British guitarist reacts to Vernon Reid's LITERAL shred fest!
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- Опубліковано 2 жов 2024
- Tonight I'm taking a look at Living Colour performing their classic 'Cult of Personality'!
Original video - • Living Colour- "Cult o...
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I tried learning this song years ago and u right its pretty difficult. This band came out at the right time in my life in high school. This all black rock band made me stick my chest out being the only black metal head in school.
Screaming Scarecrow I was the MTV generation. This band was hot. Mtv could ruin you though. The video for the song glamour boys was played ad nauseum. It seemed to turn people off. What’s your opinion?
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@@paulmay2990 I hated it then. It was above my head as a youth who desired harder music. I watched the video last week for the first time since. I appreciate the song now and can tolerate the video. Videos can make or break a song a lot of the time. Even back then I felt the Glamour Boys video hurted them.
I saw them just after cult of personality came out in Edinburgh Scotland, absolutely amazing live. That good, I can't even remember who they were supporting haha
Did you hear Kings X? They supported AC/DC when I saw them in Belfast, probably around 2000 or so. They were wonderful and Ty Tabor's guitar playing was sublime.
Lyrics are spot on for history and today. Band is super tight and their individual skills speak for themselves. I saw their show in support of this album back in the day when they were completely unknown. Really enjoyed the show and the video Fil.
Everything you said is spot on…. Guitar solos… 😅 nope
I saw these guys open for The Stones in 1989. I was fifth row and they melted my face right off my head.
When this burst onto the radio, not many folks knew they were black. They were a blast of amazing fresh air and electronic, infectious energy. And the lyrics are even more appropriate today. VERY underrated, in my humble opinion.
I mean, I first saw them on MTV, and people couldn't stop talking about the "black rock band" as though folks like Jimi Hendrix or Fishbone hadn't been a thing. I thought it was really cool seeing a bunch of black men take back what was, after all, their cultural heritage, but what really got me was the sounds coming out of Vernon Reid's guitar. No one else in rock could draw on the chromatic notes like Vernon. These days, I get that it was his history with harmolodics that informed his solos, but man, to 13-14 year old who was just starting to try to learn a LITTLE bit about jazz (I might have heard of an altered dominant, but I sure didn't know what it meant!), it sounded like something from another world. It blew my mind HARD.
So true especially the lyrics compliments of Vernon Ried we couldn't see it clearly in our youth but as our ugly politics played out it became clear. Timeless in it's message and a classic in it's musical content.
@@phillipsantana2633 Perfectly said.
This guy's a Speed Demon!!!
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He plays softer music beautifully too. The whole band was just one huge ocean of talent. Saw them on this tour in Champaign, Il. I had been playing for years and was in a band. I walked away stunned but inspired.
I just found this site recently. You know your music bro. I can watch you all day!
Thanks!
I have watched this for many many hours! Great channel.
People are so focused on Vernon, for good reason, but they miss a really kick ass bass line and incredible fills.
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bro that bass player is sick
Everyone in this band plays. They play.
Muzz Skillings is the reason I started playing bass.
The band kicks ass!… the guitar solo… 😅 not so much.
It all started from a man named Jimi Hendrix, he did things on the guitar that were paranormal. After he passed, a man Edward Van Halen took it to another level. Vernon Reed I can see was a Hendrix fan also.
One of my favorite bands of all time. Vernon Reed is actually resting his right hand on the whammy bar for the whole solo. His whammy technique is insane.
A few months (2018) ago I saw Living Colour live. Corey walked onto stage eating a handful of jellybeans from backstage as the band was starting the opening riff to C,O,P. He walks up to the mic right on time and nailed it. The rest of the band was trying to hold their laughter in... Easily, the best band I've ever seen.
Awesome!
I love the way Corey sings the chorus before Vernon’s second solo.
I think Vernon Reid gets a lot of unnecessary criticism for being “sloppy” but I think his solos aren’t meant to be these virtuosic compositions. They’re meant to be gritty, dirty and speedy. They’re meant to fit with the feeling of the song, and Vernon fucking nails it perfectly.
Plus it lends to a tough solo to learn in Guitar Hero 3 😂
It took me 3 moths to learn this riff. Cheers. Underrated band
Fil that bass is sick in this performance holy crap!!!!!!!!!!!!
One my favorite bands. Wil Calhoun was a huge influence on my playing as a drummer. And I prefer Muzz Skillings over Doug Wimbish. No slight on Wimbish, I just think Skillings had tastier licks.
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One of the great head banging anthems of all time.
One of the best !I've band I've seen, seven times.
Cool!
Such a memorable riff. I wish they could've sustained their popularity. That first album is AMAZING!
Blistering solo, Vernon is an incredible rhythm player as well! A very diverse band! Vivid and Times Up are phenomenal albums, saw them for the first time in Cambridge Ma. in 1988.
Cool!
Great rhythm player!… this guitar solo…. Pure noise 😅
Fil, you're absolutely right! The riff is deceptively difficult, but not impossible. It took me 4-5 months to nail, and I was his guitar tech almost 30 years (I'm actually just off screen here). We've been friends since age 15; we've seen other in various bands coming up. I was working with Living Colour since 1985, before this lineup came into existence. In the solo section, what some would call sloppy, are actually a jazz /avant-garde based technique called Harmolodics, where sometimes you play outside the scale ( some term it as "out"). I believe it began with saxophonist Eric Dolphy and guitarists such as James Blood Ulmer and Sonny Sharrock carried on with it. Vernon is probably one of the first to bring that to the mainstream.
The Cult riff itself is played in a four fret, four string position. Some will play it across three strings, jumping up to the higher notes, but it's easier to play the four fret, four string position (actually five frets; the second half of the ends on an E instead of an F).
The B section: an octave up (starting at the 13th fret Bb , going down to 8th fret C) Bb/F/C/G/D/A/F/C 2X The solo key center is G. Yep, I purposely left out the extended riff; still in the four frets, but add the B string. Alternative picking and string skipping is a must to play it clean; you can get away with some legato, but it wouldn't sound as strong.
Happy shredding!
not dolphy,vernon was from ornettes shool,with ronald shannon jackson,great that you brought this up.
music man You're right about Ornette; Eric Dolphy came to mind because he mentioned him all the time. I did a couple of gigs with V. in Decoding Society so I got schooled on the Harmolodics concept somewhat... I also toured with his side project Free Form Funky Freqs, which was 100% improvisational, to the point where the compositions were not named, but numbered... Two hours straight; another composition was defined by someone playing a different vibe than the previous one...
Duude, thanks for all that detail.
i had the first part of the riff down for years, the turn around parts, took watching a few you tube lessons on it and maybe a month of going back and fourth, i just learnt the chords too, didn't find it that tough, but guess i played for years, as for the solo.. well, yeah, then i am out f my depth but i understand its outside jazz playing.. also i now play it in same position as VR i think! it was tough, i guess, because i can remember trying to find a fingering that worked, now, i play nearly whole riff with fingers 2, 3, and 4 which is weird, i use index for, just the e on the d string second fret only.. it's funny actually i used this riff to get my playing up to speed a few days ago, it's one you have to keep going back too every few months or it can start to slip!
bass part is even harder, i had to invent a technique to get it, he pulls a low e and a higher octave on the e note at one point, so your picking hand has to change position and both hands have to do lot of dampening to get it tight and clean.. he hits it twice, the intro part where the e note is played twice instead of once..
That speed was needed for this song. Just a feeling. I think it’s about actual history and it’s it’s part of the story telling of the song
Some people have unfairly panned Vernon Reid as being a sloppy guitarist-I think, largely based on his soloing on this song. Open ears can appreciate the technique shown here and hear the evidence of Vernon's and the rest of Living Colour's musical schooling.
Vernon clearly grasps what he's doing during the solos-exactly the solos the song needs. He's not shooting in the dark.
The song didn't Iend itself to Paco de Lucia, Stanley Jordan, Vinnie Moore or Michael Angelo Batio type guitar leads.
Given the song's raunchy sound a sparkling guitar solo wouldn't fit and would probably draw at least a few chuckles. It would be comparable to following an expletive with a term of endearment: bizarre.
What those critics don't get is that he can play that "sloppy, chaotic solo" exactly the same every time. He knows what he's doing.
Vernon is not from this planet and niether is the bassist 👽👽they have other good songs... this is one of the hardest riffs for sure
Not from this planet is a spot on description, when I was lucky enough to meet them 20 + years ago the were all down to earth (no pun intended) & very friendly guys.
Oh man. All my music mates n I loved them. We studied them. I think like glen Campbell. They were a musicians band. \m/ rock.
This song and their performance on the album was great. I don't know any other tunes by them but this was hot back in the day. I mean, just that one bluesy-ish opening guitar riff du du du du du.... du du du du du du .... i mean he inverts the dom 7 and 6 notes and goes backwards and ENDS on the 6! Makes it sound odd and of course, that's what a great riff would be - original. ORIGINAL..... RECIPE. hehe
But.... me don't care for Vernon's reckless abandon because he just lets it go too far, imo. But that's what makes the world go round. IMO, he is blending some legit shred with some bullshit noise that isn't close to being in key. Plus, his hands look stiff. Almost as if he has an inability to play with real control. I mean, look at WHERE he's picking. Up near the fretboard! I could type a book on my thoughts about artist intentions and such but I just don't find the random stuff he's doing attractive even in a hard rock setting. I love the tone he's got. Classic 80s metal. Loud and in your face. I love the aggression of the song but man.. don't just go into "i'm lost" mode and get sloppy while hitting bad notes. :( Okay, rant done. :)
Just browsing the old vids. Yeah, that 6/8 version of the lick is cool.
Try listening to Open letter to a landlord by Living Color
A lot of great songs on his album indeed! I just purchased their second album called time up if you heard it there would be tracks on it that would just blow your mind! there that was just blow your mind
@@stellafokas12 Times Up is a better album than the first one and the first one was great. Enjoy.
Saw these guys live when I was a little thing in Minneapolis. Loved.
Hello 🌹
Cool!
Vernon Reid is best understood if you’re familiar with Sonny Sharock, Eddie Hazel, John McLaughlin, and James Blood Ulmer as well as Cornell Dupree, Nile Rogers, and Prince (in addition to all the more typical rock influences guitarists of that era and milieu tended to have). It seems like a somewhat disparate set of influences unless you’re familiar with the circle of musicians Living Colour arose from. My music teachers growing up were all close personal friends with all the band members and grew up with them, so I have a bit of a different understanding of them as individual players. They were basically a group of fusion avant-garde jazz/funk musicians that decided to play metal (very similar to Bad Brains). Another band with a similar mentality is Screaming Headless Torsos.
The aesthetic of Living Colour was late 80s early 90s hair metal, but a lot of what was “under the hood” wasn’t as commonplace in popular rock music of that time period. If you compare Vernon to someone like Steve Vai or Kip Winger, his approach to technique seems unorthodox, but he’s not coming from exactly the same place that they were. He wasn’t really a part of the neo-classical shred movement, he was more from the jazz/avant-garde movement with some influence from shred. His note choice and phrasing are a dead giveaway.
Yes! Thanks for mentioning one of my favorite guitar players. Eddie Hazel. One of the most under rated and over looked guitarists ever.
Dudes got a great voice.
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Love these guys, saw them during the 80s and seeing them again for a third time this December. Cool stuff
Nice!
Man what a great video always love rocking out to this song. 🤘
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Vernon is killing it…
I’m glad you called out how full their sound is. Especially with Vernon’s guitar sound, they sound so much bigger than a three piece instrumental line up
Something to wrap your head around... this was not the original arrangement. Originally, the bridge (Neon lights, Nobel Prize) was the verses and main riff and vice versa. I've heard them rehearse it that way as they were writing it, and someone suggested switching them around, and it became the version we're all familiar with. I just bought it up because I've lived with that song for about 34 years and I thought that it may be interesting. Also, Desi Serna has a lesson on playing the bridge, which is close; The fingering is correct. The only exceptions are Vernon didn't tap the high note; it's hammered and there's no slides; the vibrato bar is dipped slightly to get the sound. Hope that helps... here's his lesson: ua-cam.com/video/IwVYXoaPpEk/v-deo.html
I was floored first time I listened to this album straight though. I was floored the 100th time. I’m still blown away to this day. Vernon’s sound was like nothing before. Corey’s voice can not be ignored. Plus they they had the ability to play in many styles.
It was years after this song that I learned the Corey was also in the movie “Platoon” and Danny Glover son.
Great point. Vernon’s playing style looked so strange. I’d become so used to to the low slung look that most used.
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Urban myth. He's NOT Danny Glover's son, no relation.
Danny Glover is from San Francisco. Corey Glover is from Brooklyn.
Edward Tertechny Wow. Thanks.
They were very humble people also :-')
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Man what a great band that was, wish they could have kept going! Definitely a game-changing band. In my opinion.
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Vernon is 60 years old & is still performing, so that's good!
@@bekind6763 That's awesome, I'll have to look for him.
They never went away. They just released a new album "Shade".
I just saw them last week. Haven't missed a beat.
I'm the guitarist and sing with a bassist and drummer. I'm not a shredder though I can at times make it sound like I am. One nice thing about not having another guitar or keyboard mixed in is if your bass player is adventurous like ours is as well as our drummer I can try things out of the box. I'm not necessarily restricted to doing something standard or expected.
FIL, THANKS FOR THE VIDEO AND YOUR COMMENTS, THIS BAND HAD IT ALL, THEY ARE UNDERRATED , VERNON RIED IS SUCH A GREAT GUITAR PLAYER , I STILL LISTEN TO THEM ON 10 ON MY STEREO, THE NEIGHBORS KNOW I AM HOME, LOL, JUST A GREAT BAND, MY BEST, COUSIN FIGEL
I play guitar. The place I hold in my band is bass. I am trying to reconstruct my melted face from this bass line. This guy is a master at holding his spot. Rock solid.
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I really enjoy your break down of incredible songs particularly this one and the one you did on Neil peart's drum solo which is mind-boggling.... of all things I was a classically-trained clarinetist and I feel like you would making fantastic guitar teacher or teacher in general lol
Thanks for the kind words!
world was not ready for them..
they was like the first seven dust only funky shred and all black..
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Amazing talent! I was blown away when this song came out. The lyrics are just as relevant and meaningful today, if not more so. This still blows me away every time.
No no no. It's not a LITERAL shred fest. Shred is a figurative term. Literal shredding would be pushing your guitar through a wood chipper. I do LOVE Living Colour and Vernon Reid so thanks for that, Fil
Haha yeah I don't think people want to see that video! 😂
They're on a 30th anniversary tour for Vivid these days. Muzz Skillings is replaced by another favourite bass player of mine, Doug Wimbish. Sadly no Norway... Seen them twice, but love to see them again though.
Ghost of jimmy hendrix.
STRAIGHT FIRE
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Might consider some Leo Kottke for something a little different. Love your vids. New sub...
Thanks!
They played this song live on TV back then and didnt miss a note, it was amazing, vernon was amazing as was the rest of the band. I tried to play this back then and gave up, this was the early 90s I think. Man, im getting old.
It's a cool tune!
Been playing guitar live for 28 years… I’ve ALWAYS HATED this solo 😂… it’s just pure noise… I made my own when I used to cover this song. 🇺🇸👍🍻. I know some basic theory but man… this solo just SUCKS. 😵💫
Has it been 30 years since this song was new??? Damn, I'm getting OLD!!
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There is only one Dimebag, but Vernon has a similar attack as Dime. Tone is obviously different but the southern bends and wammy bar use is similar.
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How do you feel about Vernon's alien fingers? I've played guitar for over 30 years, and I've not seen any fingers longer than Vernon's
Yeah he's got good guitar genetics!
I think Buckethead has him beat.
Robert Johnson.
Steve Vai and Buckethead
And Jimi Hendrix. Long fingers and thumbs.
One of the greatest guitarists of all time Vernon keep rocking
Living Colour helped get me through late 80's hair metal with "Vivid" and "Time's Up". Thank you Living Colour🤘
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I honestly tried playing this song on Guitar Hero and it is pretty darn difficult.....I kept screwing up and playing the wrong chords....could Vince Gill play this...Vernon Reid guitarist extraordinaire.....
First time I've seen a live performance of this. Damn they really nailed it! Great analysis as always Fil. 👍
Marty Friedman has a similar right hand technique
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they are like the globetrotters from rock and roll !! four prodigies at their craft exponentializing each other
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My Dad saw several guitar superstars live. He says Stevie Ray Vaughan and Vernon Reid were the very best. :) Thanx for the video!
Cool!
One of the hardest songs I ever had to learn, You really have to pay attention to everything he plays, One of the most underrated guitar players who doesn’t get the credit he deserves
Vernon's lead style reminds me of Reeves Gabrels on "Scary Monsters" with David Bowie.
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One of the things I've always been struck by with Vernon's "odd" technique is how straight he keeps his wrists. It's gotta be a help for keeping his hands healthy. As for the solo - it's a chaotic song. A more traditionally structured solo, or a more melodic solo just wouldn't make sense. The solo is chaotic because the song, and the topic, are chaotic. It's prosodic - they make sense together. Carlos Santana trying to solo over this would ruin the song. That's just not what it needs.
Sorry, but his guitar tone sucks. It may be because it's live; never heard the album version. The song sounds really cool, though. I just hated his solo tone.
Ben Eller has a lesson on how to play the main riff and the extension that's pretty good; his fingering is slightly different, but it's in the correct position... check it out: ua-cam.com/video/kiu4_xZGTW0/v-deo.html
They had such a great hard rock metal sound, the guitars and vocals were excellent. Living Color was late to the rock music scene but made a mark, still enjoying their music today.
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My brother saw them live.. said it was high energy from start to finish ☮️💯
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I saw Living Color in 1988 with my best friend Fred (who has departed) this was a great concert!
I love Vernon Reid. He’s one of those genius or a fool guys. I could never decide which. His playing is so jarring but really fluid at the same time. That riff sums up his playing perfectly for me. There’s another guy in the same genius or fool bracket that reminds me of Vernon and that’s Dr Know, maybe Vinnie Vincent too but for some reason I can’t stand his playing. Music is weird.
When I first heard this band I thought their songs were great, but that Vernon Reid's playing was gratuitously widdly-widdle (shredding). Now I think his playing just went over my head, or else I didn't make the emotional connection that now comes easily. There's great attitude and grit in his playing here.
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Spot on really good to hear the praise not only from the listening pleasure but the technique and skill involved.
🎼👍🙋🤘🎸🎙great video 🤘
Great song & great team work band 🙋🎙🙋🎸🙋🖖🎵🎵🎵🎵
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Hi Phil. Could you review Iron Maiden - Powerslave from Long Beach Arena 1985? Dave Murray and Adrian Smith.....trading solos, harmonising etc. Superb.
Thanks!
Ohhhh, i always thought the singer was named Vernon.. Didn't know vern was the guitarist
Vernon Reid is one of my top 5 favorite guitarists. I love his rhythm playing and riffs probably more so than his obvious solo prowess. He has a great funk/jazz background that most rock guitarists of the time lacked and that shows in his playing. He seems to effortlessly be able to produce frenzied runs, much like his contemporary: Nuno Bettencourt. The second Living Colour album was a better example of Reid's talents.
Another great band of that era - Rage Against the Machine - Tom Morello
Well I guess not of that era, later on........
Yeah a little later 👍
I'm glad you covered Vernon. Awesome player. Great analysis, Fil! They made it big late in the 80s (near the end of heavy metal). A few more years, they may have been into grunge (if they started then). Regardless, Living Colour added a lot to the music scene for sure.
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Brings me back in time! Vernon is one kick ass guitarist! This song brings back a lot of memories! Long live the 80s it was a guitar fest!! Thanks for highlighting these guys Fil! Go Vernon!!!
Amen!
Muzz was so great on bass too!
This band has so much to offer and UA-cam always goes for this
Great band and tune!
Yeah!
Living Color!!! Great band...nice choice!
How about something a bit more non-traditional - XTC perhaps??? Or even Adrian Belew!?!?!
Thanks for the suggestions!
No language in our lungs.
Saw them open for the Stones on their Steel Wheels tour I guessing in 89. It was in the South and let’s just say their presence wasn’t appreciated by many in attendance. I thought they were great though.
Cool!
vernon reid - used to listen to him so much - what a player
I have played bass in a few bands and singing while playing the bass is NOT easy -- it's like playing rhythmic lead guitar, all while trying to sing. How in the hell people like Geddy Lee do it, is beyond me.
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They've got so much sound for three instruments. That voice unifies all of it.
You're right there is so much great stuff to say about this and it's Giant
A little off topic... I think Judas Priest should ask KK Downing back since Glenn Tipton had to quit (because of Parkinson's) . He pretty much confirms that he'd do it if asked. ua-cam.com/video/RMECE_fz5MU/v-deo.html . Priest isn't priest w/out KK. He and Ian Hill are the founding members.
Thanks!
Hi Fil, i'm going to see Walter Trout, in November, i thought i'd give him a shout, great guitar player, have a look at him..
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Timo Tolkki is my suggestion for a future video. Very sharp Yngwie style player. Episode or Fourth Dimension era Stratovarius is his peak.
Thanks!
Fil. Mate you got those guitarists pat down. It's like you tapped my brain and found all my favorites including Focus great Jan Akkerman and Mahogany Rush front man Frank Marino. Rock on.
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Look kids! Pay attention, this is what talent sounds like. Soooo ahead of their time. Still holds up today. Love this. Amazing band.
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The lack of hammer ons etc is incredible. So many picked notes.
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Mike McCready, Jon Gomm, Miroslav Tadic (Guitar Player magazine voted Tadic one of the world's thirty most radical and individual guitarists) - he has very unique and versatile style.
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Always liked the song and the vocal delivery especially the lyrics which are apopros, but the solo was a noise fest for me, never got into it, but I appreciate its free spirit mentality. I'm speaking about the released version primarily.
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I miss the '80s. Why did they have to kill metal? It went from being "angry white boy" music to being nothing but a bunch losers in mascara.
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Face melter
Seriously underrated band. Saw them with Blackfoot back in the mid or late 80s. What a show
Cool!
Customized, colorized ESP guitar
Have you ever watched anything from The Shadows / Hank Marvin?? Think you might like them !
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I got a chance to see this band many years ago, strange thing was the Stereo MC's (to the left, to the right) opened for them, and I have to agree they made a great sound for three instruments (plus a few triggered samples from Vernon)
It's a bit of anomaly that there are so few black English rock guitar players, in fact after Vernon and Slash it gets a little difficult. ...... yep Vernon is English ☺
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