Hello guys,
I wanted to see if we can analyse the song Cult of Personality by Living Colour and figure out how to play it.
Here’s a video of it for reference:
So I was thinking maybe we can start by figuring out what would be the best way to play the main riff:
There’s also like a modified version of the riff (the PRE-CHORUS) that goes like:
We can start by analysing this and then we can talk about the solo:
You can see this section of the solo in the video, from 3:12 to 3:36
I think that, technique-wise, there’s no secrets here with respect to the main riffs. Sixteenths at 92 is slow enough that almost any way you want to play it can be made to work; it’s a basic coordination problem, not a picking technique problem. And that’s okay! Basic coordination problems aren’t less “real.”
There are plenty of clear shots of Vernon playing here, so as far as the riffs go, you can copy what he does, or do your own thing.
For the solo, he’s always been a bit… splattery. A similar vibe to Hanneman/King from Slayer. I’m not sure how analytical one can really get with something played with total wild abandon.
Ok but imagine it was being played at lighntning speed. What would be the best way to pick it?
totally unrelated, but god DAMN corey glover’s voice is good.
Absolutely. He has some crazy range, too - he hits some ridiculously high ass note during the fade-out for Type.
I’m gonna throw a curveball and say that if you want to get into Vernon Reid’s groove for the fast parts, the best thing you can do is trying to match his energy without even thinking about picking patterns or any of that.
Reid’s fast playing is dirty and kinda random so approaching his music in the same way you would approach a shred solo would make you sound contextually “worse” by playing cleaner and more articulate because that’s not the Vernon Reid sound. That said, I don’t know if you are looking for a “Living Colour as played by Paul Gilbert” kind of sound, which is fine but it’s a completely different thing.
