Customer Reviews

The Reality of My Surroundings

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

For anyone who walked in on Fishbone at the Truth & Soul party of 1988, the shock and disturbing qualities that now enter the landscape of The Reality of My Surroundings (TROMS) is most certainly a party let down. It's like your parents coming home earlier than expected, and reality sets in. Truth and Soul is certainly their most accessible work, and often hailed as their masterpiece. But that is only in terms of how approachable it is by the general consumer. The suburbanite and middle class citizen. The record buying public. In my opinion, with TROMS, one of the most important black bands in America's recording history set about writing their manifesto. And anyone who had heard Public Enemy's Fear of a Black Planet, and the pronouncement by Chuck D. in Thin Line Between Law & Rape, `' You can't take whatcha want, Dont cha know We aint got nuttin left? Cause you took the rest, We aint got jazz, rock & roll , Rappin the lose. Wit a few fat ladies left singin da blues.''

Fishbone set about taking it all back when they released their first E.P. in 1985. By TROMS, reggae, ska, funk, rock, punk, jazz, hip hop, and folk music had all been rescued from what Chuck D. saw as a detainment cell for black culture. Rescued by Team Fishbone in a daring plan. TROMS is an album that does have to be taken song by song, track by track, because it is worthy of any description of its contents. Fishbone albums are celebrations of Black History Month, in a perpetual state. The history and influence of Black society on American culture is so undeniable, but gracefully brushed under history's rug. Without Black society, there would be no rock and roll. No jazz. No soul. No rhythm and blues. America would be a virtual, cultural, wasteland. With no SPIN magazines.

At the time of TROMS, Fishbone was comprised of Angelo Moore (Vocals / Sax), Chris Dowd (Vocals / Trombone / Keyboards), Walter Kibby II (Vocals / Trumpet), Kendall Jones (Guitar / Vocals), John Bigham (Guitar - before Fishbone he was with Miles Davis), and brothers Phil Fisher `'Fish'' (Drums), and Norwood Fisher (Bass / Vocals). Whether this is their quintessential line-up is up to the listener.

Fight the Youth (K.Jones / J.N.Fisher / P.Fisher)
`'And now another story of stolen faith and tragic glory'' - Heavy Metal with a Funk edge, the opening song sets the tone for the album and its topics to be explored. It states that a generation fed with anger, will make a future where nightmares come true. This chooses to fight against that, and to inform those whose minds have been poisoned by these corruptions, that they will soon find themselves at war.

If I Were A . . I'd (A.Moore / C.Dowd)
`'If I believed everything I saw on television'' opens up the segmented `If I Were A ... I'd', which is scattered throughout the album. This first part questions the life believed `reality' as told by media and commercial advertisers. The final solution is to be a Cop, or succinctly put here, a Power Trippin' Robot. So far this album would make those who thought Truth & Soul was a friendly bunch of people throwing a party, realise something quite quickly. Party's over. Sped up James Brown.

So Many Millions (J.N.Fisher / A. Moore)
`'Your education will do me no good, in my neighbourhood'' - Musically like Parliament / Funkadelic on a Bad Trip, So Many Millions illustrates with no holds barred, the problems of growing up Black in America. How can education be of any service, when the only thing it teaches about Black people is about their enslavement, and then their emancipation. They are like a footnote to someone else's history. Meanwhile, Dizzy Gillespie can't get into a club to play Be Bop because of its rules, and Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers are refused entry into Studio 54, where their songs are in heavy rotation. So little changes over too long a time.

Asswhippin' (Fishbone)
Relentless Jungle drums underscore the public whipping of the screaming.

Housework (W.Kibby / A.Moore / K.Jones / J.N.Fisher / P.Fisher)
`'Pops is gone and Mom's workin' 5 and 6 days a week'' - No options outside of what your friends and you can get up to while you're not at school, doing chores at home, having to start working because life isn't being good to you and yours,where you is. Everything explored in So Many Millions is summed up here, in the Ska mode. With bits of Gospel, Ragtime and Rock thrown in. This song might remind buyers of Truth & Soul of what they were expecting to find.

Deathmarch (A.Moore / C.Dowd)
A visit to New Orleans along the way. (Instrumental)

Behavior Control Technician (J.N.Fisher / P.Fisher)
`'Sheltering will restrict your baby's mind'' - Heavy Metal Funk with a good nod to George Clinton. Question Authority or remain a Little Zombie. Ordered Chaos music.

If I Were A . . I'd (A.Moore / C.Dowd)
`'If I were a Kernel(sic) in the United States Marine Corps `' - namedrops Vietnam, Nicaragua, lying, cheating, the trading of hostages for missiles, corporate wars.

Pressure (A.Moore / K.Jones)
`'Fear is the curse and today's word is pressure'' - Frenetic Ska Punk Chaos. Fishbone caught `pressure' musically for all to hear.

Junkies Prayer (A.Moore / C.Dowd / K.Jones / J.N.Fisher / B.West)
`'My pusher who art in the Krack House'' - truly one of the most disturbing pieces on TROMS, a loop of a laughing man, a lone tambourine, bongos, all underscore the twin readings (Left speaker / Right speaker) of the junkies prayer. ``Yea though I walk through the valleys of Harlem, Bronx, Manhattan . . . `' . Nightmare vision.

Pray To The Junkiemaker (A.Moore / C.Dowd)
`'You're on the road to the Tombstone Commode'' - The happy go lucky Reggae / Ska signified by the music harkens back to Truth & Soul Fishbone, but this is merely an extension of Junkies Prayer. An anti-drug statement accented with brutal honesty, it might be one of Angelo Moore's best vocals on the album.

Everyday Sunshine (Chris Dowd)
`'And no one wants or needs, nor sign of greed, could rule our soul'' - One of the songs that was released as a single from TROMS, Chris Dowd's `Sunshine' steps back to `Truth & Soul' accessibility, and is paralleled later by Kendall Jones's `Sunless Saturday'. The music is pure Soul / Gospel, with leanings toward Sly & The Family Stone. It almost becomes a Baptist Revival by its end.


If I Were A . . I'd (A.Moore / C.Dowd)
`'If I were a society'' - attacks the whole condition in which human beings are ignored for the sake of the ruling majority, and the powers that be. `Majority society just ain't right for me'.

Naz-tee May'en (J.N.Fisher / P.Fisher / A.Moore / K.Jones)
`'Aint nuthin' I'd rather be doin', than sweatin', chewin' and spewin'.'' - An ode to heterosexual fornication. The music can be described as `Fun Funk', very up and jolly. It's almost Bubblegum Funk.

Babyhead (Walter Kibby II)
`''Givin' up the goo to the bones groove'' - If the previous song approached the subject with a sense of humour, this song is an altogether different story. This is not Barry White's bedroom of romantic seduction. It's somewhere in his basement, or some part of the house you didn't know he had. Quite a few Fishbone fans don't rate this song highly. I personally think it's great. Descends from Light Cosmic Syrup into Heavy Metal Molasses.

If I Were A . . I'd (A.Moore / C.Dowd)
`'If I had a choice'' - concludes the If I Were A . . . I'd series. Switches the power back to the person, who ends up doing the same things everyone else is doing, but at least knows it.

Those Days Are Gone (C.Dowd / J.N.Fisher)
`I had a dream once. There was a wall inside my head. You all had put it there.'' - Psychedelic Hard Rock that swirls around your head if one's wearing headphones. Another accessible track for those who enjoyed Truth & Soul, totally disturbed by what they had heard on TROMS so far.

Sunless Saturday (Kendall Jones)
`Perhaps the charcoal grey and brown around me, is just the mirror image of my tainted soul?' - Jones's `Sunless Saturday' was the other single released from TROMS. An acoustic opening makes its way into heavy metal thrash. It is giving up hope personified, where the person doesn't see any chance of sunlight returning to his world. It's a prayer amongst pestilence.

This album stands as a document and diary of one of America's most important bands, who mixed almost 100 years of African-American musical culture into one form, called Fishbone. Purchase the album just to say `I own a Fishbone album'.

Than check out this title and this band. Fishbone is easily the most underrated band of the early 90's thrash/funk/punk genre. While their peers Primus,the Red Hot Chili Peppers,and Jane's Addiction got big, Fishbone was sort of lurking in the shadows, yet making killer records nonetheless. (Angelo Moore and Charles Dowd actually played on Jane's Addiction's classic 'Nothing's Shocking). This actual album is a great melange in the Fishbone canon- It combines their funk filled thrash fest with both humor and lucid social consciousness, perhaps better than any other title in the Fishbone catalog. My personal favorite song on here is 'So Many Millions.' They also use the Parliament/Funkadelic inspired method of layering tracks until it just goes into your subconscious, making this album an intense listen. Buy this, and you won't be let down by Fishbone's musical prowess and keen lyrical savvy. Peace.

The first time I heard Fishbone was when they appeared on Saturday Night Live. The first chords of Sunless Saturday were strummed on an acoustic guitar. Then the music just exploded of the screen. They later followed with Everyday Sunshine and I was hooked. I bought every album they had. I needed to hear that music again and I had an epiphany. Black music was rap or R & B. Now I could play air guitar with a band that looked like me. This album hits on many levels, it plays deeply even though some of the lyrics seem whimsical. Spike Lee recognized this bands genius by directing the Sunless Saturday video. If MTV and the brainwashed masses can follow the Red Hots and ignore fishbone, then they deserve the prison of their ignorance. Just give me this album and I am happy.

The stereotypical review of this scorcher is as follows: "The funk rock 'Sgt. Pepper'!" That's not too far off...do yourself a favor and experience the best platter of aural gumbo you could ever ask for. Truly a travesty that something so good wasn't rewarded as it should have been.

Fishbone is an absolutely amazing band. They are the complete package- awesome albums, legendary live shows, and a one-of-a-kind and charismatic frontman (frontmen depending on what Fishbone era we're talking about). "The Reality of My Surroundings" is probably my favorite album from Fishbone- it is the bridge from the old-skool, more 80s sounding pop/ska/alternative rock (remember when alternative rock really was alternative) to the darker, heavier, more abrasive albums that they released after this. If you're looking for a funky, catchy yet musically impressive Fishbone album I recommend "Truth and Soul". If you're looking for a more aggressive Fishbone album, I recommend "Give a Monkey a Brian and He'll Swear He's The Center of The Universe". If you're looking for a Fishbone album that has all of these elements, buy this album! Seriously, Fishbone is one of the most original, impressive, and most-underrated bands of modern music. They appeal to all different types of musical tastes. They Rock.

'The Reality Of My Surroundings' is a musical masterpiece, a work of art and truly an indication that Fishbone were ahead of their time as the album is more relevant today than it was on it's release date.
It is the bible of Nuttmeg Music, the style of music that mixes funk with punk, metal with ska and rock with soul. Beautifully unique, unlike any other band, album or sound, This and the following album, 1993's 'Give A Monkey A Brain and He'll Swear His The Center Of The Universe" are undoubtably the bands most diverse and listernable material. Containing most of the few Fishbone singles to receive airplay, such as 'Sunless Saturday', 'Everyday Sunshine' and 'Fight The Youth' , 'The Reality Of My Surroundings' was the closest the band got to a commercial breakthrough. As always, the best material off the album was never heard or exploited as it should have been and with better marketing or more generous airplay, Fishbone would have become a household name purely due to their talent, energy and originality. As history has shown, it was not ment to be and the band never reaped the rewards that this and previous albums should have given them.
Being my introduction to the band, this album opened my eyes, mind, heart and soul. I have never approached music from the same angle since and no other artist can seem to stimulate me as much as Fishbone can. This album contains more varied styles of music on one disc than most people have in their entire record collection and this is one reason why is has such a long shelf life.
'The Reality Of My Surroundings' is a must have in any music lovers collection, musicians or those that want a full 5 course meal with coffee and after dinner mints thrown in at no extra cost. 'The Reality Of My Surroundings' is what 'Blood Sugar Sex Magik' is to The Red Hot Chili Peppers except Fishbone did it again with it's following release "Give A Monkey A Brain...".
It is no surprise that so many bands, artist and musicians have claimed Fishbone as a major influence in their sound and style and I guarantee album is in their collection.
Not having this album is pure ignorance!

Of all the Fishbone albums, this one is my favorite. It is a melting pot of more styles than anyone would think could be squeezed into a single album. And only Fishbone has the ability to pull this off. From the laid-back "Pray To The Junkiemaker," to the adrenaline rush of "Housework," to the gospel-filled "Everyday Sunshine," to the punkish interludes of "If I Were A...I'd," to the ending explosion of "Sunless Saturday," this album is full of quality sound. Ska, funk, jazz, metal--you name it, and you will find it here. With all the sounds they produce, it's hard to put a label on Fishbone. But you can definitely say that they rock hard, and this album proves it.

I'm going to start talking about Fishbone with a quote about another band. Bear with me a minute here.

A Trouser Press entry begins by saying "The world needs more bands like Madness", explaining that that band crossed racial and generational barriers to become a force for unity, musical and otherwise. Unfortunately, Fishbone never reached that level of success, although they deserved it, but if Trouser Press wanted more bands like Madness in terms of quality, musical ability and style, here it is. Those two bands ran a parallel course in a lot of ways.

Like Madness, Fishbone started off as a ska-based novelty act but quickly deepened and broadened its range. Its members were among the most acrobatic musicians in pop, and they also stuck almost exclusively to original material. What's more, unlike most bands, everyone in Fishbone wrote songs in all kinds of different combinations, individually and together. They started out as a six-piece, of whom three could sing lead. At about the time that "The Reality of My Surroundings" dropped, they got a gig on Saturday Night Live and blew everyone away. So why, you may ask, do almost all of them look so grouchy on the group photo?

I'm serious, they're all scowling except for Angelo "Dr. Madd Vibes" Moore, their manic lead singer, and his grimace expresses more desperation than good cheer. As for the guy whose image you see at the front of the CD case, that's Norwood Fisher, the bass player, and he looks so fed up with everything I'm a little surprised he stayed there for the picture instead of just getting up and leaving. The most you can say for the other guys is that some of them just look bored rather than upset. And yet these guys would practically break their bones onstage to keep things upbeat. What's going on?

For one thing, the lyrics on this disk come from a pretty heavy world. Fishbone originated in South Central Los Angeles and dealt with the themes you might expect, like suppression, the destructive effects of drugs and the confusion that lack of opportunity can bring. Their music was unfailingly cheerful, but their lyrics only sometimes joked around

This is something of a failing in "TROMS", as the fans call this set. In the early days Fishbone had a real talent for treading lightly on heavy ground - an early single bears the title "Party at Ground Zero", which the band originally wanted to call "Pink Vapor Stew" because that's what things become when nuclear weapons land on them. I can count on the fingers of one hand the groups that dismiss violent mass destruction so cheerfully. As time went on, Fishbone lost some of that irreverence, and the loss did not serve them well.

As a rule, the songs on "TROMS" alternate between a serious and a silly approach to the subject matter; the disk begins, for instance, with "Fight the Youth," an attack on those who inculcate hatred in children, followed by the first of four cuts called "If I Were A...I'd", minute-long bursts of sarcasm aimed at conformists. At the record's close, you've heard each attitude for about equal time. In other words, what used to take Fishbone three minutes to achieve now takes them about an hour. Not a bad thing, necessarily, but the extra time steals some of the band's wallop.

This is not really a problem, though, partly because Fishbone produced a certain uniformity of music all through, whatever they happened to sing about at a given moment. Not that the numbers sound alike - far from it. These guys could turn out soul, funk, heavy metal, and a few passages here and there that sound like folk or even trance music. Sometimes all at once. Despite the eclecticism, though, there's no mistaking these sounds for anyone other than Fishbone. Their music has a sort of glistening quality to it, which has something to do with the brass they loved so much, something to do with their obvious joy in playing, and something to do with their drummer, Norwood's brother Philip. He generally went by the name of "Fish", and although he was the youngest of the bunch, you can tell that he held their whole act together if you listen closely. With a gang of wild men like this, someone had to anchor them, and Fish did that brilliantly; quite often this music sounds like it's about to fly off in a dozen different directions, but it never does.

So - seven men flinging themselves all over everything like all they cared about was the party, while playing songs about their dreams and nightmares, sometimes naughty and sometimes terrifying. That's a lot to include in any creative work. Maybe that's why the music sounds so desperate once in a while.

Then again, the band imposed a pretty desperate mission on itself - to describe the desperation of the world in an exciting and joyful way. With this collection, as freewheeling as it certainly is, Fishbone may have learned that the glittering surface eventually wears off and you have to confront reality. That shows plainly in the song ("So Many Millions") that gives this collection its title - "I cannot get over legitimately the reality of my surroundings" - which goes on to explain how useless education is in a place where there's nothing inspiring to pursue. No wonder they look so aggravated.

Nevertheless, five stars. In "TROMS", Fishbone confronts ugly realities along with happier experiences, like sex and laughter, and they sound great. The last cut, one of their best singles, demonstrates this well. "Sunless Saturday" is a song of great despair, ending with the line "I think the sun will never visit me again," and yet it concludes with a beautiful trumpet passage straight out of "Penny Lane". That's complete music, folks, and we don't get it anywhere near often enough.

Benshlomo says, The world needs more bands like Fishbone.

This album is an absolute classic! Every track is a standout. In fact it is so good it will turn your brains to mince!

I bought this album when it came out after hearing "Behavior Control Technician" and being floored by it. I wasn't sure when I bought it if the rest of the album could be that good and original. It was, and more. A brilliant piece of work that stands strongly amongst other great albums of it's time such as, "Check Your Head" by the Beastie Boys, "Blood Sugar Sex Magik" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and "Ritual de lo Habitual" by Jane's Addiction. A must listen for everyone who wants to hear mind expanding music that will move your soul. A true classic.