Main menu
Fretplay home Submit tabs

Reel Big Fish
Reel Big Fish tabs Reel Big Fish discography

Channels
Guitar channel Bass channel Guitar videos Reviews

Message Forum
Guitar forum Bass forum Bands and artists Promote your band Recent discussions All categories

Fretplay.com

Reel Big Fish guitar tabs

CD reviews

We're Not Happy 'Til You're Not Happy

Reel Big Fish - We're Not Happy 'Til You're Not Happy Audio CD

A fair review of the Reel Big Fish "We're Not Happy 'Til You're Not Happy" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Reel Big Fish reviews here, or go back to the Reel Big Fish tabs.

Band: Reel Big Fish
Title: We're Not Happy 'Til You're Not Happy
Rating:

Release Date: 2005-04-05
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Fire 2: Drinkin' 3: Don't Start a Band 4: A-W-E-S-O-M-E 5: We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful 6: Turn the Radio Off 7: Talkin' Bout a Revolution 8: Bad Guy 9: Story of My Life 10: Joke's on Me 11: One Hit Wonderful 12: Last Show 13: Say Goodbye 14: Your Guts (I Hate 'Em)

I'm happy.
I've listened to every release they have, Turn the Radio Off still being my favorite throughout the years. I am a long time RBF fan. We're Not Happy, I must say may be better than Radio. It's atleast on par. The album starts out great wtih The Fire, and doesn't let up at all. Reel Big Fish has always prided themselves in being a great cover band. I still think the lounge version of "Hungry Like the Wolf" I have by them is 10 times better than the original. This album includes Revolution by Tracy Chapman, Story of My Life by Social Distortion, and We Hate It by Morrisey, and they're great. That's not to say they're necessarily BETTER than the originals, but they're definitely RBF's own take on them, and I like it. The fist two are both songs I've listened to a lot growing up. In addition, it seems the band has really improved in their songwriting, with some creative bridges. I've had this album since it came out, so it's been a while since I've played this album a lot, but when it first came out, I dont' 'think I listened to anything else for about 2 weeks. I'm listening to it now as I write this, and It's still awesome. RBF should be proud of this release. It's definitely a great improvement over Cheer Up. I give this album 5 stars. I don't think it's a perfect album in the grand scheme of all albums in the world, but rather it's pretty much perfect for them. It's really much better than I thought it would be.

the albums great
ive been listenin to this since the past 3 days n i can go on and on and on. i picked up this album hopin to find somethin new to listen to and i must say that ive not been disappointed. i belive this great album truly deserves a chance. so go out n grab your copy of the record. f*** all the haterz ,u keep bashin ya keyboards criticizin a band n their music. get a life,if u dun like em dun listen to em. enough said ,i hate you all
p3aceeeeeeee.

Rock on forever, Reel Big Fish!
I know some people think it isn't as good as other albums, but I have to say this: Just because this CD isn't good as others doesn't make it a bad CD. I'm a newer RBF fan, but I have to say this CD is my FAVORITE CD right now!! It rocks! When I got this CD, it was the only thing I listened to for about three weeks. "The Fire" is a great opening song but sometimes the lyrics are hard to understand. "Drinkin'" was an excellent song as well; very power chord heavy. "Don't Start A Band" was definitly a standout track with great lyrics and sound. "A-W-E-S-O-M-E" was pretty good but the vocal distortion seemed kinda pointless. "We Hate It When Our Friends Become Sucessful" was a short but fun cover. "Turn The Radio Off" was one of my favorites. This track was pretty much perfect! "Talkin' Bout A Revolution" was also a good cover but not the best song ever. "The Bad Guy" is one of my favorite songs as well with good lyrics. "Story of my Life" is another one of my favs with a very cool sound to it. I don't care too much for "The Joke's On Me. " "One Hit Wonderful" and "Last Show" were a pretty good tunes but not as good as some of the other songs on this album. I don't like "Say Goodbye" too much either. "Your Guts (I Hate 'Em)" made me laugh the first time I heard it. Though I don't get what's up with all those weird sound effects and noises at the end. This is a great album. BUY IT NOW.

Great CD!
I know many people who disagree with me, but, i prefer the more matured RBF that is in this CD, rather than the RBF in Turn the Radio Off. I am a newer RBF Fan, but, i must say that i think that this is their best CD yet. All of the songs are very catchy, and give them a chance too. I did not like AWESOME at all, at first, but, it grew on me, and now it is one of my favorites out of the CD.

But, not all of the songs are the same basic style that RBF has in Turn the Radio off. One Hit Wonderfull is the song that differs the most. While i still like it, it goes into a more Drinking song feel.

So, if you prefer the more Garage Ska type of RBF, and you are a die-hard fan, you probably wont like this CD as much as their others. .

A Step Up From Cheer Up
I must say that I was not disappointed. With great anticipation, I bought Reel Big Fish's new album on its release day. There is a marked difference between RBF as they are today and RBF as they were in the age of Turn the Radio Off. However, there is not pure discontinuity, and if you read through all of this review, I will hopefully get to show you that the beloved band of third-wave ska has not "sold out" or gone down hill.

I rarely like to break down a review into parts. I like to view a item as a whole. However, in the case of this CD, I feel that it would be good for multiple parties (especially those who haven't shown much liking for this CD).

The Tracks and My Thoughts:
1) The Fire - Good off-beat strumming drives this song through its energy. This is coupled well with the standard, distorted chords in the music.

2) Drinkin' - This is the high-energy wonder of the CD. Once again, it retains the classic reggae-derived off-beat strumming to drive the energy while coupling this with distorted power chords. Its horn riffs aren't overly creative but also are not boring.

3) Don't Start A Band - Like the first two tracks, good mixture of off-beat strumming for energy and filling in with power chords.

4) A-W-E-S-O-M-E - This song to a bit to grow on me. However, if one gives it a chance, it can be seen to be a great song. The introduction is a bit heavy on distortion. However, the ska feel picks up. Perhaps the vocal distortion is a little much. However, that must not a recording problem but the desire of the band, considering the general quality of the CD as a whole.

5) We Hate it When Our Friends Become Successful - A bit heavy on the power-chords. However, there are segments of this song that I find to be truly great in their sound.

6) Turn the Radio Off - A high-energy song, not heavily ska-feeling. However, a really good song.

7) Talkin' Bout A Revolution - Excellent ska feel. Awesome cover.

8) The Bad Guy - Like so many songs on this CD, a mixture of distorted power chords and reggae-style strumming. Decent, though not the greatest, song.

9)Story of My Life - A good cover. Different sounding but very well done.

10)The Joke's On Me - Not ska-feeling. Holds itself, though, because of how well done it is.

11)One Hit Wonderful - Not ska-feeling but very, very powerfully done. Absolutely awesome song.

12)Last Show - Another song with (not as much) power behind it. Very well done rock-feeling song. Excellent vocals by Scott.

13)Say Good Bye - Powerful song with a lot of horns behind it. Excellent vocals by Scott.

14)Your Guts (I Hate 'em) - A bitter yet very ska-feeling song. The up-strums are all there. The sound quality isn't as high but once again must be desired.

Honestly, I have no major problem with this CD. I think that RBF did an awesome job, actually regaining some of their heritage that may have been lost in Cheer Up (which I still think was a great CD). The evolution of this band has, in my humble opinion, went back to its roots to a degree. However, they have taken the lessons learned along the way and applied them to an awesome CD which fuses high-energy and power in an exquisite way.

You can see a complete list of all Reel Big Fish discography, or go back to the Reel Big Fish tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.