Reel Big Fish originally formed as a cover band, playing hyperactive renditions of metal anthems and Top 40 material before discovering ska music in the mid-'90s.
Although the group released several covers throughout the subsequent decade (most notably a brassy remake of A-ha's "Take on Me," which appeared on the BASEketball soundtrack), Fame, Fortune and Fornication marks Reel Big Fish's first covers-only album, featuring ten songs in less than 30 minutes.
The band speeds through material by the likes of Tom Petty, Slade, and the Eagles, giving each song the standard ska remake treatment of horns, upstroke guitar, and tongue-in-cheek vocals.
Poison is the only band to receive two covers, one of which -- a co-ed version of "Talk Dirty to Me" featuring British accents -- is perhaps the highlight of the disc.
Other standouts include a version of Toots & the Maytals' "Monkey Man," an unpredictable choice that shows appreciation for RBF's predecessors.
The bulk of this record is fairly humdrum, however, delivering on the typical promise of most ska cover albums (e.g.
fast, humorous covers of songs that are neither fast nor humorous) but offering few surprises.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nothin' But a Good TimeBobby Dall, C.C. DeVille, Bret Michaels, Rikki Rockett | Reel Big Fish | Play | 03:02 | 6 MB | 22 MB |
| 2 | Mama We're All Crazy NowHolder, Lea | Reel Big Fish | Play | 02:17 | 5 MB | 16 MB |
| 3 | Veronica SawyerB. Diaz, G. Henderson, V. McAuliffe | Reel Big Fish | Play | 03:25 | 7 MB | 24 MB |
| 4 | Authority SongJohn Cougar Mellencamp | Reel Big Fish | Play | 02:56 | 6 MB | 22 MB |
| 5 | Brown Eyed GirlVan Morrison | Reel Big Fish | Play | 03:04 | 7 MB | 21 MB |
| 6 | The Long RunGlenn Frey, Don Henley | Reel Big Fish | Play | 03:36 | 8 MB | 24 MB |
| 7 | Won't Back DownJeff Lynne, Tom Petty | Reel Big Fish | Play | 03:09 | 7 MB | 20 MB |
| 8 | Keep a Cool HeadDacres, Desmond Dacres | Reel Big Fish | Play | 02:13 | 5 MB | 15 MB |
| 9 | Monkey ManF. Hibbert | Reel Big Fish | Play | 02:29 | 5 MB | 18 MB |
| 10 | Talk Dirty to MeBobby Dall, C.C. DeVille, Bret Michaels, Rikki Rockett | Reel Big Fish | Play | 03:43 | 8 MB | 25 MB |
| 29 mins | 68 MB | |||||
| 29 mins | 212 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom Ames | Management |
| 2 | Elizabeth Ashley | Cover Model |
| 3 | Aaron Barrett | Arranger, Audio Production, Engineer, Group Member, Guitar, Harp, Member of Attributed Artist, Mixing, Producer, Shaker, Vocals |
| 4 | John Christianson | Assistant Engineer, Audio Engineer, Group Member, Member of Attributed Artist, Trumpet, Vocals (Background) |
| 5 | Cynthia Cochrane | Art Direction, Design |
| 6 | Dacres | Composer |
| 7 | Desmond Dacres | Composer |
| 8 | Bobby Dall | Composer |
| 9 | Tatiana DeMaria | Guest Artist, Musician, Vocals |
| 10 | Tom Derr | A&R |
| 11 | C.C. DeVille | Composer |
| 12 | B. Diaz | Composer |
| 13 | Glenn Frey | Composer |
| 14 | Derek Gibbs | Assistant Engineer, Audio Engineer, Bass, Group Member, Member of Attributed Artist, Vocals (Background) |
| 15 | Evren Göknar | Mastering |
| 16 | G. Henderson | Composer |
| 17 | Don Henley | Composer |
| 18 | F. Hibbert | Composer |
| 19 | Holder | Composer |
| 20 | David Irish | Clapping, Engineer, Guest Artist, Harp, Mixing, Musician, Shaker |
| 21 | Marcie Jacobson | A&R |
| 22 | Brian Klemm | Cover Model, Musician, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 23 | Scott Klopfenstein | Assistant Engineer, Audio Engineer, Group Member, Member of Attributed Artist, Trumpet, Vocal Harmony, Vocals |
| 24 | Kevin Knight | Photography |
| 25 | Lea | Composer |
| 26 | Jeff Lynne | Composer |
| 27 | V. McAuliffe | Composer |
| 28 | John Cougar Mellencamp | Composer |
| 29 | Bret Michaels | Composer |
| 30 | Greg "Milo" Milam | Guitar Technician, Stage Manager |
| 31 | Van Morrison | Composer |
| 32 | Tom Petty | Composer |
| 33 | Vince Pileggi | Management |
| 34 | Reel Big Fish | Arranger, Primary Artist |
| 35 | Dan Regan | Assistant Engineer, Audio Engineer, Group Member, Member of Attributed Artist, Trombone, Vocals (Background) |
| 36 | Rikki Rockett | Composer |
| 37 | Jason Spiewak | A&R |
| 38 | Ryland Steen | Assistant Engineer, Audio Engineer, Drums, Group Member, Guiro, Member of Attributed Artist, Vocals (Background) |
| 39 | Nathaniel Taylor | Cover Photo |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |