Rick Shapiro - Unconditional Love (download)

Rick Shapiro might just be the only man you ever hear say, “If it weren’t for all of those years as a prostitute…” as the intro to a good story, but don’t worry, you’re still not about to see him at career day. Well-known to audiences as the eccentric brother-in-law Jerry on HBO’s “Lucky Louie,” Shapiro’s “Unconditional Love,” a largely improvised onslaught, is wildly tangential, wildly funny, and… possibly schizophrenic. He’s certainly not for the faint of heart! As the self-described “avant loser” launches into his frenetic stream-of-consciousness, multiple personality diatribes on “Unconditional Love,” listeners are hard-pressed to avoid Lenny Bruce comparisons though Shapiro (luckily for comedy-lovers) survived his own years of drug abuse and degradation, living to tell all the tales whether or not they earn him accolades, fame, or inner peace. In the end, his filth-laden form of comedic slam poetry reads like an exorcism, an intense public catharsis punctuated by utter shock and genuine peals of laughter. A trifle, unexpectedly, Shapiro’s hilarious performance-art assault translates seamlessly to CD and leaves listeners marveling. “Unconditional Love,” originally released in 1998 on Fortified (founded by Lach, progenitor of the Antifolk movement a natural home for Shapiro, to be sure), is now available in reissue from the fine folks at Stand Up! Records.

1. Get Pissed
2. Family Values
3. The Sexy Anorexics
4. Writers
5. Getting Laid
6. I Sucked Dick for Heroin
7. Fuck, Fuck, Fuck!
8. WBAI-FM
9. The Leonard Cohen of Dick Whippers
10. K-Mart! Staples! The Gap!
11. Riffing, Stomping and Managers
12. I Miss Drugs
13. When the World was Wild
14. Whitney Houston
15. Suburban Butts
16. Whitey Politey
17. Bush
18. Riffing
19. Sucking Ass
20. Eating Pussy
21. God's an Idiot
22. Mr. Duane Reed