This isn’t a hoax or a gimmick. It’s Frank Zappa and his label, Bizarre, being genuinely interested in music that wouldn’t have had a chance at proper distribution otherwise. Of course, it’s then a fair question to ask, why wouldn’t Wild Man Fischer have been able to secure a record deal otherwise?

Good question.

Well, being homeless and schizophrenic doesn’t usually make for a combination readying one for international stardom. Fischer, though, spent his days stalking up and down the Sunset Strip, sparing change. When he was actually able to pick up a few cents here and there, he rewarded the contributor with an original song (there’s a track on Fischer’s album detailing just this activity). And this is, presumably, how Zappa found Fischer.

Either way, the would-be-impresario took Fischer into the studio during 1968 and recorded a double album – the cover depicting the singer in cross-eyed, weird faced glory.

The resultant disc, An Evening with Wild Man Fischer, is obviously not suited for public consumption. So, if the oddest efforts Zappa ever issued (or Beefheart, or the Residents) are a bit too far out there, stray away from this. Of course, none of that is a proper musical antecedent to what Fischer was doing. Instead, something between street preachers hailing from the south and field hollers could serve as some sort of sensible reference point. But that doesn’t even do the Wild Man justice.

The first track on Fischer’s double album, “Merry Go Round,” as out of key and meter as it is, gets revisited mighty quickly as the second track finds the singer rewarding someone on the street with the tune.

In fact, more than just a few moments on the album are spent detailing Fischer on the street, just talking. Of course, that’s all juxtaposed with studio work, and Fischer working alongside the Mothers.

Freer and perhaps even more representational of what Fischer heard in his head are the tracks on which he simply goes about it all a cappella style – again tying him to workers in the field. Tracks like “Dream Girl,” which he apparently wrote while still a teenager, obviously work with proper pop tropes – in terms of lyrics, at least. But Fischer accompanying his verses with a falsetto makes the whole thing even more wacky even if at times it sounds like Jonathan Richman weeping all alone.

Recommended for weirdoes and those who listen to music for the sake of listening to music.