As of 2009,
Living Colour has released a total of five live albums -- which is pretty unheard of for a rock band, unless you're the
Grateful Dead. However, 2009's
Paris Concert is arguably the best
Living Colour live release yet. Recorded in the summer of 2007, the double-disc CD was also released as a DVD that replicates the set list song for song, and balances the hits ("Glamour Boys," "Cult of Personality") with covers ("Papa Was a Rolling Stone," "Crosstown Traffic"), album cuts ("Go Away," "Song Without Sin"), and head-scratchers (the
Doug Wimbish-sung "Either Way"). The band sounds as rockin,' funky, and unpredictable as ever -- offering a pretty well-balanced set of renditions of songs from all four of their studio albums -- with a slightly heavier emphasis on
Vivid. That said, a pair of over-12-minute songs ("Sacred Ground" and "Flying"), and an over-six-minute unaccompanied drum solo take up too much space, and as a result, such expected tracks as "Time's Up" get the boot. But again, looking at the big picture,
Paris Concert will satisfy many
Living Colour fans as the group's one-and-only live release in their album collection. ~ Greg Prato