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From the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Truth And Soul

Fishbone

1988

Buy At Rough Trade
Truth And Soul
Album Summary

Truth and Soul is the second album by American funk-rock and ska band Fishbone. It was released on September 13, 1988. As is typical of the band's history of music the album features a wide array of genres including punk, ska, reggae, soul, funk, and blues. Additionally, Truth and Soul includes the band's earliest foray into hard rock and heavy metal music. The album begins with a cover version of Curtis Mayfield's "Freddie's Dead", originally from the soundtrack to the film Super Fly.

Wikipedia

Rating

2.95

Votes

12180

Genres

  • Metal
  • Funk
  • Reggae

Reviews

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May 28 2021
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4

The black ska band from the 80s that all the white ska bands from the 90s copied. Are we surprised? One of my favorite things about this whole 1001 albums thing is finding all the predecessors and progenitors. I like how *FUN* this album is. It's sassy, it's naughty, it's just some boys playing around on their trombones. It probably gets a 4.5 from me. 4 seems too low (I've really been tossing out 4s a little too easily), but 5 seems a bit too high. It's not as polished as it could be.

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Dec 05 2021
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5

Excuse me, I am too busy to write any notes about this album because I'm building a time machine so I can go kick my college-age self in the hiney and tell her to pick up a Fishbone cassette or two. She would have really loved this album. Listening to this was a wild ride! Such a range of styles. No two songs are alike: there were spoodly metal guitar solos, some funky ass bass, soulful keys and horns, ska rhythms and danceable beats, and some swoon-inducing twelve-string guitar. Fun tunes with lyrics to match but also upbeat songs that belie their serious social justice lyrical content. I had a great time listening to this and will listen again and again to make up for lost time.

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Jul 16 2021
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4

Fuck me, what an assault on every one of my senses this is. I guess you aren't supposed to take it seriously, so I won't. A helter-skelter of magic, colour and bonin' in the boneyard. One of those 80s albums where they just threw everything at it and hoped for the best. Freddie's dead. Wild. Truth and Soul.

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Dec 05 2021
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5

Fishbone does something new and unexpected on TRUTH AND SOUL (…he notes about this 33 year old album…) mixing metal, ska, soul, funk and punk with reckless abandon creating something fresh, surprising and really fun! I already knew the opening song “Freddie’s Dead,” but definitely not this funk/metal version. A great cover that retains the spirit of the original but is definitely their own. “Ma and Pa” is one of the best songs about divorce I’ve ever heard. I loved the little calliope-like descending note thing suggestive of a carnival. This interesting little embellishment reappears in later songs. The horn-forward, jaunty “Question of Life” is a ska/funk song exploring the relationship between God and man with some great saxophone. A funky fun look at a heavy subject! “Pouring Rain” is one of the albums slower songs that took a couple of listens for me to fully appreciate. “Deep Inside” goes full punk-metal-ska rebellion complete with screams challenging the squares (“plus you’ve got a blender by General Motors and a Tonka toy up your ass”). “Mighty Long Way” could almost be a great 80s TV theme in a good way (some of my favorite songs are 80s TV themes!). Great lead guitar and an upbeat, positive message about friendship. “Bonin’ in the “Boneyard” opens with fantastic funk bass and horns and comes complete with dog bark breaks. This song really smokes - made me really want to see Fishbone perform live! Funk and metal come together in the service of societal inequality in “One Day.” Great little sonic embellishments pepper this song — tick-tock sounds, a pinball-type effect, traffic noises — along with a surprising but really cool metal guitar solo. Looking for a ska/metal/punk/funk/out-of-control-carousel song warning quite directly of what is currently happening in the US? Then have a look at the sublime “Subliminal Fascism.” Incredible! “Slow Bus Movin’” addresses racism in America with a great chorus and some B-52s-esque backups. ‘Round and around and around they go, bus been going mighty slow, Brothers in the back seat come to the front, People gettin' hostile wanna kill someone.” It’s been 33 years. This bus been going mighty slow indeed. Another highly-topical fantastic-sounding song “Ghetto Soundwave” tackles police shootings and poverty in Fishbone’s funk/ska style. Fantastic song. TRUTH AND SOUL sticks the landing on a message of hope with ”Change.” A sharp sonic departure from the rest of the album, this mostly acoustic guitar song would make a perfect campaign theme. Fishbone is inarguably an incredibly talented group effortlessly able to blend a wide range of styles with great hooks and interesting, highly topical lyrics. It is filled with musical surprises that make the album even better. TRUTH AND SOUL is a great time and I will be back for more!

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Jul 17 2021
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3

This is an weird mix of rock and ska/reggae, but once you get used to it it's actually rather pleasant. It was unexpected, fun to listen to, and I ended up liking more than I expected.

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Dec 01 2023
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3

No. 53/1001 Freddie's Dead 3/5 Ma and Pa 4/5 Question of Life 4/5 Pouring Rain 4/5 Deep Inside 3/5 Mighty Long Way 4/5 Bonin' in the Boneyard 4/5 One Day 4/5 Subliminal Facism 2/5 Slow Bus Movin' 2/5 Ghetto Soundwave 3/5 Change 4/5 Average: 3,42 Just a fun album to listen to.

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Jul 13 2023
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2

Pretty horrible, hated most of this. Constipated metal funk, evidently the inspiration for many dreadful bands that followed. Obviously good musicians so just scrapes a 2. Boo

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Oct 20 2023
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5

WHERE HAS THIS ALBUM BEEN ALL MY LIFE??? Funk, prog rock, ska, punk, metal...my word this band was created in a lab for me. Favorite tracks: Ma and Pa, Bonin' in the Boneyard

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Nov 09 2023
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5

What a roller coaster!!! Punk, ska, soul, rock.... Not a poor song on there. A great listen...

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Mar 25 2021
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4

I have loved this band for a long time now, and the fact that they were around for the punk scene in the late 80's early 90's here in los angeles is amazing. great music, amazing band

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May 06 2021
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4

Fun lyrics. Political. Mix of Rock/Funk/Ska/and more. Enjoyed!

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Dec 30 2021
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4

This album is a roller coaster ride. You would never guess that it was all the same album. My favorites are the ska song Ma and Pa and the funk tune Bonin in The Boneyard - btw, what a song name! The guitarist sounds like he is simultaneously trying to sound like Earl Slick and Eddie Van Halen. This of course isn’t possible but he sounds good trying. Some of the stuff, like Subliminal Fascism, doesn’t work for me but that comes with the territory with so much genre hoping. The next tune Slow Bus Movin' brings me back. The one bizarre thing is that the bass seems to be mixed way too far in the background. Many of these genres need the bass more up front. I tried to bring it forward as best I could with my amp but that doesn’t negate the production. Perhaps it’s due for remastering.

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Jul 04 2022
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4

Fishbone are one of the best live bands I have ever seen; they play a wide ranging and eclectic range of styles (metal, punk, funk, ska, etc) with versatility and high energy. With a solid rock core, augmented with multiple singers, keys and brass, they blew the audience away in the early 90s. This album is where they first starting bringing the metal elements into their sound, and really becoming what Fishbone are. They are also starting to turn their minds to more political material, with more lyrical concern particularly on race issues (although there are still plenty of party tunes on here). That said, the common wisdom on Fishbone is that their records never really captured the incredible live band they were, and this album (which I really enjoy) shows that partially to be true. They are a bit stilted in the studio, and the recording is not all it could be. Interestingly, I had just been listening to Alice Cooper's Billion Dollar Babies immediately before switching to playing this, and this sounds tinny and thin by way of comparison with Bob Ezrin's 70s production. It could be an artifact of the period in which it was recorded, and/or modest recording budget. Their next record, Reality of my Surroundings, has a much fuller sound, and they are the better for it. But this belongs on the list as an example f a truly eclectic band that could bring the goods in any style they brought their mind to.

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Oct 20 2022
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4

Very 80s movies soundtrack to begin with but each song seemed to change genre, really interesting and fun

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Oct 13 2023
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4

Of the four albums I would imagine being on the list, this is probably the least likely. It is a really good album, with some great stuff (the cover of "Freddie's Dead" is a great opener, and "Bonin' In The Boneyard" is just WOW that bass solo!). It's just that the albums that represent Fishbone more I would pick their title EP or "The Reality of My Surroundings." There are a couple of songs that are a bit... okay. "Ma and Pa" and "Pouring Rain" are okay, they'd be the weak spots. But the stronger songs are really good: "Questions of Life" (will I not pass the test?) or "Slow Bus Movin' (Howard Beach Party)" (the vocals are a little cheesy-sounding, but it's still effective.) "Reality" is the album that really got me into Fishbone, so it's hard for me not to recommend that one. "Give A Monkey A Brain..." has some of their hardest stuff ("Servitude" is such a different song from ALL of "Truth and Soul"). But I guess "Truth and Soul" is a good place to start. I do like the album a lot, I just don't know if THAT is the one I'd pick to put in the 1001.

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Jan 18 2021
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3

Pleasent surprise. Sounds like King X and Faith No More. I had no idea that band existed.

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Jul 17 2021
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3

Yeah, it's funky. Seem like the kinda band that would kill it on Saturday night at Womad.

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May 28 2021
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2

Not a band I’m familiar with and after listening to this I feel I’ve not been missing out much. A poor man’s Meatloaf, if there is such a thing it’s Fishbone. I realize I may have offended 2 sets of fans with that and for that I’m sorry.

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Sep 29 2021
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2

An interesting mix of Reggae and rock influences that tries but misses the mark. Marred by overlong arrangements, dated synths, and questionable vocals.

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Sep 08 2023
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2

Mom can we go to Oingo Boingo? Mom: we have Oingo Boingo at home. This album’s inclusion feels like recency bias at the time of publication. People used to think that mashing as many genres together as possible was the future of all music, but really it was a fad that really calmed down in the late 90s. It feels like they were trying to show off how many textures and sounds they could include, and they forgot to write good songs. I’m gonna guess that this is big with the Ween/Mr. Bungle/Primus crowd. I just don’t enjoy it.

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Mar 11 2022
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1

This fusion of rock, metal, punk, ska and jazz produces the worst of all worlds. Cringe-worthy

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Apr 04 2021
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5

Me encanta el disco, tiene una mezcla de estilos perfectamente combinada, y teniendo tanto Ska es un logro mayúsculo.

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Mar 26 2021
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5

I’m pretty sure this album sucks to most people, and my memories listening to it were fantastic. Love this one!

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Apr 07 2022
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5

One of the first all-black crossover bands, and one of the most influential for the generations to come. A blast. Lovely.

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Jun 29 2022
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5

Loving the funky ska vibes and the frantic bass.

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Aug 04 2022
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5

Such a fun album! Fishbone is fantastic, a mix of so many genres making a unique sound.

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Aug 10 2022
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5

Wow there’s loads going on here and I really like most of it. I’m already recommending it to people, I can’t understand why this has less than 3 stars?

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Dec 02 2022
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5

Despite my sordid past in the scene, I had fears of hearing “ska” again after all these years, but of course this was different. It was more punk than ska, and everything I loved about the scene back then.

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Mar 08 2023
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5

Zeer gevarieerd plaatje. Had er nog nooit van gehoord maar vind het fantastisch

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Mar 26 2023
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5

Amazing. Wonderful energy, great composition. Well constructed and with a powerful message.

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Apr 12 2023
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5

This felt like proto-ska! I loved the whole thing. Anything rock adjacent with brass is wonderful to me.

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May 02 2023
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5

Totally T-boned by Fishbone! Bonin' in the Boneyard is boney.

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May 03 2023
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5

10/10 quirky as fuck, but an extremely well done, incredibly fun album that flies right by

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May 28 2023
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5

I expected this to be bad because of the average global rating of 3.BUT NO.THIS SHIT IS AMAZING.Its funky its rock its got great hooks.Great guitar solos.Trumpets.Energy everything I like.Its great.And all the songs are under 6 minutes so it never feels like a drag.

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Aug 10 2023
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5

fucking incredible album. one of the best funk rock albums i’ve ever heard. great lyrics, strong vocals, and great variation in the instrumentals. no track sounded the same. amazing.

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Sep 08 2023
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5

goddamn this goes so hard. it’s an education in itself of the relationships between funk, ska, punk, and metal, and it also bangs. really really fun listen, everyone on their a game hitting the perfect notes. slow bus movin is a highlight in an album full of highlights.

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Sep 26 2023
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5

What a wild ride! Fusion of ska/soul/funk/rock/punk. Hadn't heard before, loved every minute. Aomeone buy the bass player a drink! 10/10

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Nov 26 2023
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5

What a surprise. This album is so good. I wish I had known about Fishbone earlier because this album is such a fantastic combo of funk and rock.

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Nov 26 2023
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5

Iunno what this was but I loved it

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Dec 07 2023
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5

This was a mix of Rock, Skah, Funk. Very eclectic, much like my musical taste. I listened to it twice.

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Dec 20 2023
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5

Mega banger!! An insane mix of so many genres. Punk, ska, reggae, soul, funk, blues, you got it all. Some of the bass line so flea like. It's so creative and so diverse. Hats off. 9/10

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Jan 31 2024
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5

Freddie's Dead - Weird intro, weird voice, weird riff, perfect. Ma and Pa - Sounds like a funny circus, not a scary one. Question Of Life - This song didn't have to go this hard. Pouring Rain - Trumpets with weird rock, a genius yet unexpected combination. Deep Inside - The name is clickbait, it wasn't deep enough. Mighty Long Way - BEAUTIFUL RIFF AND KEYS. Bonin' In the Boneyard - The bass, drums, keys and brass are just amazing. One Day - As always, the bass is the best thing here. The guitar solo must be the best part of the album. Subliminal Fascism - Punk ish and and powerful keys. Slow Bus Movin' - Now this sounds like a combination of pirates and rednecks, jus' like PRIMUS. Ghetto Soundwave - Idk, somethin' about the trumpets feels off, the rest is fine. Change - A really good ending for the album. Top 3 One Day Question Of Life Mighty Long Way I would rate this with 4.5, well, a 5

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Feb 04 2024
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5

Fishbone - Truth and Soul What a fabulous album! Punk, ska, heavy metal, it's all here. I first heard of Fishbone from the movie and soundtrack to Say Anything. Even though I didn't know much about them at the beginning of their career, I got there in the end! 5/5

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Mar 01 2024
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5

What a fun album! I haven't listened to these guys in too long, but it was and is such a fun assault to the senses. You hear the first notes and smile. Within seconds, you're tapping your feet. Eventually you just have to get up and move around! There is stored energy in these tracks which must be released. Bonin In The Boneyard explodes. Gotta love funky ass bass.

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Mar 08 2024
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5

streets got freddie rest in peace man :( if you look past how freddie brutally died for this album, im fucking with this heavy rn shit got me like 🕺🕺🕺🕺 just a fun album really you can see me bonin' in the backyard... i think if you dont like this ur probably just racist i cant lie 4.6/5

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Mar 08 2024
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5

shits gas there’s no denying it some serious tracks throughout it was gonna give it a 5 but there’s something about it that felt kinda slow actually it’s better than a 4 but not quite a 5 so gonna give it a 5

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Mar 08 2024
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5

I had never heard of this band and was very pleasantly surprised.

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Mar 15 2024
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5

This kinda sounds like a bunch of guys from the US got on the English train of making anti racism reggae music

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Apr 08 2024
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5

In high school, I had the maddest crush on a guy who had the Fishbone logo painted on the back of his jacket. He was the only mildly punk boy in the area and he had excellent taste. *swoon* Freddie’s Dead sounds brand new. I love what another reviewer said about this band: they are a black ska punk band from the 80s that white bands would try to imitate all through the 90s. Dead accurate. Not a damn one of those white boys ever came close to this. Joyful energy, strong vocals, tight band, slapping beats, killer range. So rare. This is a real gem. So glad to see it included here. Saving every song so far. Forgot how much I loved this guy’s voice. Halfway through, I’m calling this a solid 5.

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Apr 18 2024
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5

I listened to this album so many times when it first came out, and loved it every time. I can't really tell if it's aged well or not, but it's very fun to listen to it again. It's probably easier to list the songs that weren't my favorites--"Freddie's Dead", "Deep Inside", and "Change"--as the rest all competed for favorite song (although the political/racial aspect of "Slow Bus Movin'" and "One Day" might rank them just a bit higher than the others). It's kind of a bummer that their subsequent albums, at least the ones I bought, weren't as compelling (with the exception of "The Reality of My Surroundings"), but that's maybe to be expected, since I probably wanted them to just churn out more albums just like "Truth and Soul", and to their credit they clearly wanted to experiment with other styles and sounds. And the show I saw them at in LA--Primus and Fishbone--was a lot of fun, even with their newer material. I don't think I've ever seen so much energy from a surprisingly large band. (And what a bizarre combination of bands, although I loved them both. And I think it was at the Hollywood Palladium, an odd venue too.)

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May 09 2024
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5

I had heard of Fishbone, but couldn't recall every listening to them. I had a vague recollection of them being some kind of mellow punk band of the 80s and 90s and wasn't sure what to expect. This album was really unexpected and I enjoyed it very much. The music had a great variety and still maintained an idea of the band. There is one guy with a really amazing voice. The album finished strong too.

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May 15 2024
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5

Ska Funk Punk Metal Rock etc. band.

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May 24 2024
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5

For whatever reason this reminded me of faith no more-lite. Fantastic, original, never heard it before. Loved the melding of genres. This is why I went through this project.

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May 26 2024
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5

Joyful energy, strong vocals, tight band, slapping beats, killer range. So rare. This is a real gem. So glad to see it included here. Saving every song so far. Forgot how much I loved this guy’s voice. Halfway through, I’m calling this a solid 5.

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May 27 2024
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5

The sun will shine on brighter And the wind will always blow Some think life's a breeze Others feel love is sin I've found beauty in dancing stars To you, your dreams may be a farce And you think that you can't feel pain And you think we can't feel at all Can you sing out in the pouring rain Yeah, this is a pretty great album. 5/5

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Jul 13 2024
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5

I actually first heard this album in 1988 and it has followed me around since then. An album like this gives this 1001 list credibility, it is an album not everyone has heard but really should. To fully appreciate it, put yourself in the musical landscape of 1988 and consider what a tour de force this was. This is a band in the zone and doing something unique. Other 5 star reviews can describe the musical accomplishment better than I can, so at this point I turn it over to them….

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Jul 18 2024
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5

Hell yeah. It should be a surprise to nobody that black ska is way better

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Jul 22 2024
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5

Legendary album with a legendary cover of Freddie's Dead. The musicianship is excellent. John Norwood Fisher's bass playing is inspirational. "FUNKY BASS!" One of my all-time favourites. Liked songs added: - Freddie's Dead - Ma And Pa - Question Of Life - Mighty Long Way - Bonin' In The Boneyard - One Day - Subliminal Fascism - Slow Bus Moving (Howard Beach Party) - Ghetto Soundwave - Change

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Aug 28 2024
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5

This right here is why this project is worth it. Just when I was starting to get very fatigued by album after album that doesn’t interest me, this comes along. Right up my alley, and not only had I never listened to it, I had never even heard of it. The variety is astounding. How do they meld so many genres into one and stick the landing? Instant favorite.

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Sep 11 2024
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5

It’s a highly recommended 4.5 that I'll bump up to a 5. I’ve always had a slightly softer spot for ska, for whatever reason. I think something about the instrumentation just clicks really well with me, even if the songs are usually kinda hokey and goofy and never that serious. This, however, is… kind of a serious ska album. There’s some real depth to some of the songs here in terms of their lyricism, and I really respect the attempt to try and make a socially conscious album with this soundscape, especially for 1988, well before ska hit the mainstream like a truck in the mid-90s. When it works, it works REALLY well, and when it doesn’t work… it just kind of exists in a way where you can tell they needed a LITTLE more time to refine it. There’s really not a bad track here – I enjoyed all 41 minutes of this, but for as much as I respect their vision, it’s just not executed as well as I’d like all the way through. With that said, it’s executed really damn well for its time, and definitely set the tone for other bands to come in and really refine it based on their efforts here. I need to take a deeper dive to see if anyone stepped up to that plate. Regardless of any of that, I thought this was still really, really good. There’s a lot of energy throughout this, and it’s just a damn fun listen for the most part. I think it’s just good enough to give it a 5 – again, a few tracks just don’t work as well, but sometimes it’s really apparent when they were padding for time, or if they sort of couldn’t figure out a proper ending for a song or two. However, I don't really care. It might be a 2 if you really hate trumpets, but it’s almost certainly no less than a 4 in my eyes. I’m definitely pleased with a 5 – I just enjoyed the hell out of it, and I’m very glad to discover this.

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Sep 11 2024
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5

Just an absolutely great selection of funk, ska, and rock tracks with a message in a couple of them. Easy 5 in my book.

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Sep 11 2024
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5

SKA. I LOVE SKA. Seriously, at the moment I'm writing this, I can't think of another genre that makes me as happy as ska does. I'm such an unironic fan of the stuff—so why have I never heard Fishbone before today? I'unno. I suppose it's just a case where I already have albums lodged away as "my ska albums" (LET'S FACE IT by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones and TURN THE RADIO OFF by Reel Big Fish), and given how much else I listen to as it is, I just don't have the want or time to find more. But dammit, I'm a fool. This Fishbone album, sonically, is everything I want from ska. It's damn near perfect—or maybe it just is, flat out. And, frankly, I should be giving Fishbone the respect they deserve, given how hard those previous bands I mentioned knocked their style. So, here I present it now: thank you, Fishbone. Not just for paving the way for stuff like "Sell Out", but for being the first among those mentioned here to make kickass music. (Seriously, though. You shoulda seen the smile on my face and felt the happiness in my heart. Gawd**DAMN**, I love ska!)

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Sep 12 2024
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5

HOW HAVE I NEVER HEARD OF THIS BAND BEFORE??!! What happened to society to let Fishbone go unnoticed? This is amazing! I love this album! The sound is so unique and wildly varied and insane and I love it! The blend of ska, funk, and even metal influences is just awesome. The singing is nice too. The writing on here is just as varied as the sound. You'll have a song like "Subliminal Fascism" with a Dead Kennedys level of obvious political messaging that come two songs after "Bonin' in the Boneyard" which is exactly what it sounds like. The cover of Curtis Mayfield's "Freddie's Dead" at the beginning might be one of the best song covers I've ever heard. But why is this band on the list? As I said, Fishbone is far from the most well-known band ever, and my feelings on how good this album is are entirely subjective. Well, as it turns out, Fishbone is actually pretty influential in the underground, and has garnered a pretty strong cult following over the years. They've even influenced a number of very well-known artists and bands like the Red Hot Chili Peppers, No Doubt, Ice-T, and Primus. There's an argument to be made that if there's a thing that can be considered the "most important" of something, then the thing that influenced that first thing is actually more important. Many people consider Sgt. Pepper's to be the most important album of all time, but since Sgt. Pepper's was strongly influenced by Pet Sounds, does that make Pet Sounds the real most important album? I guess what I'm trying to say is that sometimes the greatest things in life are also the most underappreciated. I'm also trying to say that Fishbone is really good and should've been way more popular than they were. Light 5/5.

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Oct 03 2024
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5

Funky funky funky! Good fun, great playing, solid lyrics. Enjoyed it a bunch.

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Oct 12 2024
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5

What I love about Fishbone is the special kind of intensity of their performances and choice of melodic lines, whether they're used for vocals, the brass section, the baselines... And this typical intensity is what unites the mind-bogglingly vast array of styles used here - hard rock, funk, soul, metal, ska, reggae, bluegrass, pop, folk - in other words that nascent crossover thing which confused so many professional "critics" at the time. Those narrow-minded guys only saw the stylistic switch's and not the talent that made it work on all cylinders, as it would on *The Reality Of My Surroundings* To me, there's only one dud in the record, "Mighty Long Way", where an extra amount of hard FM cheese makes it impossible to listen to today. But the rest still sounds damn good today. "Bonin' In The Boneyard" has an incredible energy (and funk bassline). And Side 2 is even better than side 1, thanks to a few stellar cuts that allow the LP to build up like a motherf*cker from the first, harmonically rich yet also understated guitar tones of "One Day", calling for revolution in a fun and tongue-in-cheek manner, the organ-laden, Bad Brains indebted "Subliminal Fascism" (sadly prophetic), up to the wonderful and even gracious "Change". Needless to say, the topical lyrics are the cream of the cake. In 1988, Fishbone were bright, talented creative, young men, thoughtful but also FUN. So they got to be on this list somehow. 4.5/5 for the purposes of this list of essential albums, rounded up to 5 9.5/10 grade for more general purposes (5 + 4.5). Number of albums left to review: 40 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 414 (including this one) Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 242 Albums from the list I won't include in mine: 306

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Sep 16 2020
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4

Ska, punk band from the 80's that sounds nothing like 80's music.

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Nov 05 2020
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4

All over the place musically. kinda jam band like

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Feb 15 2021
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4

Surprisingly very good. Probably a great live band

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May 19 2021
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4

Funk-rock muy curioso y animado.

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Mar 25 2021
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4

On first impression, I thought they were Sublime. THEN I thought they were a better Sublime. I've really grown to like and appreciate these guys. I get Phish vibes in here too. They are a cool group overall- how have I not heard of them? Change, slow bus, and bonin' are my favorites.

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Apr 21 2021
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4

C'est UNE des grosses découvertes de mon projet, quel album !

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Jun 02 2021
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4

Such a tough one. I listened through multiple times convinced myself I loved several tracks. When I went back though only a couple really stuck. Freddie's dead was such a great progressive track for the late 80s

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May 13 2021
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4

Fun! Surprised I had never listened thru before.

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Jul 29 2021
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4

Cool blend of funk, reggae, and hard rock!

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Aug 20 2021
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4

Like a mix of ska with rock and something almost psychedelic at times. Weird but fun.

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Sep 08 2021
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4

I actually like this. It has a unique sound but it's upbeat and exciting. You go, Fishbone.

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Sep 29 2021
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4

Fantastic, great variety of songs, feels like a band at the top of their game.

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Oct 13 2021
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4

I enjoyed this more than I was expecting. There are a lot of genres packed into this album spanning funk, ska, and some metal and new wave influences. The lyrics reflect a punk ethic and the music is energetic and joyous

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Dec 05 2021
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4

By name, I thought that maybe I had heard of this band before. Once I started listening, I realized that I was familiar with some tracks from this band, but not this album in its entirety. I am a bit ambivalent about it. The funk-rock style and the kind of cheekiness in their tone would normally appeal to me, but today it just kind of missed the spot. Actually, listening to this album just made me want to seek out something more funky (which I did). I even gave it a couple of listens thinking that maybe it just needs to grow on me...but two listens wasn't enough for the roots to set in. I will try it again on a different day and give it the benefit of the doubt for my rating.

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Dec 17 2021
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4

Great mix of genre, I really liked a lot of the songs on this. Favorite track: "Ma and Pa"

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Dec 17 2021
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4

I loved the funk/soul/ska/rock vibe of this album! Each song had a little bit of something different to it. A very fun listen, some great brass moments throughout which is always a plus.

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Jan 14 2022
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4

Rating: 7/10 Best songs: Ma and pa

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Jan 14 2022
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4

I don't think I know this band, though I feel like I've seen that fish skeleton before. The album cover looks very late 80's/early 90's. So here we go. The album roars out of the gate with Freddie's Dead. The opening riff makes me want to hear more. I love the heavy duty bass and funky vibe, reminds me of Faith No More. The next song has a more island / reggae feel. By the third song we are full ska. I am so sorry this is the first time I'm hearing Fishbone. Some of the little flourishes a little too 80's, and a few of the songs are a little less successful for me (Pouring Rain, Bonin' In the Boneyard). But in the main, this is great stuff. PS after the album was done Spotify helpfully played Two Timin' Woman a collaboration between Little Richard and Fishbone. Bullseye on that one, Spotify, thank you. :)

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