Review Revue: Hasil Adkins - The Wild Man

I don't know how much needs to be said about Hasil "Haze" Adkins that wouldn't be better communicated by merely listening to any of the approximately one million songs he recorded to various fidelities of tape over his fifty-ish year career. The first song I ever heard by Mr. Adkins (thanks to a cassette copy of The John Zorn Radio Hour, which also helped convince me of the genius of Pet Sounds) was the terrifying and hypnotic "We Got a Date, " one of his early, very rough recordings, so you could start there - just do so in a good frame of mind and a well-lit room.

The Wild Man was Adkin's first album recorded in a studio with other musicians, but the consensus seems to be that it retains much of the grit and grime and madness of his early recordings - just set in a slightly more intelligible form. It's heartening to see the KCMU DJs so unanimously enthralled with the singular talent that is Hasil Adkins.

"Punchey wunchey wicky wacky wow. Love this demented rockabilly blues acid trip. Much loves this guy & I'm going to go Do the Scalp. See you in heaven."

"'Great' is an understatement. This is the earthy equivalent of ethereal. H for the Hootenany in Heaven."

"Run for cover! The Haze rules! Heez a god! P.S. I'll bet Splane will hate this."

"Wrong!"

"If he's on Norton records now, does that make him a mental case? Still great."

"I don't get it..." [That makes two of us.]

[scribbled out comment]

"Rockin!"

"'Chicken Flop' is pretty wild. Play incessantly!"

"This is hot and it makes me want to shout Punchy Wunchy Wickey Wackey Doo."