The Reality of My Surroundings

The Reality of My Surroundings is the third full-length album by Fishbone, released on April 23, 1991.[2][3] 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.[4]

The Reality of My Surroundings
Studio album by Fishbone
Released	April 23, 1991 (1991-04-23)
Recorded	November 1990 – January 1991
Studio	Ocean Way Recording, Hollywood, California
Genre	Alternative rock, punk rock, ska punk, funk rock
Length	59:39
Label	Columbia[1]
Producer	Fishbone, Dave Jerden, 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
"Fight the Youth" Released: 1991 "Everyday Sunshine" Released: 1991 "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, 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
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
Robert Christgau	[6]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[1]
Entertainment Weekly	A−[7]
Rolling Stone	[8]

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. People called The Reality of My Surroundings Fishbone's most impressive album.[9] 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."[10]

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.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Fight the Youth"	John Norwood Fisher, Philip Fisher, Kendall Jones	5:01
2.	"If I Were A...I'd"	Chris Dowd, Angelo Moore	0:54
3.	"So Many Millions"	J. N. Fisher, Moore	5:50
4.	"Asswhippin'"	John Bigham, Dowd, J. N. Fisher, P. Fisher, Jones, Walter A. Kibby II, Moore	0:40
5.	"Housework"	J. N. Fisher, P. Fisher, Jones, Kibby, Moore	4:46
6.	"Death March"	Dowd, Moore	0:34
7.	"Behavior Control Technician"	J. N. Fisher, P. Fisher	3:09
8.	"If I Were A...I'd"	Dowd, Moore	0:29
9.	"Pressure"	Jones, Moore	4:47
10.	"Junkies Prayer"	Dowd, J. N. Fisher, Jones, Moore, Byron West	3:01
11.	"Pray to the Junkiemaker"	Dowd, Moore	4:03
12.	"Everyday Sunshine"	Dowd, Moore	4:57
13.	"If I Were A...I'd"	Dowd, Moore	0:29
14.	"Naz-Tee May'en"	J. N. Fisher, P. Fisher, Jones, Moore	4:56
15.	"Babyhead"	Kibby	5:31
16.	"If I Were A...I'd"	Dowd, Moore	0:53
17.	"Those Days Are Gone"	Dowd, J. N. Fisher	5:23
18.	"Sunless Saturday"	Jones	4:18

Accolades

Year	Publication	Country	Accolade	Rank
1991	Rock de Lux	Spain	"Albums of the Year"	2	[11]
1991	OOR	Netherlands	"Albums of the Year"	40	[11]
"*" denotes an unordered list.

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
• 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[12]

Singles – Billboard (North America)

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

References

1. Larkin, Colin (May 27, 2011). "The Encyclopedia of Popular Music". Omnibus Press – via Google Books.
2. "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.
3. Gettelman, Parry. "FISHBONE'S MEATY ISSUES". OrlandoSentinel.com.
4. "Perfect Sound Forever: Fishbone". www.furious.com.
5. Prato, Greg. "The Reality of My Surroundings Review". Allmusic. Retrieved April 29, 2011.
6. "Robert Christgau: CG: Fishbone". www.robertchristgau.com.
7. Bernard, James (April 1991). "The Reality of My Surroundings Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 29, 2011.
8. Brackett, Nathan (November 2004). "Fishbone Overview". The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. p. 298.
9. "Picks and Pans Review: The Reality of My Surroundings". PEOPLE.com.
10. "Fishbone". Trouser Press. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
11. "OOR – Albums of the Year". OOR. Retrieved April 29, 2011.
12. "Fishbone". Billboard.