THE CRAMPS
‘GRAVEST GRAVY’
(Vengeance)
Recorded at Ardent Studio in Memphis Tennessee in October 1977 when The Cramps were Lux Interior on vocals, Poison Ivy on guitar, Bryan Gregory on guitar, and Nick Knox on drums with Alex Chilton at the controls. This was the session that produced the Gravest Hits EP which introduced The Cramps to a UK audience. This really is like the unholy grail for Cramps fans, all but one of these recordings are previously unheard, that despite the plethora of Cramps bootlegs out there.
The story goes that Alex Chilton asked the band to ‘play every song they know’. They knew a shit load of songs that back in 1977 were pretty obscure, rare 1950’s rockabilly, Roy Orbison’s ‘Domino’ who recorded two versions neither released in the 1950s, the version here is the only one previously released on this album appearing on the 1978 Gravest Hits EP.
There’s an embryonic version of later Cramps classic ‘TV Set’ alongside songs that appeared in their early live sets, Paul Revere and The Raiders’ ‘Hungry’, this version with Alex Chilton on organ, Jimmy Lloyds’ ‘Rocket In My Pocket’ and Roy Orbison’s ‘Problem Child’ falling into that bracket, the latter probably the weakest on the album due to an almost karaoke ending somewhat blighting a hitherto blistering version of the song.
The songs that later appeared on ‘Psychedelic Jungle’ include a much tougher and rougher recording of ‘Rockin’ Bones’ based loosely on Ronnie Dawson’s 1950’s rockabilly classic version of the song, Kip Taylor’s ‘Jungle Hop’ with Alex Chilton once again on organ, ‘Can’t Find My Mind’ and ‘The Natives Are Restless’ with different lyrics, these of course with Bryan Gregory’s hideously tortured guitar rather than Kid Congo’s.
‘Twist and Shout’ which must surely have morphed in the later release ‘Drug Train’ sounds very similar to the version to 1989 CD version of ‘Songs The Lord Taught Us’. ‘I Can’t Hardly Stand It’ was a desolate Charlie Feather’s original later appearing on the Drug Train EP, this version is rawer and dare I say more desolate with Lux’s vocals beautifully deranged here.
The closing outtake 'Teenage Werewolf is interesting Lux telling someone to get out of his studio part of it was released before back in 1989 release mentioned above, where it was assumed recorded at the Sam Phillips studio at 639 Madison not this session, so why it's included here is somewhat questionable. This is where my only negative comment comes in, I was hoping for extensive sleeve notes, it would have been fantastic to get some real background to these sessions, Ivy is the only person left who was at them, as she's involved in this release some real background from her bringing them alive with first person text would have been fantastic alongside what really are wonderful and historic recordings. Vengeance should have a gander at a Bear Family release to see how do so material such as this justice as far as sleeve notes go.
It appears that this album was in the latter stages of being released by Lux and Ivy before being shelved for whatever reason, maybe back then it was aimed at hardcore fans of a current band not how these recordings are seen now, after all this isn’t musical archaeology for the sake of, it really is lost treasure.
Simon Nott
(Part of this review was previously published as a 400 word full page review in issue #135 of VIVE LE ROCK MAGAZINE )
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