‘A new kind of song’: The story of how Frank Zappa discovered Wild Man Fischer
Throughout his entire career, Frank Zappa was always regarded as an eccentric, and his music always did the best job of trying to reflect his oddball sensibilities. Forever writing jazz-inflected rock music that avoided all norms and relied heavily on surrealist and satirical themes, Zappa was always surrounded by fellow eccentrics, not least his closest friend and collaborator, Captain Beefheart. However, while both of them were noted for their creative zaniness, neither of them ever tried to present the world with ‘a new kind of song’.
This was the mission of Wild Man Fischer, an acquaintance of Zappa’s who, as his name suggests, was considerably more out there than Zappa himself was, making his output seem tame by comparison. However, while Fischer was determined to give his gift of an entirely new style to the world, it didn’t come without him undergoing many hardships in his life that left him on the fringes of society.
Larry Fischer had had a troubled upbringing and had been institutionalised on a number of occasions due to his violent outbursts and unpredictable temperament. Doctors would diagnose Fischer with both paranoid schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, which consequently made finding any stability in his life a struggle. He’d previously attempted to forge a career in music, touring with Solomon Burke, who gave him the ‘Wild Man’ nickname, but by 1967, Fischer was performing for loose change as a street artist in West Hollywood.
This is where Zappa would first encounter Fischer, and being impressed by his freewheeling approach to making music and his a cappella improvisations in the street, he invited him to record in his studio and gave him complete free rein to do whatever he wished. While this may have seemed like a recipe for disaster for most outsiders, considering the unpredictable nature of Fischer’s personality, Zappa was insistent that he recorded his work and shared it with the world.
The resulting album, An Evening With Wild Man Fischer, is one of the most bonkers double LPs in recorded history, with song topics ranging from his experience in medical facilities to his pets, and large portions of the record are yelped in a stream-of-consciousness fashion without much instrumental backing. Zappa does appear as a guitarist and multi-instrumentalist on a couple of songs, with Magic Band percussionist Art Tripp also featuring on the record, but for the most part, Zappa took a backseat and allowed Fischer to do whatever he fancied.
However, this is what would ultimately lead to the album being a disaster, with large amounts of the record being a challenging listen, even for those with the most avant-garde sensibilities. Not only is it somewhat discomforting to hear the ramblings of a man with a fragile mental state seemingly being exploited for the sick and twisted amusement of Zappa, but the lack of musicality on display is also a significant factor in why it proves to be hard to sit through all 82 minutes of the record.
The relationship between Fischer and Zappa wouldn’t last long, and despite the record initially being released on Zappa’s Bizarre label, they would sever all ties after Fischer allegedly hurled a bottle in the direction of Zappa’s eldest daughter, Moon, while in the studio one day. In addition to this, despite the record becoming something of a sought-after rarity, the Zappa estate, which was run by Zappa’s widow, Gail, refused to reissue the album for as long as she remained alive due to it not being the best representation of her husband’s work.
It may well be a fascinating listen, but it’s far from an easy one that you can sit back and relax while listening to. The mind of Wild Man Fischer was clearly brimming with ideas, but working alongside someone like Zappa was ultimately not the best move for someone as mentally fragile as he was. Fischer would make a handful of other appearances on records by other artists, but while the rest of his life was characterised by the same struggles he had encountered prior to recording with Zappa, he certainly did come good on his promise of giving the world ‘a new kind of song’. Wild Man Fischer, by all accounts, was a true original.
