Time's Up improves on every aspect of Living Colour's early sound and is up there with King's X's Gretchen Goes to Nebraska as one of the best (and most memorably so) 2nd records. 10 minutes longer than Vivid, Time's Up offers largely the same musical qualities of its predecessor mixed into more interesting and effective compositions by the band, touching on Bad Brains-style hardcore riffing, funk and R & B, and plain old hard rock delivered with a characteristic spin. The material is more diverse and the peaks are higher here, with fewer tracks that feel like a band grasping for an identity. The group's chops are just as impressive as they were on Vivid and the rhythm section of Muzz Skillings and Will Calhoun in particular shines on these pieces, particularly on standouts like "Pride" and "Solace of You". Guest spots from Queen Latifah, James Earl Jones, and others, along with a generous application of samples and a few short interludes help to break up the long stretches of music but at the cost of a runtime that always feels just a bit too long by the time we arrive that the closer. With songs this good I can figure a bit of excess, though, so it doesn't change the fact that this is a fantastic album through and through.
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