Published on Jan 27, 2005
Fishbone is the kind of band that deserved a better hand than
they were dealt. After scoring a blip on the musical radar with
songs like “Party At Ground Zero,” “Skankin’ To The Beat” (which
was featured in the movie
Say Anything) and “Sunless Saturday,” the group seemed to
disappear back into obscurity. I remember listening to the CD
Give A Monkey A Brain…from 1993, and thinking this
stuff was pure genius.
Yet the group — featuring original members Angelo Moore,
Norwood Foster and “Dirty” Walt Kibby III (who has since left the
group, along with guitarist Spacey T) — has trudged forward,
trying to re-establish themselves among the industry. Their
sessions in 2001 at Hen House Studios were captured on film as
Fishbone went through a re-evaluation process of themselves as a
band, and came up with some incredible music.
Critical Times: Fishbone’s Hen House Sessions captures the
band as they go through the aches and pains of this re-adjustment,
as well as candid interviews with members of the band.
Full disclosure alert: Apparently, Fishbone had not agreed to
either have the full songs from these sessions released or an
entire documentary on their experience at Hen House released.
Fishbone has officially distanced themselves from this release.
Memo to Fishbone: With all due respect, I’d advise you to
swallow your pride and reconsider. Watching the band go through the
creative process was a fascinating experience, warts and all, and
made me question just why Fishbone never became a bigger success.
If more people were turned onto songs like “In The Heat Of Angrrr,”
“Frayed Fucking Nerve Ending” and “Premadawnutt,” consumers would
be beating down the doors of major labels demanding that Fishbone
be given a second, fighting chance.
While not nearly as cathartic as Metallica’s recent experience
as captured on
Some Kind Of Monster (which I should be getting from Netflix
in the next few days, thank you), Moore and crew do deal with
stylistic disagreements as they fine-tune the six songs presented
here. It is interesting to see Foster try to explain to Moore why
using a theremin on a specific song may not be the wisest choice,
as Moore struggles to get the notes just right. However, scenes
like this never become ugly; if anything, the friendships and music
become tighter.
And this is where
Critical Times has its greatest strength. Fishbone’s music
always seems like it’s a party teetering on the brink of losing any
semblance of control. What I learned in the course of 80-plus
minutes is that Fishbone puts a lot of work into crafting that
sound, and it is not without blood, sweat and tears. In the end,
though, the final result is well worth it.
Complaints? I have but one — namely, that the full versions of
these songs aren’t featured. Granted, the songs were basically in
“demo mode,” and I need some incentive to head over to Best Buy and
demand that they order some of these discs for me. But if these
featured songs were merely demos, I shudder to imagine how much
power the final versions have.
While I respect that Fishbone should have the final say on how
their music is released,
Critical Times is too good of a documentary to be merely
swept under the carpet. If it had painted the band in a negative
light, I’d understand some hostility towards it. This, however, is
the kind of musical document that, in a fair world, would give
Fishbone another shot at the spotlight. Here’s hoping they get that
chance.