Doorway". breakdownroom.net. Retrieved May 14, 2017.
  8. "Vernon Reid on His New Jazz-Rock Supergroup, Living Colour LP". RollingStone.com. May 8, 2012. Retrieved May 14, 2017.
  9. "LIVING COLOUR To Release 'Shade' Album In The Fall". Blabbermouth.net. June 30, 2014. Retrieved May 14, 2017.
  10. "On the Road Again: At 30, Living Colour is still vivid". usatoday.com. September 17, 2014. Retrieved May 14, 2017.
  11. "Living Colour Talk 'Shade,' Social Issues, Unlocking the Truth + More". Loudwire.com. March 17, 2015. Retrieved May 14, 2017.
  12. "5 Questions With Living Colour's Corey Glover: New Album 'Shade,' Touring + Love of Sevendust". Loudwire.com. June 9, 2016. Retrieved May 14, 2017.
  13. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
  14. "Swisscharts.com – Living Colour – Shade". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
  15. "Living Colour Chart History (Top Hard Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
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