As a lover of Zappa's music and his many collaborative releases and productions, it's with great pain I explain how awful I feel this album is. It is AWFUL. I know there are people who hold Wild Man Fischer in high esteem and consider this album a field recording of his aesthetic, but I think it's simply excessive as hell. Wild Man can't sing, can't write songs and is annoying as hell. His best moments here, like Monkeys Versus Donkeys and The Mope, are a testament to his childlike love of music and performance, whereas everything else sounds like a legitimately ill man who hopes to become the next Allan Sherman of his time. My favorite moment of the album, The Taster, is saved primarily because of Zappa's framing of the lyrics in a catchy melody and performance. Overall, I will probably never listen to this album or anything else by Wild Man Fischer EVER AGAIN!
With all of the above negativity expelled, I'd like to make it clear that those statements are merely my opinions. Remember, I'm the guy who thinks Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music is a work of breathtaking art that everyone needs to hear, so if you like Wild Man's music, good for you! I'm never one to tell someone their musical taste is bad no matter what I think of it, and I know many people who find his albums quite fascinating. As a document of Fischer's existence this album is very enlightening and intriguing. He was clearly a disturbed individual and I have no doubt he was not faking his mania. Zappa's position on this album was always that he wanted to act as a cultural anthropologist and document Fischer's lifestyle rather than exploit it. Of course, by releasing a double album focusing entirely on his wild behavior and trying to sell it to a commercial label it can be argued that Frank had always intended to exploit Fischer, but even Frank admitted that works like An Evening With... were more about a payday from Warner Bros. than actual record sales. There are very good reasons that this album is near impossible to find and hasn't went back in print, and most of those reasons have to do with the extreme fringe nature of the recorded works and the lack of an audience. Rhino Records released a compilation of Fischer's works for them as a limited edition item on their Rhino Handmade imprint many years ago, but they clearly knew the expectation of only a few thousand copies being sold was a fair estimate.
As with most of the material the Zappa Family Trust owns the rights to that is unavailable, many people ponder whether this album, alongside far more deserving fare like Captain Beefheart's Bizarre/Straight catalog, will ever see reissue. Supposedly Gail Zappa has said that she would like to give this album a limited reissue but who knows when that will happen, although there are once again rumors that the long unreleased, original version of Beefheart's Bat Chain Puller may see issue next year, so who really knows. As for this copy of the album, it was ripped by a Zappa fan from their original US vinyl pressing and mailed to me. That individual asked that I not reveal their identity so I'll respect their wishes. If there is enough interest I may post this in FLAC but I honestly don't know if anyone needs this in any better quality than I'm posting it here. Regardless, enjoy, or try to.
Wild Man Fischer - An Evening With Wild Man Fischer
Side One: The Basic Primer
01 Merry-Go-Round (This Is Larry's Theme Song, Sort Of)
02 New Kind Of Songs For Sale (Live On The Strip)
03 "I'm Not Shy Anymore!" (Larry Relives The Past In The Studio)
04 "Are You From Clovis?"
05 The Madness & Ecstacy (Kim Fowley & Rodney Bingenheimer Provide An Introduction To, and Make Prophesies About The Future Of Wild Man Fischer)
Side Two: Larry's Songs, Unaccompanied
06 Which Way Did The Freaks Go?
07 I'm Working For The Federal Bureau Of Narcotics
08 The Leaves Are Falling
09 85 Times
10 Cops & Robbers
11 Monkeys Versus Donkeys
12 Start Life Over Again
13 The Mope
14 Life Brand New
15 Who Did It Johnny?
16 Think Of Me When Your Clothes Are Off
17 Taggy Lee
18 Rhonda
19 I Looked Around You
20 Jennifer Jones
Side Three: Some Historical Notes
21 The Taster (Fancy Version)
22 The Story Of The Taster
23 The Rocket Rock
24 The Rocket Rock Explanation & Dialog
25 Dream Girl
26 Dream Girl Explanation
27 Serrano (Sorrento?) Beach
28 Success Will Not Make Me Happy
29 Wild Man On The Strip Again
Side Four: In Conclusion
30 Why I Am Normal
31 The Wild Man Fischer Story
32 Balling Isn't Everything
33 Ugly Beautiful Girl
34 Larry & His Guitar
35 Circle (Larry's first psychedelic hit)
36 Larry Under Pressure
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