An Evening with Wild Man Fischer is a 1969 double LP album by Wild Man Fischer, produced by Frank Zappa and released on his Bizarre Records label. The album’s four sides feature street performances with percussion by Art Tripp, a cappella songs, early compositions with stories, and psychedelic rock including "The Circle" and "The Wild Man Fischer Story." Notably, segments influenced Zappa’s albums Lumpy Gravy and Civilization Phase III. While originally withheld from CD release by Gail Zappa, it was issued posthumously on CD in 2016 by Gonzo Multimedia and reissued in 2020 by Wasabi Records. The track "Merry Go Round" was later used as the theme for Alexei Sayle's Merry-Go-Round TV show.
Track listing (including explanatory notes)
Side One: The Basic Fischer| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Merry-Go-Round" | 1:53 |
| 2. | "New Kind of Songs For Sale" (live on the strip) | 7:13 |
| 3. | "I'm Not Shy Anymore!" (Larry relives the past in the studio) | 1:01 |
| 4. | "Are You From Clovis?" | 1:53 |
| 5. | "The Madness & Ecstasy" (Kim Fowley & Rodney Bingenheimer provide an introduction to, and make prophecies about the future of Wild Man Fischer) | 7:47 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Which Way Did the Freaks Go?" | 1:47 |
| 2. | "I'm Working For the Federal Bureau of Narcotics" | 1:21 |
| 3. | "The Leaves Are Falling" | 0:54 |
| 4. | "85 Times" | 0:56 |
| 5. | "Cops & Robbers" | 1:40 |
| 6. | "Monkeys Versus Donkeys" | 2:00 |
| 7. | "Start Life Over Again" | 1:58 |
| 8. | "The Mope" | 1:48 |
| 9. | "Life Brand New" | 1:36 |
| 10. | "Who Did It Johnny?" | 1:46 |
| 11. | "Think of Me When Your Clothes Are Off" | 0:57 |
| 12. | "Taggy Lee" | 0:40 |
| 13. | "Rhonda" | 0:54 |
| 14. | "I Looked Around You" | 1:31 |
| 15. | "Jennifer Jones" | 4:51 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Taster" (fancy version) | 3:07 |
| 2. | "The Story of The Taster" | 2:05 |
| 3. | "The Rocket Rock" | 0:31 |
| 4. | "The Rocket Rock Explanation & Dialog" | 1:33 |
| 5. | "Dream Girl" | 2:25 |
| 6. | "Dream Girl Explanation" | 0:52 |
| 7. | "Serrano (Sorrento?) Beach" | 1:35 |
| 8. | "Success Will Not Make Me Happy" | 1:45 |
| 9. | "Wild Man On The Strip Again" | 7:13 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Why I Am Normal" | 2:25 |
| 2. | "The Wild Man Fischer Story" | 5:34 |
| 3. | "Balling Isn't Everything" | 1:17 |
| 4. | "Ugly Beautiful Girl" | 1:14 |
| 5. | "Larry & His Guitar" | 2:46 |
| 6. | "The Circle" | 2:54 |
| 7. | "Larry Under Pressure" | 1:44 |
Personnel
- Larry Fischer - vocals, electric guitar (on "Larry & His Guitar")
- Frank Zappa - Guitar on "The Taster" (Fancy version), all instruments on "Circle", production
- The Mothers of Invention - piano, bass & drums (on "The Taster (fancy version)")
- Art Tripp - percussion (Side One)
- Kim Fowley - recitation ("The Madness & Ecstasy")
- Rodney Bingenheimer - recitation ("The Madness & Ecstasy")
- The GTOs - recitation ("The Madness & Ecstasy")
References
AllMusic review https://www.allmusic.com/album/r7265/review ↩
"Billboard". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. May 3, 1969. p. 51. Retrieved June 3, 2023 – via Google Books. https://books.google.com/books?id=jigEAAAAMBAJ&dq=%22evening+with+wild+man+fischer%22+%226332%22&pg=PA51 ↩
Winner, Langdon (August 9, 1969). "Records". Rolling Stone. No. 39. San Francisco: Straight Arrow Publishers, Inc. pp. 35–36. /wiki/Rolling_Stone ↩
Christgau, Robert (August 14, 1969). "Consumer Guide (1)". The Village Voice. Retrieved November 5, 2017. /wiki/Robert_Christgau ↩
"Wild Man Fischer: Outsider musician who was discovered by Frank Zappa". The Independent. July 21, 2011. Retrieved June 3, 2023. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/wild-man-fischer-outsider-musician-who-was-discovered-by-frank-zappa-but-could-never-transcend-his-psychiatric-disorders-2318335.html ↩
"Archived copy". Archived from the original on March 30, 2016. Retrieved March 19, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) https://web.archive.org/web/20160330185257/http://www.gonzomultimedia.com/product_details/15895 ↩