Several years ago, I had the pleasure of reviewing Carla Ulbrich's first CD, Her Fabulous Debut. Simply put, Carla is a singing comedian. Her latest CD, Sick Humor: The Lighter Side of Illness, was inspired after she suffered several strokes and kidney failure. Not one to let tough times put her down, she turned to humor. (I doubt anybody who knows her personally was surprised!)

Denied the ability to compose tunes on her guitar, Carla followed the path of another singing comedian -- Weird Al Yankovic. Carla takes some well-known songs and changes the lyrics. For 10 songs, you get to hear about her experiences with everything from specialists to prescriptions to being a hospital number instead of a patient with a name.

The term "sick" in the CD title is apt considering the amount of toilet humor on this CD. If you are a kid, or at least one at heart, you will probably laugh more at the lyrics than otherwise. For example, on the track "On the Commode Again," Carla sings about all the time she spent in the loo. ("On the Road Again" will never sound the same to me from now on). This is the first of several songs dedicated to bodily functions.

My favorite song on Sick Humor is her take off of the well-known '80s tune. If you are like me, you may not remember the original band, but Jenny's phone number, "8-6-7-5, 3-oh-niiii e yihn," will never be forgotten! Carla sings about being anonymous "Patient 2946065." It is a strange feeling to laugh at somebody's woes while at the same time feeling sorry for the predicament they are in.

To be honest, Sick Humor is a cute CD at best. Her Fabulous Debut is a must-buy if you have a sense of humor at all. That is the one I would recommend if you were only going to buy one. But if money is burning a whole in your pocket, she also has another CD called Professional Smart Aleck.

I will close with Carla's description of what you will hear on Sick Humor as well as words of wisdom, both found in the liner notes for the CD. "Everything contained in the lyrics is true. There is just no need to exaggerate when it comes to hospitals, etc. Take care of your health. It's your most important asset!"

[ visit Carla Ulbrich's website ]