Reel Big Fish - A Best Of Us... For The Rest Of Us

Reel Big Fish are a third-wave ska band who formed in 1991. This mid-career Best Of was released in 2010, one year after the Fame, Fortune and Fornication studio album.

The reason that I bought this CD was mostly because I'd lost their Favorite Noise Best Of album, so there was an RBF-shaped hole in my CD collection. Interestingly (perhaps due to record company contract shenanigans), different recordings of the same songs are used on this more recent compilation. And unfortunately, the overly cheesy feeling I whinged about previously is even more obvious here. Enough whingeing... I best not ponder the audiophile intricacies of badly-recorded ska-punk (although that would be quite on-brand for me...), so let's skip the main disk and see what the bonus acoustic version disk holds.

Stripping away the distortion guitars, vocal effects and overdubs makes for a much more wholegrain experience and brings it a bit closer to ska's Jamaican mento roots, which I really dig. In particular, Take On Me works a treat as an acoustic version, and I dig the full-circle absurdity of an acoustic cover of a ska cover of Aha's original hit. (A quick note of trivia: the track list has Take On Me and Beer in the wrong order)

Another F.U. Song is comedic cold, both in punk-rock and acoustic guises.

Another part of the reason I purchased this CD was to get my hands on 241, and this acoustic version doesn't disappoint. The styling brings it closer to a rocksteady groove, allowing that timeless riff to shine even brighter. So I actually prefer it over the original.

Favourite songs

(not including originals which also appear on Favorite Noise)

Another F.U. Song (both versions), Brown Eyed Girl, Take On Me (acoustic), 241 (acoustic) Scott's A Dork (acoustic)

Final thoughts

Overlooking the main disk (because I already have most of those songs), it's a tough question as to whether the acoustic disk is worthwhile in its own right. I really dig the style as an interesting take on the songs, however it is lacking the frantic energy of the originals (FYI I never really got into the Dan Potthast style of acoustic ska), so both versions have their merits.

... however, the Take On Me and 241 are brilliant as acoustic versions, so in the end it's a resounding thumbs-up.