Ghoti Hook was one of the original Tooth and Nail punk bands that sadly met their demise with their last show at Cornerstone 2002. Yet, the memories of their years of fun music and a name that is the phonetic spelling of "Fish Hook" will no doubt live on. As a farewell of sorts Tooth and Nail has released "Retrospective," a CD that captures the songs that made Ghoti Hook punk rock heroes for adolescents everywhere.
There seem to be a lot of these greatest hits albums hitting the shelves these days, but this has got to be one of the better ones out there. The song selection is excellent and the artwork is intriguing. Although there's no reason to buy "Retrospective" if you have all the other albums, it is really a solid collection of quintessential Ghoti Hook.
"Retrospective" features "Seasons," "Spice Drops," "Tract Boy" and "Scared Am I" off of "Sumo Surprise," but for some reason the track listing mentions "Shrinky Dinks" in place of "Spice Drops." The song "Never" from that album deserves to make the list, but the four songs are pretty solid nevertheless.
The songs from "Banana Man" are also well chosen. "My Bike," "Estevan," "Love By The Numbers," "Just Fools" and "Gimme A Chance" seem to capture the essence of that album nicely.
As for "Songs We Didn't Write," "Earth Angel" and "Friends" probably should have been nominated, but with a greatest hits album you probably don't want to include too many cover songs, unless your band is Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. The Pixies cover is one of Ghoti Hook's best on that album, so there really is no argument with "Where is My Mind;" it also seems like stylistically it leads nicely into "Two Years To Never."
The controversy seems to come with Ghoti Hook's last album, which showcases their rock side. "One Step Away," "Lullaby," "Chevy Nova" and "Next To Me" from "Two Years To Never" are decent songs, but it's debatable whether they should have made "Retrospective" because the last four tracks are vastly different from the previous songs.
Although there seems to be artistic integrity in the band's decision to go rock, turning into a more serious band may have been the worst thing Ghoti Hook ever did.
Maybe the "Retrospective" should have ended with "Friends" from "Songs We Didn't Write," still "Next To Me" seems to be an appropriately somber song that marks the end of the solid album and a memorable band. If you want a trip down "Memory Lane" or if you're just getting familiar with Ghoti Hook posthumously, then pick up "Retrospective."
B+
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