I first heard L.A.'s Fishbone on KROQ in 1985 when their debut single "Party at Ground Zero" got local play. It was an uptempo, zany, alternative ska tune that, despite the fact that it wasn't really my kind of music, struck a chord with me, and I later picked up that first EP. It was mostly alternative rock, with a ska slant, but it was fairly varied considering there were only five or so songs on it. I enjoyed the album and still do, but it was about five years later when I heard them again on an Epic records compilation that they were giving out at an Alice Cooper/Judas Priest concert that I went to called "Operation Rock & Roll" around the time of the first Gulf War. The song was "Fight the Youth", and I was really surprised at how heavy Fishbone's sound had gotten. The album it came from was called "The Reality of My Surroundings", and that and their next "Give a Monkey a Brain and He'll Swear He's the Center of the Universe" are all over the rock musical map, with funk, punk, ska, metal and soul blended or alone.
"Fight the Youth" is a great example of the eclectic and heavy Fishbone sound of the early 90s. I really like them at that time, when they played heavy rock but still had a horn section. There aren't that many bands to do that, and as a former horn player, I sure appreciate those who do it well.
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