Review Summary: Party down, Reel Big Fish are free again.
Reel Big Fish is the party band of Ska, and after years of heckling from their label JIVE, the party atmosphere was heading south, so they decided to leave and go Independent.
Reel Big Fish are:
Aaron Barrett - Vocals/Guitar
Matt Wong - Bass
Scott Klopfenstein – Trumpet/Guitar/Vocals
John Christianson – Trumpet
Dan Regan – Trombone
Ryland Steen - Drums
On JIVE Reel Big Fish were depressed in the limitations that they had, and the album
We’re Not Happy Until You’re Not Happy showcased that in every way with its depressive and angered songs. Though on their first studio album,
The Monkey’s Are For Nothin' and The Chimps Are For Free, since the spilt with JIVE Reel Big Fish have done a complete 360 degree turn.
The first two tracks ‘Party Down’ and ‘Another F.U. Song’ are some of the most light-hearted tracks RBF have written, with the lyrics being more fun and humorous then before.
Coming to you now,
From the Money Cow,
Living large in space.
Take your wallet out,
All the Dingos Shout,
"We'll eat your baby Mate!"
It then begins to slow down with ‘Live Your Dream’ and ‘My Imaginary Friend.’ Both including very impressive work from the brass section, though both songs sound a similar and when playing through, one or the other is usually skipped since they become quite monotonous back to back.
The pattern continues with two more similar tracks being placed together, this time in a reggae style with ‘Slow Down’ and ‘The New Version of You.’ ‘Slow Down’ is only worth the listen for the immense performance from both Scott Klopfenstein who does showcases his amazing vocal talents towards the end of the track, and John Christianson who delivers an impressive solo in a quite high range, other than that ‘Slow Down’ would bore you to death. While these four songs are great on separate listens, all of them at once can overkill. Thankfully they sneak in the now obligatory Reel Big Fish cover, being ‘Another Day In Paradise,’ which they ramp up to an almost unbelievable pace, but make it one of the most enjoyable tracks on the album, mainly because the brass lines are layered to perfection and the vocal harmonies between Aaron Barrett and Klopfenstein are fantastic and delightful to the ears.
Speaking of obligatory, what’s a Reel Big Fish album without a drinking song? ‘Everybody’s Drunk’ is a fun look into how a party with mass consumption of alcohol ends up, though obviously taken with good humour:
Tonight's the night we're gonna get plastered
Pissed off, Maybe we'll get laid too!
Booze on your breath always makes girls horny
So come on boys, let's chug a few!
We are then given a look into the past of Reel Big Fish, with some re-recordings off some of their previous albums. ‘Hate You’ and ‘Cannibal’ to mention a few of the better tracks, are fantastically remastered. They were redone mainly due to the horrible quality they were in when first released.
Yes, Reel Big Fish are back and happier than ever but unfortunately some of the songs drag or are subject to poor placement making an uneven flow and very hard to listen to the album as whole.
Recommended Tracks:
‘Another Day In Paradise’
‘Hate You’
‘Party Down’
Overall:
3/5
