Customer Reviews

Cheer Up

5 star:		(57)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

Reel Big Fish have gotten alot of slack through their carrer for being sellouts, not being punk enough, and now with their latest release, not being ska enough. Come on...get over it. Reel Big Fish have consistantly produced quality songs with awesome lyrics. This CD is a bit of a departure from their previous material, but it's a step in the right direction. Plus, this album isn't really THAT much different than their previous releases. Reel Big Fish have never been against going big. (You thought they were joking in their song "Sellout"?)

I thought it was pretty funny when one of the reviewers said something like, 'They need to stop growing and just stay true to their roots'. Listen to their other albums and then listen to this one. They've really grown, matured, and still produced an album with awesome catchy, happy songs.

This is a perfect cd for those rainy days when everything is gray. It is impossible to stay sad and depressed after listening to the first song, "Good thing". Download it and see what I mean. The harmonies are great, the horns are loud and happy, and Aarons voice is as clear and awesome as it always has been. Aarons lyrics are still as good as they've ever been. I can't really see many down sides to this album. There are a couple weaker songs near the end of the album, but even those are listenable. While New York New York isn't my favorite on the CD it's pretty amazing. They did it with drums a bass guitar and about 15 vocals. It's pretty good. Give this one a chance!

I must say that Cheer Up is quite a change from Reel Big Fish's previous albums. However, this is just a permutation of the genre that is known as ska-punk. There is indeed a new character taken on in these tracks. However, to the core, with the exception of Good Thing, the lyrics are purely Reel Big Fish material.

There is absolutely no reason to be angered at Aaron and crew for "selling out". The dynamic abilities of this band are expressed in the fact that they can incorporate elements of ska into a slightly different version of ska-punk. It would appear that some people would rather have them just play Sellout, Beer, and She Has a Girlfriend Now, remaining developmentally stagnant. Instead, they should want to experience this new view of quite possibly the best ska-punk band of the 1990s/2000s.

Technically this new offering of Reel Big Fish is more poppy than their first to major CDs. You know what? Who cares? This is good music, Good Thing rocks, A Little Doubt is sweet (it's also the new song they added to their greatest hits album that was released only in the UK), Sayonara Senorita and Brand New Hero are great driving songs (as were Why Do They Rock So Hard and Turn the Radio Off). RBF still has horns, they still have biting lyrics, and they still kick... well, it's been what- four years since their last album? I hope they've changed in four years, I know I've changed since their last album came out. This CD just rocks, good music all around, there's not a bad song on it, listen all the way through it, it's just good, plain and simple.

This album is stupendous. I can see why some people might be disappointed since it isn't, strictly speaking, as "ska" as their previous albums, but if one listens to Cheer Up expecting an excellent album rather than a specifically "ska" album, one won't be disappointed. I would call this music ska-influenced-power-pop. The song writing is brilliant. Especially on cuts like "Suckers" and "Somebody Loved Me". The cover of "New York New York" blows the original out of the water. There aren't any tracks that need to be skipped here. "Sayonara Seniorita" is another track that everyone should hear. A great CD to have to brighten the mood anywhere, at anytime, and in any company.

This is gonna be short, but I must stress that Reel Big Fish have not sold out. Cheer Up! may not be uber politically driven like all the other new wave punk bands such as Green Day and NOFX, all I can say to this is thank God, I don't want bands to preach to me, I want them to entertain me with their musical talents, as such Reel Big Fish fill this quota, so put that in your pipe and smoke it.

With "Cheer Up" Reel Big Fish ceases to dissapoint. The variety on this record is amazing. You have classic RBF style songs ("Good Thing," "Ban The Tube Top"), arena rock anthems ("Rockin' Roll Is Bitchin'"), instrumentals ("Sayonara Senorita"), and territory RBF have never touched on until this release (the cover of "New York, New York," "Drunk Again"). In a way it's more of a mature record for them. I mean there's no songs like "Scott's A Dork." This album shows just how talented RBF really is vocally and instrumentally. If you are new to RBF, I would reccomend picking up "Turn The Radio Off" or "Why Do They Rock So Hard?" before "Cheer Up" because you will appreciate their growth just that much more. I'm not the biggest fan of ska music but RBF will make you sit and listen. Pick up this record it rocks it off the rocking scale.

this album is a perfect blend of ska and pop! definitely the album to buy if you re new to RBF!!
this album is not at all like their older stuff! im not saying its better but this is an album that will immediately cheer you up! no kidding!
this coming from someone who listens to bands like cryptopsy, nile, opeth, dream theater, etc.
so trust me and buy this cd!

First of all, I'd like to address all those people who think this album sucks. Obviously you haven't heard anything on this album because the sound quality is amazing. I say this as a musician, so I think my opinion is as valid as any other person's. The harmonies are perfect and the overall sound is tight, crisp, and clear. Not to mention the overall music talent that this amazing group possesses. To go from a so-called "true ska band" to an a-capella group is pretty damn amazing, if you ask me. So what if they sound like a pop/punk band? Their sound quality has, in my opinion, improved over the years. They've also been good at adapting to the constantly-changing music atmosphere. Some of the greatest bands/musicians of our time have been able to accomplish that. Shall I name a few? Let's see, now. Billy Joel, Aerosmith, Carlos Santana, Metallica (although much less well-received than some of the others I've mentioned), Bruce Springstein, and the list goes on. The fact that they have the ability to change their sound is testament to the kind of band that they are. Ska isn't anywhere near as popular as it was a few years ago, and RBF obviously needed to tweak their sound in order to stay afloat. And they've succeeded. Let's see what their next album brings. I'm a huge fan of Turn the Radio Off and Why Do They Rock So Hard, and frankly, I was happy to hear something new from them. Those people who think this album sucks simply want to hear the old stuff. But that music isn't popular anymore. Ska doesn't have a market like it used to. So don't punish a band for sounding good. If you have an appreciation for good music, then definitely get this album.

alright. this cd has both good and bad aspects to it. the sound quality is amazingly good, the instruments are played well, and the vocals are flawless. they also have great lyrics. but i honestly can't listen to the cd more than once like i can with turn the radio off or why do they rock so hard. cheer up doesn't seem to have quite as much of a ska sound as the other albums. i understand that its fine for them to mature as a band but, that isn't what im looking for. i don't think that they have to loose some of the ska-ness just to mature and such. overall, good album, not the sound i was looking for or can listen to often.

Okay. Seriously, RBF has been my favorite band since the ska scene erupted back in the summer of '97. I own all of their records. They've always been cool. But this past summer when i heard "Where have you been," my opinion changed. These guys were serious. I anxiously awaited their new album "Cheer Up" to be released, and bought it on the morning that it was released. Wow. Ska has never sounded so good. I seriously listened to that CD about 50 times during the first week that i owned it. I still listen to it on a regular basis. BUY IT. You won't be disappointed...