Back before Jimmy Fallon had his own late night show, he was just another featured player on Saturday Night Live. In 2002, Fallon (like many comedians before him) released his first album, “The Bathroom Wall”- a mix of his stand-up routine, sketches, and comedic songs.
The first half of the album is made up of the songs, with lead single, “Idiot Boyfriend”, kicking things off. The song still cracks me up every time I listen to it. I love the 80’s sound that it has, and Fallon’s over-the-top vocals (especially that falsetto!) are hilarious. The lyrics (“I’ve got a Swanson’s dinner, in the freezer, with your name on it” is my favourite line) are also funny and clever. Fallon raps on “(I Can’t Play) Basketball”, which in itself, is hilarious. “Road Rage”, on the other hand, is an extreme hard rock song. The sound is definitely more prevalent than the lyrics, and Fallon does a lot of screaming, but there’s still a few funny moments (“I’ll stick my fist up your ass like my name was Jim Henson”).
The latter half of the album is made up of snippets from Fallon’s stand up show. “Troll Doll Celebrities” consists of Fallon impersonating various celebrities talking about Troll Dolls, and Fallon’s impressions of Seinfield, Robin Williams, and Gilbert Godfrey are dead-on. My favourites are Nicholas Cage, and Adam Sandler; at some points, during the Sandler impression, I’d actually forget that it was Jimmy, and not Adam Sandler. Funny stuff. To go along with the Troll Doll sketch, there’s “Troll Doll Jingles”, where more celebrities write jingles to sell Trolls. I LOVE song parodies, so this is right up my alley. Fallon’s best impressions are of Alanis Morissette, Coldplay’s “Yellow”, Dave Matthew’s Band and REM.
There’s also a collection of short skits about college, all of which fall under a minute. Most of them are pretty accurate, particularly the one about room-mates and the ‘walk of shame’. However, Fallon’s Chris Rock impression could use some work.
In 2003 (when I first reviewed the album, and was only 15 years old!), I gave “The Bathroom Wall” three stars out of five. Now, 11 years later, I’ll agree with that rating. Fallon’s album hasn’t quite stood the test of time; I can’t tell you the last time I listened to it in full, or even had a desire to listen to just one of the songs or sketches. But the comedy bits were pretty funny, and Idiot Boyfriend still makes me chuckle every time I listen to it. Jimmy Fallon is known for much better work nowadays, but this album was pretty good for someone who was once just “that guy on SNL who laughs at his own jokes.”
Rating: 
Track List
1. Idiot Boyfriend
2. (I Can’t Play) Basketball
3. Drinking In The Woods
4. Road Rage
5. Snowball
6. Hope Everyone Enjoyed Homecoming This Year
7. Troll Doll Celebrities
8. Dorms, Shower Baskets, & The Walk Of Shame
9. Roommates
10. Hotplates, Four Digit Numbers, & The Little Fridge
11. Chris Rock Was My RA
12. Gotta Get A Fake I.D.
13. Troll Doll Jingles
14. Hammertime
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7iQWqHEG6A]
Fun fact: This is the first music review I ever published online!