**** <i> Great Balls of Fire</i> *** <i> Good Vibrations</i> ** <i> Maybe Baby</i> * <i> Running on Empty </i> : The Beefy Boys

*** THE FAT BOYS. “Coming Back Hard Again.” Tin Pan Apple/Polydor. Rap’s clown princes have come up with another comical, free-wheeling album. As you can tell by some of the song titles--such as “Jelly Roll” and “Pig Feet”--there’s nothing socially redeeming about their fifth album. As usual, it’s just highly enjoyable nonsense.

You can knock the Fat Boys as lyricists--some of their songs are a bit too silly--but you can’t rap their rhythms, which are among the catchiest in the genre. Even when you can’t understand the lyrics--an annoyingly frequent problem--it’s easy to get caught up in their mesmerizing rhythmic grooves.

They’ve cleverly reworked two oldies, adding rap choruses to “The Twist” (featuring the original fat boy, Chubby Checker) and “Louie, Louie.” The album also boasts another rap tune, “Are You Ready for Freddy?,” about everybody’s favorite homicidal maniac, Freddy Kreuger of the “Nightmare on Elm Street” movies. The Fat Boys’ tune is fun but lacks the inspired silliness of “Nightmare on My Street” by D. J. Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince.

“All Day Lover” is the Fat Boys’ attempt at a slow, dreamy, romantic rap, like L. L. Cool J’s “I Need Love.” Though they intend it to be taken seriously, it’s unintentionally hilarious. Can you imagine any one of these buffoonish beefy boys being romantic? That’s like Curly of the Three Stooges trying to be Cary Grant.