Commentary / Reviews

It's not a stretch to say that pulling off a phony phone call requires great skill, and that a prank call can be considered an American art form (albeit a goofy one). Great Phone Calls takes the practical joking of silly phone calls to new levels of absurdity.

Originally released on the tiny independent label, Amarillo, this recording has been reissued by a slightly larger independent label, Ipecac. The disc is rounded out with bonus tracks culled from the Telephuckyou 7-inch (ridiculous outgoing messages for your answering machine) that circulated as an underground single in the early '90s.

Simply put, the recordings here live up to the album's title. Tracks such as "I'm in Your Band" and "Hijinx and a Child" make one wonder why anyone would stay on the phone when their chain is so obviously being yanked. "Pickle Potato" and "The Man from HOTT" up the ante in calling restaurants with dopey requests for food items only a moron would order.

Great Phone Calls is so lowbrow, it's actually highbrow. This CD is a half-step away from toilet humor and fart jokes -- two comedy ploys that make no pretenses -- and these calls deliver a welcome dose of neo-Dada outrageousness.