After the success of their first two albums, did Living Colour really need to release a "stop-gap" to keep people happy?
Their six-song EP,
Biscuits, has a closet-clean feel to it - or, as the boys in
Living Colour say, "Here are some things we found in the pantry."
And in the end, it's kind of like that one can of creamed corn
that's in everyone's house. Somebody has to like the stuff, but you
wonder why you got it in the first place.
The tracks can be broken up into three distinct groups. The first are two songs newly recorded for this project, "Talkin' Loud And Sayin' Nothing" and "Burning Of The Midnight Lamp," the latter a Jimi Hendrix cover. These tracks are pretty good, though they break no new ground in the Living Colour mold, save for a little less rock and a little more funk. (This, actually, would define how Stain would sound.) These tracks alone are worth the time and effort.
The second group are two songs left off of Time's Up for one reason or another. Of these, "Money Talks" shows why some songs don't make it off the cutting room floor; this one is abyssmal. However, "Love And Happiness" isn't that bad, and it justifies its appearance on this disc.
The final set of songs are live tracks from Living Colour circa 1989. Again, one track quickly justifies its existence - a cover of Talking Heads's "Memories Can't Wait". The other track, "Desparate People," just fails to light any fires under me, and strikes out.
Again, the question has to be asked: Why bother bringing this collection out less than two years after the appearance of Time's Up? Possibly, in my book, because the band was having problems with bassist Muzz Skillings, who makes his final appearance with the band on this album. (Doug Wimbish would handle the bass work on Living Colour's final album.)
Whatever the case, Biscuits is definitely a "for-the-fans" release, and while it has some good moments, it is hardly required owning for the casual fan.