Put out in 1990, this is
Living Colour's second album on Epic records, and the last album they recorded with bassist Muzz Skillings. He was replaced by Doug Wimbish, formerly of Tack Head. This album also included many notable guest appearances:
Doug E. Fresh, Queen Latifah, Don Byron, Mick Jagger, Little Richard, and Maceo Parker being the most notable. Frank Zappa appeared as a sample.
Though I have only seen one version of the cover, I was told that it was eventually changed. The cover I have seen has a crucified Jesus made out of action figures and toy planes set on fire. After opening the booklet, you can see a Buddha statue, holding a lit match. Whether or not this is true, I do know that the band received some hate maill on a different issue: the lyrics to "Elvis is Dead". I don't if it was the song's claim that Elvis is, in fact, dead, or the song's claim that he made it rich by popularizing the music of unknown, poor black musicians that prompted this mail; drummer Will Calhoun never clarified that point. He did state this occurrence, though, as the reason there were no lyrics reprinted with the band's next album, Stain.
This album, recorded after the band toured with the Rolling Stones' Steel Wheels Tour, Time's Up went gold, and won the band an Grammy.
The tracks:
1. Time's Up
2. History Lesson
3. Pride
4. Love Rears its Ugly Head
5. New Jack Theme
6. Someone Like You
7. Elvis is Dead
8. Type
9. Information Overload
10. Under Cover of Darkness
11. Ology
12. Fight the Fight
13. Tag Team Partners
14. Solace of You
15. This is the Life
The first track off of Living Colour's Time's Up, is also called Time's Up. This track is a very fast and furious heavy metal song, with a calypso-on-speed section in the middle. It's fast and furious because the narrator of the song, the character, is pissed over the destruction of the environment, and people's apparent unwillingness to change their ways for the benefit of all.