Into Music: The Cramps – Gravest Gravy
#1 The Beatles were watched by an estimated 73 million people as they made their debut on the Ed Sullivan Show on 9 February 1964, the beginning of the so called British Invasion – things would never be the same again.
#2 The Sex Pistols and their pals known as the Bromley Contingent caused mayhem on the Today show on 1 December 1976. The sozzled host, Bill Grundy goading the band into a string of profanities that led to “The filth and the fury” newspaper headline with the band subsequently banned from playing pretty much anywhere in the U.K. The explosion of punk – things would never be the same again.
#3 Picture the scene. I am fifteen, watching The Tube on 7 March 1986 when Paula Yates and Jools Holland introduced to the stage, The Cramps. A band I have followed for a couple of years but have yet to see in the flesh. All I have are the cherished records (including my copy of Smell of Female – stolen from Larbert library which I still have to this day (apologies to any librarians reading this)) and band press clippings from the likes of the NME and Melody Maker to go on. There is no MTV or cable TV in the U.K. Four channels, filled with stuff I don’t much care about and that is it. What follows is ten or so minutes of jaw-dropping “losing-my-shit” mania as I watch four apparitions from another world rock my senses into oblivion with tales of boots, buckles, belts and other risque treasures. Lux, the singer is the king of the jungle, the tiger man. Nick Knox drumming as the cool badass he clearly is. Fur Dixon is a blur of suspenders and a shocking pink mohawk and then there is Poison Ivy, the Queen of pain, snarling as she directs the sound of the band with her Gretsch 6120 guitar, frazzling my brain to smithereeens. Simply put, a game changer and I was already counting down the fifteen days before I saw The Cramps play the Glasgow Barrowland. What has followed (and I know there are many others) is a lifetime love for the best rock and roll band to ever exist.
So here we are years later, the band no more following the passing of Lux Interior in 2009. No official music since then but the opportunity for the bootleggers to make hay which they have done on a regular basis. Then, earlier this year, news emerged that Ivy was working with a number of people including Henry Rollins, Ian Mackaye, Larry Hardy, Jimmy Msslon, Brian Kehew and Jon Krop to pull together what is now the album Gravest Gravy. Recorded in 1977 at Ardent Studios in Memphis with Alex Chilton on production duties, the rediscovered twelve tracks (found in Ivy’s garage) are an absolute treasure trove for any fan or music aficionado.
The classic line up of Lux Interior, Poison Ivy Rorschach, Nick Knox and Bryan Gregory are all here, ploughing through each track as if their lives depended on it. Opening with TV Set, Gregory’s guitar provides a jarring focus, immediately dialing up the tension that the rest of the band embrace cohesively and with a raw power that perhaps defied their early existence. But then, The Cramps were a band that always defied logic, railing against the mainstream and championing their own route to the devilish and dynamic rock and roll that they (and we) love so much.
The mix stands up and out, Lux’s vocal on Jungle Hop swings from almost restrained to wild bird-like screeches, the dual guitars going back and forth while Knox is metronome tight on the drums. The cover of Paul Revere & the Raiders track Hungry is an absolute bonus, Lux holding court on what is a garage driven belter.
There is an untamed and feverish buzz to the take on The Natives Are Restless while Domino is solid, pounding rockabilly at its finest. A staple of their live shows, the version here is essentially peak Cramps. A highlight is Rockin‘ Bones with Gregory’s backing vocal a real treat, while the energy of Problem Child lends to a live tear it up energy seldom matched.
It may well have taken almost fifty years for these recordings to see the light of the day but it sure has been worth the wait. There is also substantiated rumours that this may well be the tip of the iceberg with more releases to come – great news and where the royalties will go to Ivy rather than unscrupulous bootleggers. Forget The Beatles, Stones, Pistols and Ramones, the only god dam rock ‘n’ roll band that matters is The Cramps!
Stay sick, turn blue…………….
