A Best of Us... for the Rest of Us is a greatest hits compilation from ska-punk band Reel Big Fish. Due to the band's former label, Jive Records, owning the master recordings of all their old material, almost all of the songs on the album are re-recorded versions. Despite frequently being called a compilation, the release only features 20 reissued tracks. 58 of the tracks are either all new versions or complete re-recordings of previously released material. Some of the reissued tracks have noticeably been remastered as well. Only a single song saw its debut here, and it had been recorded in 2007, but was previously unavailable. Coincidentally, A Best of Us... was released mere months after Skaboy JFK, another ska hits compilation by Reel Big Fish's former Jive Records labelmates and then-current Rock Ridge Music labelmates the Cherry Poppin' Daddies, which also featured several re-recordings of earlier songs due to the same conflict over master recordings. The album title is a reference to the Seinfeld episode "The Strike" in which Frank Costanza shouts "A Festivus for the rest of us!"
Release History
July 20, 2010: The album was initially released, and sold exclusively through Best Buy stores in physical formats. It featured 2 discs, and contained a total of 36 tracks. October 12, 2010: The first disc of the album was released digitally through Amazon MP3 and iTunes with 4 added bonus tracks. June 21, 2011: The album was re-released with 3 discs as A Best of Us... for the Rest of Us: Bigger Better Bonus Deluxe Version. This edition was also exclusively a physical release. It features 35 of the 36 tracks from the 2010 edition, and adds another 24 bonus tracks, totaling 60. November 28, 2011: A digital edition of the second disc from the Bigger Better Bonus Deluxe version was released on its own through iTunes and Amazon. Prior to this release, the "Skacoustic" disc was exclusive to the physical copies. It was later released on vinyl as well. May 15, 2012: A digital edition of Bigger Better Bonus Deluxe Version was released on iTunes with 64 of the 65 tracks from the previous versions, plus an additional 14 tracks. The only track excluded from this final release is the acoustic version of "She Has a Girlfriend Now" featuring Laila K of Sonic Boom Six, which is only available on the initial 2010 physical release. Later editions swap this track with a version of the song featuring Nicole and Simone Olivia of Tip the Van.
Versions
A Best of Us... For the Rest of Us
Disc 1: A Best of Us... For the Rest of Us
Disc 2: SKAcoustic
A Best of Us... For the Rest of Us
A Best of Us... For the Rest ofUs
A Best of Us... For the Rest of Us: Bigger Better Bonus Deluxe Version
Katrina Kinzler – vocals on "She Has a Girlfriend Now"
Laila Khan – vocals on "She Has a Girlfriend Now "
Brian Klemm – additional cursing on "Another F.U. Song"
Matt Wong – bass guitar on "Another F.U. Song," "Party Down," "Slow Down," "She Has a Girlfriend Now," "Another Day In Paradise," "Unity," "Cheer Up," "Snoop Dogg, Baby "
