Listening to the collection, one can see why Cosloy’s interest was piqued. What makes JFAL such a brilliant comedy album isn’t the gotcha’ factor inherent in most prank call collections, but the feast of obscure (and in a lot of cases, long since forgotten) pop culture nuggets that the duo sneak into their conversations with people who most certainly have no clue of their cultural significance. At the same time, for listeners “in the know,” these references to the forgotten past not only bring a smile because of what they represent but also offer a surprising sense of self-hipness just for knowing what the hell the callers are talking about.

Case in point: the brilliant “Man with a Confusing Array of Things to Sell” from Volume 1, wherein an oblivious caller answers a classified ad for an antiques collector and proceeds to offer her things like a malfunctioning Teddy Ruxpin toy, a plush Whammy doll, a “Lawyers in Love” painters cap, and a Beta tape collection of every episode of Simon and Simon. If you don’t find the last sentence both amusing and brilliant, you probably won’t have much use for this album.

Earles’ home is in Memphis, so a large number of these calls were placed to unsuspecting Southerners. Because these individuals are both sadly ignorant to the fact that they’re being pranked and by their very nature frustratingly polite, it allows Earles & Jensen to expand on the nuances of their fictional characters to unprecedented lengths. In some cases, this allows for fully realized sketches of absolute brilliance, while in other cases, they just get boring.

Indeed, there are a few ideas here that work better in theory than in execution, but that’s inevitable given there are 58 total calls spread across the two volumes. And to make up for it, when these guys are on, you will be in tears. Among those peripheral has-been (or never-were) celebrities making calls to local establishments are Morris Day, Isaac Hayes, Christopher Cross, Ed Asner, Jason Bonham (John’s son), Kurt Loder, and the personal assistants of RuPaul and Gallagher.

My personal favorite recurring character is Bleachy, a self-described 4-foot-10, 250-pound food lover who tries to join the army twice, complains to the Rally’s fast-food chain about their Big Buford hamburgers being too cheap, injures himself on the job in a vat of grease, and parties at the local TGI Friday’s. He’s just one of dozens of characters that Earles & Jensen paint with a combination of impressive realism and self-serving humor.

The additional financial backing from Matador has come in handy. In addition to doubling in size since its initial pressing, the new release includes a huge 64-page accompanying booklet that features back stories of every call along with illustrations by indie rock hipsters like Adam Green, Archer Prewitt and Devendra Banhart. More importantly, the label has been able to combat some unexpected legal issues courtesy of an ambulance-chasing attorney from Hawaii (of all places) who decided to try and recruit as many prank call “victims” as possible in a class action lawsuit against the comedy duo and the label. At this point, not much has come of that, thankfully, other than some added buzz about the validity of the album.

Obviously prank calls by nature only resonate with a certain type of audience, and you know who you are. However, if you do consider yourself a fan of audio comedy, or a beacon of pop culture, for that matter, you owe it to yourself to check out Just Farr a Laugh: The Greatest Prank Phone Calls Ever, Vols. 1 & 2.

www.myspace.com/justfarralaugh
www.matadorrecords.com/earles_and_jensen/