**1/2 Fishbone and the Familyhood Nextperience

PRESENTS THE PSYCHOTIC FRIENDS NUTTWERX

(Hollywood)

For all that their 1988 album Truth and Soul may be the best distillation of LA's punky ska-funk stew, Fishbone watched their compadres (Red Hot Chili Peppers) and imitators (Sublime) go platinum from the back of a tour bus -- which is where these hyperactive rockers have lived since the early '90s, subsisting on college gigs and club dates. On Presents the Psychotic Friends Nuttwerx, the inclusion of numerous high-profile cameos (George Clinton, Gwen Stefani, and many more) and soul nuggets (the Temptations' "Shakey Ground," Sly Stone's "Everybody Is a Star") smells like a band with one foot in the grave. Heavy-handed ploys for mainstream (or any) attention aside, Psychotic Friends is a solid album buoyed by crisp poppy ska and uptempo funk. But it's hard not to play comparison games with those old Fishbone classics: "AIDS & Armageddon" is a poor attempt to make "Party at Ground Zero" Y2K compliant; "One Planet People" doesn't burn as brightly as "Everyday Sunshine"; and nothing grooves like "Bonin' in the Boneyard." So this won't supplant my well-worn copy of Truth and Soul, but it'll keep Fishbone on that tour bus for a few more years.

-- Michael Endelman