Coming back 20 years ago, I've re-discovered some of the music of my youth and fIREHOSE is but among many groups that I've recently returned to again, for whatever the reason, it feels good, and well, I'm going to write about it. This band was formed as a result of one man's obsession with a west coast band called the Minutemen and that man is Ed Crawford. Legend has it that he found bassist Mike Watt's phone number and earnestly inquired about auditioning for him and drummer George Hurley to forge a new project in the aftermath of the death of their singer/guitarist D. Boon. After practically showing up on his doorstep, Watt relented and once he and George Hurley heard Ed play, they agreed to pick up the pieces and begin anew, hence the birth of fIREHOSE. On their debut, a lot of the Minutemen's style echoes throughout, culminating in influences of punk, funk, free jazz and rock overtones which contains a spirit and energy that their fallen cohort,  D. Boon would've been made proud. "Brave Captain" starts off their debut with a bang and Crawford's guitar ability is quite refreshing,  with an angst in its attack of staccato rhythms mixed with Mike Watt's funky, slapdash bass accompaniment and Hurley's "in the pocket" manic drumming style that stamps out an indefinite difference from the rhythm sections' former group.

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Songs of particular interest are "Chemical Wire', with its slight nod to the traits of Watt and Hurley's former band in its musical approach and craft, while numbers like "Locked-In" and "The Candle and the Flame" reveal the crux of what would define fIREHOSE itself as a unit; capable of acquiring hook laden melodies amidst the "indie" vibe of the time that would continue to evolve without compromising its own core sound, abandoning the accusation of "selling out" from either its fans or peers. Ed is featured on a solo acoustic sung number with "This",  a ballad, and is a stream of consciousness number that further displays his talents as a writer and singer, setting a different angle from the rest of the record within its less than 2 minutes duration. Besides the aphorisms of numbers like "It Matters", "Relatin' Dudes to Jazz" and "Choose Any Memory", there also lies strength in tracks like "Caroms", which has experimental funk/pop possibilities and the album's closer "Things Could Turn Around" that marries a folk-ish/balladeer approach with an undercurrent of pop feel yielding to commercial appeal.

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In closing this review, the debut of fIREHOSE remains the catalyst for some of their future outputs from stem to stern and is a great record to listen to if you're into the indie scene of the mid-late 80's music scene. Even for later generations, I'd recommend this album.

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Grade Rating- B+