The Reality of My Surroundings

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The Reality of My Surroundings is the third full-length album by Fishbone, released on April 23, 1991. It was the first Fishbone album to include former Miles Davis music director John Bigham (guitar, keyboards), who joined in 1989 during the Truth and Soul tour.

Album information

Fishbone took the rest of 1989 off before beginning to write songs for the follow-up to Truth and Soul. The project was plagued by production delays until November 1990, when the band entered Ocean Way Recording, booking two months of studio time in which to record the album. Fishbone, David Kahne and Dave Jerden produced the album, which includes the singles, "Fight the Youth", "Everyday Sunshine" and "Sunless Saturday".

The album's title comes from a line in track 3, "So Many Millions", which reads "I cannot get over legitimately, the Reality of My Surroundings do not point to the sky".

Packaging

The CD cover shows only John Norwood Fisher, with a larger picture of the band sitting in a living room being visible when the CD cover is unfolded. The vinyl version shows the full band's living-room portrait, spanning both sides of the outer gatefold cover.

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Rolling Stone[2]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[3]

With this album, Fishbone obtained critical and commercial success with a ranking of No. 49 on the Billboard 200 on May 18, 1991. The album is widely considered by fans and critics as the creative peak of the band. Fishbone experienced a large growth in concert tickets and record sales during this period, making two memorable television appearances: performing "Sunless Saturday" and "Everyday Sunshine" on Saturday Night Live, and "Everyday Sunshine" on The Arsenio Hall Show. (The SNL performance of "Sunless Saturday" has been re-edited in reruns. The original television broadcast showed a brief glimpse of Angelo Moore doing a backflip on stage. The re-edited version simply switches the camera angle, making it possible to see the full flip right after signaling "Special K" (Kendall Jones) to do his guitar solo.)

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Fight the Youth"John Norwood Fisher, Philip Fisher, Kendall Jones5:01
2."If I Were A...I'd"Chris Dowd, Angelo Moore0:54
3."So Many Millions"J. N. Fisher, Moore5:50
4."Asswhippin'"John Bigham, Dowd, J. N. Fisher, P. Fisher, Jones, Walter A. Kibby II, Moore0:40
5."Housework"J. N. Fisher, P. Fisher, Jones, Kibby, Moore4:46
6."Death March"Dowd, Moore0:34
7."Behavior Control Technician"J. N. Fisher, P. Fisher3:09
8."If I Were A...I'd"Dowd, Moore0:29
9."Pressure"Jones, Moore4:47
10."Junkies Prayer"Dowd, J. N. Fisher, Jones, Moore, Byron West3:01
11."Pray to the Junkiemaker"Dowd, Moore4:03
12."Everyday Sunshine"Dowd, Moore4:57
13."If I Were A...I'd"Dowd, Moore0:29
14."Naz-Tee May'en"J. N. Fisher, P. Fisher, Jones, Moore4:56
15."Babyhead"Kibby5:31
16."If I Were A...I'd"Dowd, Moore0:53
17."Those Days Are Gone"Dowd, J. N. Fisher5:23
18."Sunless Saturday"Jones4:18

Accolades

Year Publication Country Accolade Rank
1991 Rock de Lux Spain "Albums of the Year" 2 [4]
1991 OOR Netherlands "Albums of the Year" 40 [4]
"*" denotes an unordered list.

Personnel

Fishbone

  • Angelo Moore – saxophone, vocals
  • Walter A. Kibby II – trumpet, vocals
  • Kendall Jones – lead guitar, vocals
  • Chris Dowd – keyboards, trombone, vocals
  • John Bigham – guitar, keyboard
  • John Norwood Fisher – bass guitar, vocals
  • Philip "Fish" Fisher – drums

Additional

  • Sam Mims – programming
  • Fenando Pullum – trumpet
  • T-Bone – percussion
  • Greg Bell, Vicky Calhoun, Aklia Chin, Katherine Cederquist, Jeff Conners, Larry Fishburne, James Grey, Kyva Holmes, Nadja Holmes, Wendell Holmes, Natalie Jackson, Gaz Mayall, Sultana Muhammad, Susan Rogers, Clip Payne, Suesan Stovall (spelled "Susan Stoval" in the album's liner notes), Kristen Vigard, Byron West – background vocals

Engineers

  • Lawrence Duhart
  • Clark Germain
  • Joel Stoner

Charts

Album – Billboard (North America)

Year Chart Position
1991 The Billboard 200 49

Singles – Billboard (North America)

Year Single Chart Position
1991 "Sunless Saturday" Modern Rock Tracks 7
"Everyday Sunshine" Modern Rock Tracks 14

References

  1. ^ Prato, Greg. "The Reality of My Surroundings Review". Allmusic. Retrieved April 29, 2011.
  2. ^ Brackett, Nathan (November 2004). "Fishbone Overview". The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. p. 298. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  3. ^ Bernard, James (April 1991). "The Reality of My Surroundings Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 29, 2011.
  4. ^ a b "OOR – Albums of the Year". OOR. Retrieved April 29, 2011.
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