Third Album's The Charm!
Since the release of their demo, "In the Good Old Days...",in 1991, Reel Big Fish has become one of the best and most-well known bands of the ska scene, and have been my personal favourite since discovering them 4 years ago. Despite multiple line-up changes, they can still create enduring music. Frontman Aaron Barrett, is the only remaining member of the original band, with long-time members Scott Klompfenstien and Dan Regan joining before the release of their debut "Everything Sucks".
This is the third album by the Southern California based septet, and their final album with Mojo Records before it's purchase much bigger label Jive. Even now, the band speaks negitively about Jive. RBF never cared for the label, and they seemed to return the favor. The band's next 2 albums, 2003's "Cheer Up!" and 2005's "We're Not Happy 'Til You're Not Happy", sold badly and the band blames it on the label's poor handling. The latter featured heavily pessimistic lyrics, aimed chiefly at Jive. According to lead singer Barrett, the album 'wasn't even promoted', and it's single, "Don't Start A Band" received little airplay.
After the lack of success from "..Not Happy", RBF happily announced in 2006 they'd been dropped from their label. The band embarked on a celebratory tour and, at the same time, recorded a triple-disc live album. The album, "Our Live Album Is Better Than Your Live Album", featured 2 audio discs and a DVD of their live performance at the Alley in Fullerton, California. Still wanting to cash in on the band's audience, Jive released "Greatest Hit...and More!" around the same time. The title pokes fun at the band's little commercial success, the titular 'hit', being 1997's "Sell Out". The band discouraged fans to buy the compilation, citing Jive's 'horrible 'remastering'' and the fact they make no money from it due to Jive owning their previous works.
In 2007, Reel Big Fish released "Monkeys for Nothing and the Chimps for Free", their sixth album and twelfth overall release. The first half of the album, the 'Monkeys' were new material that were 'more fun and funny', said Barrett on the band's MySpace. Songs like "Party Down" and "Everybody's Drunk" proved his point. The other half, 'Chimps', were songs re-recorded from their demos, to show how far the band has come since forming as a quartet 16 years ago. Unfortunately, the band suffered a loss when original bassist Matt Wong left the band after the album's completion to be with his wife and new daughter, leaving Aaron Barrett the only original member still in the band.
In 2008, RBF played the entire Vans Warped Tour and announced 2 new albums for the following year. The first, "Fame, Fortune, and Fornication", a short cover album, will be released in mid-January of 2009, as the next album, filled with original works, will come later in the year.
All in all, this ska band won't go without a fight, and are worth a listen. This album is a good starter album for those interested in the genre, as is the Mighty, Mighty Bosstones' "Let's Face It" and Five Iron Frenzy's "Our Newest Album Ever".
Information:
Songs: 16, plus 1 bonus track.
Genre: Ska-Punk, Third-Wave-Ska
Label: Mojo Records
Producer: John Avilia and Reel Big Fish
Exec. Producer: Jay Rifkin
My rating: ****Read full review
![Why Do They Rock So Hard? [PA] by Reel Big Fish (CD, Oct-2001, Jive (USA))](https://ir.ebaystatic.com/rs/c/prpweb-src-images-space-98af7172.gif)