The Cramps - Bad Music for Bad People

I wouldn't think for a minute that anyone who would stumble upon my blog wouldn't know about that Cramps and know that their stuff - especially the early work - is all completely essential. This compilation was released by IRS after the band left the label, as a way to cash in and re-format some of their more obscure tunes, compiling a number of their single releases that even at this time (1984) were getting harder to find.

Of course, there's a few songs that even any casual fan would have owned - "Garbage Man", "Goo Goo Muck", "TV Set", "Human Fly" - but it also has some true classics that were only released on 7", 10" or 12" singles. "New Kind of Kick" is one such example and one of their all-time best numbers - simple, demented, and covered in fuzz and tremelo! They take the Phantom's frantic rockabilly number, "Love Me" and twist it into truly psychotic-abilly. Charlie Feathers' hiccuped delivery on "I Can't Hardly Stand It" is taken way past 11 and way past normal credibility, in the way that only Lux could do, as he does for Hasil Adkins already looney-tunes "She Said", where, so the story goes, Lux chewed up a styrofoam cup in order to get the "proper" vocal tone!

Mel Robbins' "Save It" was originally a ravin' rockabilly swinger, albeit with a somewhat lewd lyrical content and delivery, but in the Cramps hands it became a dirge-y, lascivious number, with Lux's unique delivery and a couple of twisted guitar solos. Their original "Drug Train" went through various previous incarnations before becoming this intoxicating, rockabillying, mix of metaphors where Lux sounds somewhat trashed and the combined "whoo-whoo's" are a wonderful sing-along touch. Finally, Warren Smith's positively happy-go-lucky "Uranium Rock" is slowed down and made into something far more radioactively menacing, as these mutants were wont to do.

While this is a fabulous comp, if you already owned Off the Bone (release the previous year), you probably wouldn't need this one, as that one has everything except "Uranium Rock" (a good one, to be sure) plus several more songs, and had a 3D cover! But, this one was pretty widely available and you can't argue with the music here!