An Evening With Wild Man Fischer

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An Evening With
Wild Man Fischer
Released April 1969
See also:
The Bizarre Percussion Ensemble
GTO's

Players

  • Wild Man Fischer (vocals, spontaneous comments, recitations, explanations, dialogs and diatribes)
  • The Bizarre Percussion Ensemble (collective group percussion)
  • Art Tripp (dubbed percussion effects)
  • Kim Fowley (introduction and prophecies about Fischer)
  • Rodney Bingenheimer (introduction and prophecies about Fischer)
  • The GTO's (vocal support to introductions)
  • Miss Johna (voice at end of side one)

Tracks

Double LP

Side One
"The Basic Fischer"

  1. Merry-Go-Round (This is Wild Man's theme song, sort of)
  2. New Kind Of Songs For Sale (Live on The Strip)
  3. "I'm Not Shy Anymore" (Larry relives the past in the studio)
  4. "Are You From Clovis?"
  5. The Madness & Ecstasy

Side Two
"Larry's Songs unaccompanied"

  1. Which Way Did The Freaks Go?
  2. I'm Working For The Federal Bureau Of Narcotics
  3. The Leaves Are Falling
  4. 85 Times
  5. Cops & Robbers
  6. Monkeys Versus Donkeys
  7. Start Life Over Again
  8. The Mope
  9. Life Brand New
  10. Who Did It Johnny?
  11. Think Of Me When Your Clothes Are Off
  12. Taggy Lee
  13. Rhonda
  14. I Looked Around You
  15. Jennifer Jones

Side Three
"Some Historical Notes"

  1. The Taster (fancy version)
  2. The Story Of The Taster
  3. The Rocket Rock
  4. The Rocket Rock Explanation & Dialog
  5. Dream Girl
  6. Dream Girl Explanation
  7. Serrano (Sorrento?) Beach
  8. Success Will Not Make Me Happy
  9. Wild Man On The Strip Again

Side Four
"In Conclusion"

  1. Why I Am Normal
  2. The Wild Man Fischer Story
  3. Balling Isn't Everything
  4. Ugly Beautiful Girl
  5. Larry & His Guitar
  6. Circle (Larry's first psychedelic hit)
  7. Larry Under Pressure

Release Notes

Released April 1969 (US Original) on Bizarre Label (2XS 6332)
Words and music on all songs by Larry Fischer
© 1968 all lyrics & music copyrighted for the world by Bizarre Music Co. BMI
Produced by Frank Zappa
Engineered by Jerry Hansen at Sunset Sound Studios, Hollywood
Street field recording by Dick Kunc
Art direction: Cal Schenkel
Cover photograph: Henry Ditz
Black & white photography: Ed Caraeff
Business production: Herb Cohen

Liner Notes

(Inside spread:)

"The material for this album was recorded live in the street (with Larry's knowledge and consent) in front of The Whisky A Go Go and The Hamburger Hamlet on Sunset Strip, by Dick Kunc on a Uher portable stereo tape recorder. The percussion effects were added later in Studio 2 at Sunset Sound by Art Tripp, engineered by Jerry Hansen. Larry's unaccompanied songs were recorded at Sunset and in the basement of The Log Cabin. The monologues were recorded at Sunset. The Taster and Circle are accompanied by multiple over-dub tracks which I manufactured. Merry-Go-Round and Serrano Beach are accompanied by The Bizarre Percussion Ensemble. The Madness & Ecstasy of the second half of Side One was a spontaneous recitation (he was making it all up in the studio, believe it or not) by Mr. Kim Fowley and Mr. Rodney Bingenheimer, assisted in spots by the GTO's (Girls Together Outrageously). The girl's voice at the end of Side One belongs to Miss Johna, who was, at one time, Larry's girl friend[sic]. The percussion was added later on another session.

Please listen to this album several times before you decide whether or not you like it or what Wild Man Fischer is all about. He has something to say to you, even though you might not want to hear it."

- Frank Zappa

[Editorial note: The inner spread of this album's gatefold sleeve is a Cal Schenkel assemblage of images, credits, tracklist and the above comment by FZ. Within this layout is a hand-drawn 'celebrity' chart by Wild Man Fischer|Fischer, with the added typeset comment:]
'Wild Man asked us to include this chart'
[An image of it is included here and, for the purposes of clarity, a transcription of it is shown].

Wild Man Fischer 'celebrity' chart, from the album sleeve
An Evening With Wild Man Fischer.

The Top
[†]Wild Man Fischer
After you hear this album
The Beatles
(Hello down there)
.......
.......
The Rolling Stones
Bob Dylan..."Elvis"...Donovan
Tiny Tim...The Mothers
The Monkees...The Who...The Cream
Mozart...Jimi Hendrix
.......
.......
.......
The Middle ...Jonny Cash[sic]
"Wild Man Fischer|Wild Man"
Fischer...after he met Frank Zappa
.......
.......
.......
.......
.......
Chubby Checker...Everly Bros.
Ricky Nelson...Fabian
[†]Wild Man Fischer...before he met Frank Zappa
The Bottom

[† these 2 points are connected by a sidebar with the words:]
"What a way to go!"
[It is signed:] AWMF Cartoon

(Back cover:) Wild Man Fischer is a real person who lives in Hollywood, California. He used to be very shy. He didn't have any friends. One day he decided to be more aggressive. He would write his own songs and sing to people and tell them he wasn't shy anymore. When he did this, everyone thought he was crazy. His mother had him committed to a mental institution twice.

Background Information

Conceptual Continuity

Merry-Go-Round, Wild Man Fischer's signature song, is also quoted on Very Distraughtening on Lumpy Gravy (1968).

Alternate Covers

Versions

ZFT # Version # # discs Format Catalog # Release
(YYYY-MM-DD) 		Barcode
(EAN-13) 		Artwork Comment
n/a 1
Original
Stereo 		2 LP Warner Brothers Bizarre Records/Reprise
2XS 6332 		1969-04-28 None Cal Schenkel
Ed Caraeff
Henry Ditz 		US edition.
Matrix # 2XS-1-6332-WW1
(& suffixes WW2/3/4)

Notes

Zappa's backing tracks (with vocals removed) for Circle and The Taster.

See Also

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