Fishbone: Kendall Jones (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, bass); Angelo "The Missing Link" Moore (vocals, saxophone); "Dirty" Walter A. Kibby II (vocals, brass); Charlie "Chris Dowd" Down (vocals, keyboards); John Norwood Fisher (vocals, bass); Fish (drums, percussion).
Recorded at Sunset Sound Factory and Sunset Sound, Hollywood, California.
Personnel: Fishbone (drums, percussion); Kendall Jones (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Angelo Moore (vocals, saxophone); Chris Dowd, Charlie Down (vocals, trombone, keyboards); Walter Adam Kibby II (vocals, brass); John Norwood Fisher (vocals); Fish (drums, percussion).
Audio Mixer: David Leonard .
Recording information: Sunset Sound Studios, Hollywood, CA.
Photographer: John Scarpati.
Fishbone is one of the few bands to cite both Funkadelic and Rush as influences, and with TRUTH & SOUL, the manic sextet came the closest to achieving the perfect mix of punk, ska, funk and hard rock. Throw in sociological observations culled from years of tension resulting from being bussed into the primarily white San Fernando Valley school district and you have a clutch of songs that run the gamut of emotions. The tribulations of inner-city life get a nod via an incendiary cover of Curtis Mayfield's "Freddie's Dead" and cascading keyboard runs mark the streak of familial dysfunction that permeates "Ma And Pa." Elsewhere, social consciousness pervades: "Slow Bus Movin' (Howard Beach Party)" is Fishbone's "Ohio" and ska-flavored horns color the story of police brutality that is "Ghetto Soundwave."
Throughout the album, Fishbone continually changes musical gears. Their range allows them to go from the pseudo-fusion of "One Day" to the kick-drum driven funk of "Bonin' In The Boneyard" and even include the high flying "Mighty Long Way," featuring Kendall Jones' Satriani-like guitar playing. The biggest surprise is "Change," a gentle acoustic number that serves as an optimistic balm for the lyrical realities that permeate TRUTH & SOUL.
Professional Reviews
CMJ (3/13/00, p.26) - "...dizzying combinations of high voltage funk, powerful punk and frenetic ska....the music delivers like a mailman on steroids....Fishbone is as untouchable and sacred as David Lee Roth-fronted Van Halen."
