Customer Reviews

Sol's Rusty Trombone

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

OK, so let me preface this post by saying I am a loyal Jerky Boy fan going back to the very first time published JB tape where Rizzo picked up the phone and laid into some poor schmuck about 500 sqft of kitchen ceramic tile. I even remember the first time I listened to it was on a ski trip and I laughed nonstop with my buddies in the car both times all the way through the tape. We immediately took to quoting the cranks and for the six Jerky CD's that followed I remained entertained for every call. Then came 2000 and a falling out of some sort between JohnnyB and Kamal. Whether it was an ego thing or whatever, it's too bad because although I love Rizzo, Sol and Jack, the Jerky Boys are not complete without my friend the Egyptian magician.

Anyway, in January when the new Jerky Boy site popped up and I heard the first news of a new album I was looking forward to it. Even if it was without Kamal, I feel that some new solid Rizzo and Sol cranks are long overdue. I was very dismayed when Sol's Rusty Trombone did not arrive 3/20 at local stores, but I was excited to find it while shopping at Borders a few days later. I bought it and couldn't get it unwrapped fast enough to throw it in my car CD player. What followed was unfortunately 45 minutes of disappointment.

I could sugar coat this and say it is a great CD, but it's not. I am huge fan, but this CD is a waste of time and money. First of all for those who don't know, the CD is full of 98 tracks which are mostly 10 second one-liners by Rizzo, Sol, Bob, Pico and Jack intended to be "ringtones" or "voice mail greetings". These are lame skits that try to be funny by coining phrases from old Jerky Boy album pranks. Either way, this is crap I would expect a guy like Johnny B to throw up on a website as free content for the fans. Honestly, you can get the same effect by logging onto various prank websites and playing with the Sol and Jack soundboards you can find there.

In my opinion, the Jerky Boys whole appeal is the spontaneity of calling some unsuspecting schmoe and laying into them with a barrage of nonsensical jabber that leaves them either aggravated or at a loss for words. If you take out that element, you lose the appeal. This crap with the one-liners or scripted skits between characters is not funny.

Now down to the 6-8 actual prank calls on the album. LAME. Rizzo/Sol calls some fishing outfits asking dopey questions about bait and tackle, Rizzo calls a voting lady, and there are a few other calls none of which are memorable. In all cases, the pranks are lame and the people he calls aren't playing into the prank. They either get annoyed and hang up quickly or don't get sucked into the ploy. Some people might find these funny, and there are a few times I chuckled (like during the quick jerk calls) but I challenge anyone to say that this measures up to the previous Jerky Boy albums.

I heard chatter in the Jerky Boys forum about a possible full prank call album by JohnnyB later this year. I frankly hope he takes his cut of the $9.95 I wasted on this CD and invests it into renovating his edge. I would love to see him patch things up with Kamal and bring the fans back the quality humor we enjoyed from them in the 90's.


*** By the way, I posted this review on the Jerky Boys official website forum and my post lasted all of 2 hours before I was censored by the website admin. I feel the above is very constructive criticism and it is unfortunate that they can't take this and need to censor opinions of loyal fans like me. Apparently they are worried that if too much information is shared about this obismal effort to make a quick buck off the Jerky Boy legacy that the word will get out and nobody else will buy it. I hope at least I can save a few Amazon customers the ten bucks.

I was excited to see a new Jerky Boys CD after such a long hiatus. Going to the website reveals nothing substantial about this CD and apparently that's intentional, because this CD is a big rip-off. 98 tracks on the CD and only five or six are devoted to calls. A couple are funny, the rest are so-so. I had heard about the split between Johnny Brennan and Kamal, and when there was a new CD marketed under the Jerky Boys name after so long, I'd assumed they had patched things up. Wrong again. It's all Johnny Brennan. The rest of the tracks are rehashes of Brennan characters doing bits from old calls and packaging them as answering machine messages or ringtones.

Jerky fans beware - this is not a CD full of 98 new calls. There are 6 new calls, and 92 voicemail/ringtone-related bits that, at best, highlight past jerky calls. Some might get you to smirk, but don't expect to split a gut at these. I love the JB's, so I got a hold of this regardless. Hardcore fans might do the same. I am sad to see that this time around, it's just Johnny and his trademark characters making an appearance. I did hear about the split between Johnny and Kamal a while back - I suppose they never really reconciled. Or just not to my knowledge. (After some searching around, I see Kamal also released a solo effort - "Once a Jerk, Always a Jerk")
All that said - the calls that are on here are pretty funny. You'll find yourself listening to these the most, and skipping over the rest after 1 or 2 plays.

Coming from an avid Jerky Boys fan -- I still listen to their other cd's all the time and STILL laugh -- this cd is a complete waste of time. 1 star is not low enough for the piece of garbage unworthy of the Jerky Boys' Signature.

Trust me, don't buy this. It's a complete waste of time. Stick with the Jerky Tapes, and CD's 3 & 4.

Hey John, whatta ya doin? let me ask you something. Did you @#$% Kamal?

The problem is that in the last ten years John crossed that fuzzy threshold into middle adulthood. I don't think he has it in him to call people up and f' wit dem over the phone. He's an adult now.

So is Kamal (who was always the lesser half and who's independent CD is equally depressing).

It's over. Let the 1990s and prank calls die. It's like the 1980s and leg warmers. All we can do is look back and laugh!

The Jerky Boys will always be part of my childhood and personality. And I'm still taken to putting on the headphones and stammering laughs when I need to zone out at work.

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe what's missing is the twosome working in concert. I remember my friends and I doing our own Jerky-inspired prank calls. Most of the fun wasn't in the prank itself. It was after we hung up, laughing together hysterically. Or days later when we nudged each other with our own clever one-liners, and congratulated each other on being masters of the universe.

Listen to the old JB tracks. Occasionally you can catch a second or two of laughing/banter/encouragement between John and Kamal: "yeah do it." Turn up the volume on JB volume 4: "Trains" and you can even hear John coaching Kamal, e.g., to "ask about the kid." This is what makes a prank a prank.

It's called synergy, comradery, or just having a good time. Like you say on your website "who knew?" you boys were just having a good time. You were funny, fresh, and talented. I'm not sure what the rift was about, but I can guess that it had to do with money and ownership rights. Yeah you guys sure grew up -- jerky!

As others have said, this is a disappointing release. I am a huge fan of the boys and was eagerly awaiting lots of new calls, but instead got 96 tracks of re-recorded snippets of past jerky boy calls and 6 so-so prank calls. I too think all the voicemail and ring tones should have been released for free on the web site.

The calls that are on the CD have their moments, but not one of them comes close with the classic calls on previous CDs.

I would have liked to hear a bunch of calls that went bad where the callers knew who it was or the call derailed in some other way. At least that would have been new material and I am sure some of it is very funny. Brennan has to have dozens of calls like this if he was still making them at the height of their popularity.

I really hope Brennan releases a killer CD next or it might be the end of a true comedy legacy.

I met Johnny Brennan and he sold me this CD. It mostly features short sound bites intended to be used as voicemails or ringtones. These are basically the characters from previous Jerky Boys album repeating their catchphrases. A few of these are somewhat amusing, but not THAT amusing. I also doubt that very many people will want to use these vulgar soundbites as ringtones, because it would be embarrassing to have your phone yelling out cursewords. There are also a handful of prank phone calls that aren't nearly as funny as the "classic" Jerky Boys calls. Worst Jerky Boys album ever.

This is a comeback for Johnny Brennan who put this out for his fans because the cell carriers were raping people for almost 3 bucks for Jerky ringtones... Plus he had no control over how they cut up his calls....This CD has got 80 some ringtones for your phone, voicemail or answering machine greeting and 9 new calls.... for 9 bucks.. is that not a great deal? I own it and utilize all of the ringtones!!!

Johnny's comeback CD is coming later... this was just priming the pump for the future release of a Real Funny Jerky Boys CD. Watch for it!!

Bob Bailey

Fantastic then!

For anyone familiar with previous projects by the Jerky boys, they will get their fair share of SOLisms, FrankRizzoisms and ISMS from the other classics in the form of ring tones, voice mail greetings etc. There's lots of confusion to be inflicted on a close friend with a hot 'at home date' with some high end broad if you take a few Jack Tors messages and leave them on your friend's answering machine. Lots of fun indeed.

You will also find some brand spanking new prank calls to recite with your friends over a few beers. Sol, Jack, Frank are back, along with other favorites. Approx 100 tracks of pure 100% Jerky treats.

Thanks to my fellow Amazonians berrating of this release, I have enacted my inaliable rights as a consumer and put that $20 back in my pocket.
I have instead chose to download it instead for nothing-whats it costing me nothing!I think its just as far and sort of like someone reimburssing me for me wasting cash on crappy releases in the past from that dyanmic-duo....when in doubt download.I mean how many times have we bought an album and found out its utter garbage!