No.91 - ‘Cheer Up’, by Reel Big Fish (2002)

“I’ve got a lot of bad things I wish that I had never done, because they’re coming back, coming back to me now…”



What do ex-England footballer Sol Campbell, the Millenium, and ska music have in common? Whatever that might be, it is a fact that this particular combo introduced me to ska punk favourites, Reel Big Fish.

Although lyrical content seems to be full of adolescent comic immaturity, girlfriends and being total jackasses (and this being the case on every Reel Big Fish album) you cant overlook how catchy these songs are, and how very good the band are as musicians.

Overall ‘Cheer Up’ is less ska than their previous albums, and more rock with strong brass, whilst mixing in a load of classic rock style electric guitar solos (mostly taking the p**s), not to mention the excellent a Capella version of Frank Sinatra’s ‘New York New York.’ And there are some good ska numbers on the album too. I tend to feel skapunk bands don't quite get the neat punk rock songs quite right, yet smash the ska. Reel Big Fish do both very well. Cheer Up is a lot of fun, and pretty much takes the Michael of music as a whole. In singer Aaron Barrett’s own words this album was made “because they had to”, due to record label contracts.  And it turned out to be pretty good.

Reel Big Fish formed in 1991 in Orange County. They’ve featured in a couple of movies, had moderate success all over the world and their song ‘Sellout’ featured on the soundtrack of the FIFA 2000 video game, which of course had England’s Sol Campbell featured on the cover.
This album was never released on vinyl unfortunately. 


Favourite songs -  What Are Friends For, Where Have You Been, Somebody Loved Me
Other great albums - Why Do They Rock So Hard? (1998)




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