Reel Big Fish’s most recent album, “Fame, Fortune, and Fornication,” is an energetic compilation of 10 covers ranging from Slade to Desmond Dekker. The band is clearly enjoying their freedom after being dropped from Jive Records in 2006: The whole album is a labor of love. People typically love or hate cover albums, particularly in the wake of a series pop-punk abominations, but RBF goes beyond mere lip service to reinterpretations of each song that benefit from the ska makeover.

The first track starts off with a bang. Their cover of Poison’s “Nothin’ but a Good Time” loses some of the tawdry Sunset Strip veneer but kicks up the tempo and lets the joy of the track shine through. The bright horn blasts and standard ska guitar may not have the same attitude as C.C. DeVille’s hair metal guitar licks, but the result is an incredibly upbeat and infectious cover. In keeping with the hair metal influence, they follow up with Slade’s “Mama, We’re All Crazy Now” which had been previously covered by Quiet Riot. The vocals take on an ironic drawl, punctuated by emphatic shouts of “Come on!” and the drumming is pure punk.

Half the fun of the album is translating other genres into ska patterns, so it’s fascinating to see how RBF handles covers of other ska songs. They cover their protégé, Edna’s Goldfish, on “Veronica Sawyer.” While Edna’s Goldfish was a remarkably short-lived band, they amassed an impressive touring résumé in their three-year existence.  The cover keeps the ska flavor intact but loses the angst and adolescent excitement in favor of a more polished sound. RBF makes up for that lost emotion with their rendition of John Mellencamp’s “Authority Song.” They jack up the tempo and let the rolling riff rock out. The track is very third-wave punk influenced, both in the musicianship and the defiant mock-defeat as singer Aaron Barrett howls, “When I fight authority, authority always wins.” The addition of a chorus of “I Fought the Law,” a key change, and a sweet guitar solo complete the track.

From there, the album begins to fade. The songs are solid but don’t have as much of the joyful abandon of the early tracks. Their take on The Eagles’ “The Long Run” would have been a great place to turn up the tempo and energy. Similarly, “Won’t Back Down” returns to its reggae/ska roots but suffers for its laid-back timing. These songs provide an opportunity for RBF to show off their reggae chops, but their cover of “Monkey Man” brings back the hilarity that adds to their sound.

As we wait for RBF’s next original album, scheduled to be released later this year, “Fame, Fortune, and Fornication” is a brilliant way to get a ska fix and appreciate past songs we’ve loved.