Shade (Living Colour Album)

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

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 or usand make a real record, right now, right after we've done this one. Imagine that." 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."

On June 30, 2014, it was announced that Living Colour's sixth studio album, titled ''Shade'', would be released in the fall. However, the album's release date was later pushed back to early 2015. 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."

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."

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.

Track listing

Personnel

* Corey Glover – vocals
* Vernon Reid – guitars, acoustic guitar
* Doug Wimbish – bass
* Will Calhoun – drums

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shade
2017 albums
Living Colour albums
Megaforce Records albums
Heavy metal albums by American artists