Need to Cheer Up? Listen to this (Cheer Up - Reel Big Fish)

Member Name: KKSlider1337

Product:	Cheer Up - Reel Big Fish
Date:	10/09/08 (13 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Some great standout tracks, a jolly feel to the album, many tracks

Disadvantages: Some reasonably poor tracks

Reel Big Fish are one of the only Ska Punk bands that appeal to me, and I love them. "Cheer Up!" released in 2002 is probably the closest out of their discography to rock rather than pure Ska.

The album gets off to a good start with the hugely catchy "Good Thing," following their usual style of incessant happiness. One thing is for certain, that after listening to this album you'll probably be in a good mood, which is never a bad thing. Even when Reel Big Fish are singing about depressing material such as breakups, life sucking and all that jazz, they refuse to stoop to anything lower than pure jubilation.

Next up on the tracklist are "Somebody Loved Me" and "Ban the Tube Top," both quality songs, albeit not the best on the album. In my opinion the high point is the next few tracks, "Cheer Up," with a great message going out to all of the moody gits out there, "Where Have You Been," the only song on the album that gets anywhere near melancholy whatsoever, with a very catchy chorus, and then "Suckers" an amusing track that's good to sing along to.

Other highlights of the album include "Dateless Losers," with yet more humour, "Valerie," another example of unending positivity and enthusiasm despite depressing lyrics and "Drunk Again," an unusual track that builds up and really grows on you.

"Cheer Up!" is a surprisingly long album; with 18 tracks and a total runtime of 62:58, making it good value for money. For this reason it's hard to complain that some of the tracks are a bit daft and not really as appealing as the others, for example a cover of "New York, New York," which may appeal to you more if you liked the original, and some other duds like "Rock 'N' Roll Is Bitchin'" and "Rock It With I." All of the album however is listenable, just that some of the songs are quite peculiar and not so catchy.

Overall, I would definitely recommend "Cheer Up!" to any fans of Reel Big Fish, Ska, Punk, or even Rock in general. It's definitely worth a try, and in my opinion is one of the band's strongest releases to date.

Summary: This album has a Good Thing goin'. Reely Good.