I can’t say that Living Colour was the band that introduced me to hard rock (Motley Crue owns that particular distinction), but they were the first hard rock band I saw that LOOKED like me, and to a teenager that’s just getting into music, this was extremely valuable when it came to expanding my horizons. I was pretty gutted when they split after 1993’s (EXCELLENT) Stain, but the individual members kept quite busy for the next decade or so before reuniting and making two more kick-ass albums. I saw them live in a tiny club about two years ago and was completely blown away not only by their instrumental prowess but by the fact that lead singer Corey Glover can wail like no one’s business almost twenty-five years after he made his debut. When you count down a list of best rock vocalists of the modern era, Glover deserves to be up there right alongside guys like Chris Cornell and Eddie Vedder.
One thing a lot of folks might be unaware of is the fact that Corey put out a solo album called Hymns. Released on LaFace Records in 1998, it was a solid effort that unfortunately failed to find an audience. Fusing rock with soul, pop and funk, it stood (and stands) up strongly next to efforts from similarly hard-to-classify artists like Terence Trent D’Arby and Van Hunt.
Guess what, y’all? The follow-up to Hymns is finally being put together, and Corey’s enlisted the good folks at Pledgemusic to put together some very cool packages that fans can receive if they contribute to the recording fund. The packages run from $10 (for a download of the album) to $10,000 (for an executive producer’s credit. Hell, if I had the dough…) There’s also a charity element to this album, which you can read about on the Pledgemusic page.
Things like Pledgemusic are pretty cool because you have a direct line into the creation of the album. Not to say that I wouldn’t buy Corey’s-or anyone’s-album if I didn’t feel like I made a direct contribution (because I totally would), but the feeling of ownership you get when you contribute is pretty rad. I’m definitely looking forward to latest collection of musical treats that Corey has to offer.