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Album Details

• Artist: Reel Big Fish
• Album: Greatest Hit & More
• Label: Mojo/Jive
• Year of Release: 2006
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: andyfromjersey on 2007-01-22

Right down to the sarcastic name, Jive Records' displays of greed and inherent lack of concern for music are written all over this unauthorized collection of Reel Big Fish favorites. The, ah, "album" opens predictably enough with the band's early single, "Sell Out," and goes on to deliver various other tracks that all fans know. The problem with this is pretty obvious: if you're already into the band, you probably already own the albums these tracks came from. And even if you're not exactly a dedicated fan, chances are you've already downloaded the more prominent tracks for free. "Why," a casual observer might ask, "Would a label that had only recently dropped a band, giving said band an excuse to produce an impressive live/greatest hits album, put out another, less extensive greatest hits album?" The answer, of course, is to ensure that they can squeeze as much money as humanly possible out of a band they dropped due to the fact that they weren’t what record executives wanted anybody to hear after 1997. Jive's opinion on the band is obvious in the title of the record, Greatest Hit and More (note the singular form of "hit") but even their unwarranted disdain doesn't stop them from trying to steal some cash.


Almost zero thought was put into this, and it shows. Though the early albums of Reel Big Fish were obviously made on the cheap, the boldly half-assed re-mastering job does little to improve sound. RBF front man Aaron Barrett even went to the trouble to release a statement on Myspace discouraging loyal fans from buying the CD. Though he does not denounce those who would buy this to have all their favorite tracks on one album, he does make it very clear that the band had absolutely nothing to do with this release. These assholes even went to the trouble to make the last track on the CD "One Hit Wonderful," a bittersweet tune lamenting fickle fame taken from the band's most recent LP, We're Not Happy 'Til You're Not Happy.


Perhaps just as importantly as the unforgivable sin of actively trying to cash in on the success of a band’s self released album is the fact that this CD is genuinely inferior to Reel Big Fish’s self released live CD/DVD. Nearly every single one of these tracks can be found on Our Live Album is Better Than Your Live Album, which, all things considered, has much better production values than those of both the original recordings and Jive’s release. Want all your favorite Reel Big Fish tracks in one place? Want to actually support a talented, veteran ska band who has been toughing out since before 1995? Spend your money on something that’s worth it. And while you’re at it, why not make sure said money actually goes to the band instead of the people who control what you hear on the radio? Sorry, Jive Records. You lose.

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