Search - Reel Big Fish :: Fame, Fortune, Fornication

RBF Does Covers...Pretty Well.

TheAdmin | NewTuneReview.com | 01/23/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Ever since Rod Stewart did 45 albums of cover songs in an attempt to re-ignite his career, I've cringed when I see someone is releasing an entire album of covers. It seems so weak. They can't write a hit any more so they just sing others' hits. I know that's harsh as some artists do these as tributes to artists and bands who influenced them. Those, I'm OK with but I believe those are rare. Of course, Rod (Great American Songbook series and others),Michael Bublé (eponymous album), Carly Simon (Moonlight Serenade), Cyndi Lauper (At Last), and Johnny Cash (The American Recordings) revived their popularity this way and now it's become an epidemic. Even the hair bands have gone nuts with it -Poison (Poison'd!), Tesla (Real to Reel), Queensrÿche (Take Cover), and Def Leppard (Yeah!). I suppose it's only fair that RBF turn the tables by covering a few hair bands (among others).



At first listen, it sounds like ska (shocker!) - lots of horns, fast choppy guitars, choruses yelled in unison, and a heavy dose of fun. I was a child of the 80s so my immediate reaction was one of pleasure. I know the lyrics to these songs and I'm old enough to enjoy them but laugh at them at the same time. Unfortunately, it heads downhill quickly but regains itself to ultimately what I would consider a middle-ground album. Interestingly enough, what hurts it for me though is not the music itself, it's the singer. With this being a cover album, RBF's singer Aaron Barrett semi-emulates the vocal style of the original artist of each track. He doesn't have the skills to pull it off. In songs like Nothin' But a Good Time and the slower tracks of The Long Run and Won't Back Down, Aaron's vocals are put front and center with fewer harmonies and background instrumentation. Let's just say, he's not professionally trained.



Before I get flamed for this criticism, I don't fault him for it. He's a SKA singer. Ska music is founded on choppy lyrics that are barked and often in chorus with other band members. Aaron's vocals are great for that. He just doesn't have the chops to pull some of these songs off. Now, I should further soften it to clarify that his voice isn't horrible. It just doesn't have the range to do these songs justice. That's enough about that point but it's really what made some songs better and others not so good.



My favorites on Fame, Fortune and Fornication are Mama We're All Crazy Now, Authority Song, Keep a Cool Head, Monkey Man, and Talk Dirty to Me. The first two were played fast and with harmonies mostly throughout. They fit the ska style well and played to the band's strengths. The second two were songs that were closely tied to the genre so they also ported well to RBF. Keep a Cool Head is a song by Desmond Dekker the "King of Ska" and Monkey Man is by reggae stalwarts Toots and the Maytalls. Ska and reggae are right up RBF's alley and the songs sound great. Talk Dirty to Me was great for an entirely different reason. I thought it was the most dramatically different sounding of the cover songs. It was almost ska-lounge. The groovy lounge guitar with the hand claps was a great way to do it. It was also jointly sung with Tatiana DeMaria of TAT and she sounded great. If the band is looking for nominations for a single, THIS ONE IS IT.



As I explained above, Nothin' But a Good Time, The Long Run, and Won't Back Down just didn't cut it for me. On each listen (and I always listen at least 3 times to give a fair review), I had to skip those tracks about two minutes after they started. I had one song that I just hated. I know it's a harsh word but, yes, I hated it. Brown Eyed Girl. It was a good song ten years ago when I hadn't heard it 12,744,878 times but now, I wish it could be erased from history. This is not a reflection on RBF (other than that they selected it), it's just that I now despise that song. The other song, Veronica Sawyer, fell somewhere in the middle. It was fine but I wasn't familiar with the song and thought it was just OK. The beginning is really good but then the "Friday Night..." chorus parts were just...eh...OK.



So my review is positive but mixed. I think the album is mostly very good. There are just those two or three that I'd always skip. I suppose in the end, I shouldn't be so critical of cover albums. For RBF and other bands that never had multi-platinum albums, I can't hold it against them to try and make these albums; it keeps them in the music business. Plus, RBF just loves doing cover songs (as reflected in their past albums). I admit I liked Johnny Cash's American sessions. I liked The Gutter Twin's recent cover EP Adorata. This one was pretty good as well. If you're a fan of the 80s, have a listen. You'll probably have a good time. If you want something different to throw on the stereo when you're having friends over, or even if you're just knocking around the house, Fame, Fortune and Fornication will put a spring in your step and keep people smiling."

"A ska/punk version of an '80's song - how original!"

Bo Bayles | MO, USA | 02/08/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Don't expect anything groundbreaking from this record and you'll enjoy it a lot more.



The inclusion of Brown Eyed Girl is an in-joke - for years, Napster and other file sharing services have incorrectly credited Reel Big Fish for pretty much all ska songs. One of the most common mis-credited songs was a cover of Brown Eyed Girl by a band called Fat Cactus.



The songs are pretty standard ska/punk versions of some well-known (and some lesser-known) songs. The highlights are Brown Eyed Girl and Talk Dirty To Me. The lowlights are Won't Back Down and Keep A Cool Head. Monkey Man is almost identical to the version RBF recorded previously. If you like third wave ska's sound, you'll like this."

Okay, but very disappointing

Kirk Hilles | Ringgold, GA | 02/23/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Reel Big Fish is, in my mind, one of the best Ska bands out there. Unlike many of the other Ska bands that have albums that sound like they were recorded in their garage, RBF has always (at least up till now) created the highest quality and caliber songs.



Their previous album "Monkeys for Nothin' and the Chimps for Free" had 17 tracks of new material and even their cover song "Another day in paradise" is, in my mind, good enough to where it could've been a chart topper (seriously). There are quite a number of songs on this album that I've listed to over and over and over...



The album before that "Our Live Album Is Better Than Your Live Album" is amazing. 37 Tracks of high quality, live-style songs with hit after hit, new material, even a DVD of their performances. Well deserving of the 5 star, 22+ reviews on Amazon.



This album is a real disappointment. 10 songs. Yes, Ten. No new material. Half are pretty good but nothing special. The other half sound like they picked a song randomly, ran through it a couple of times and then recorded it. Blah. I seriously believe that they threw this together so they'd have a new album to promote for tours.



I give this album 3 stars because it still has some decent songs that are listen-able, but compared to RBF standards it'd be one star. If this was someone's first RBF album I'd be ashamed."