The Reality of My Surroundings

The Reality of My Surroundings is the third studio album by the American rock band Fishbone, released on April 23, 1991 through Columbia Records.[4] It was their first album to include former Miles Davis music director John Bigham (guitar, keyboards), who joined in 1989 during the Truth and Soul tour.[5]

The Reality of My Surroundings
Studio album by
Fishbone
ReleasedApril 23, 1991 (1991-04-23)
RecordedNovember 1990 – January 1991
StudioOcean Way Recording, Hollywood, California
Genre
Length59:39
LabelColumbia[3]
ProducerFishbone, David Kahne
Fishbone chronology
Set the Booty Up Right
(1990)		 The Reality of My Surroundings
(1991)		 Give a Monkey a Brain and He'll Swear He's the Center of the Universe
(1993)
Singles from The Reality of My Surroundings
  1. "Fight the Youth"
    Released: 1991
  2. "Everyday Sunshine"
    Released: 1991
  3. "Sunless Saturday"
    Released: 1991

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 self-produced the album with assistance of David Kahne 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[6]
Robert Christgau(dud)[7]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[3]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[8]
Rolling Stone[9]

With this album, Fishbone obtained critical and commercial success with a ranking of No. 49 on the Billboard 200 on May 18, 1991. Due to the sudden implementation of Nielsen SoundScan tracking figures on the Billboard charts, The Reality of My Surroundings sharply dropped to No. 182 in two weeks.[10] The album ultimately spent ten weeks on the Billboard 200, and by 1997 the album had sold nearly 200,000 copies in the United States.[11][12]

The album is widely considered by fans and critics as the creative peak of the band. People called The Reality of My Surroundings Fishbone's most impressive album.[13] Trouser Press wrote that "the sprawling [album] reprises much of Truth and Soul‘s spirit and sound, but is far more ambitious in scope and philosophy."[14]

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

Personnel

Fishbone
  • Angelo Moore – saxophone, theremin, 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
  • Fernando 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

Accolades
Year Publication Country Accolade Rank
1991Rock de LuxSpain "Albums of the Year"2[15]
1991OORNetherlands "Albums of the Year"40[15]
"*" denotes an unordered list.

Charts

Album – Billboard (United States)

Year Chart Position
1991 The Billboard 200 49[16]

Singles – Billboard (United States)

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

References
  1. "Top 8 Iconic 'Funk Metal' Albums". Ultimate Guitar. October 18, 2020. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  2. Reynolds, Simon (May 24, 1991). "Hybrid sounds". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  3. Larkin, Colin (May 27, 2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. ISBN 9780857125958 – via Google Books.
  4. "Fishbone's New Line : The eclectic L.A. funk band never had trouble 'crossing over' to a white audience, but now it wants to cross back". Los Angeles Times. April 7, 1991.
  5. "Perfect Sound Forever: Fishbone". www.furious.com.
  6. Prato, Greg. "The Reality of My Surroundings Review". Allmusic. Retrieved April 29, 2011.
  7. "Robert Christgau: CG: Fishbone". www.robertchristgau.com.
  8. Bernard, James (April 1991). "The Reality of My Surroundings Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 29, 2011.
  9. Brackett, Nathan (November 2004). "Fishbone Overview". The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. p. 298.
  10. Harrington, Richard (May 22, 1991). "Billboard Does a Number". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  11. Boehm, Mike (November 21, 1997). "The Art of Bait and Switch". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  12. "Fishbone". Billboard. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  13. "Picks and Pans Review: The Reality of My Surroundings". PEOPLE.com.
  14. "Fishbone". Trouser Press. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  15. "OOR – Albums of the Year". OOR. Retrieved April 29, 2011.
  16. "Fishbone". Billboard.
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