#98
Chairman Barnes
The Cramps
Songs the Lord Taught Us
Allen’s Rating: 3.5
Chairman’s Rating: 3.75
Highlights:
Garbageman
The Mad Daddy
Tear it Up
Strychnine
Genre: Post-Punk Rockabilly("Psychobilly")
Gonna cop to the fact right off that I'm not all that well versed with The Cramps body of work. However, I was excited to dig into this undiscovered trove of music that passed me by in my formative years. If they had been on my radar back in the day I'm sure I would have been attracted to their somewhat sardonic re-casting of Bill Haley-style rock into a b-movie, reverb-drenched post-punk aesthetic.
There's some fun music here but it seems seems to have an identity problem. Or, maybe more accurately, a location problem. This is not music that was engineered for listening through ear buds, tiny tinny laptop speakers or even on a home stereo. No, this music demands to be blasted loud and strong while cruising the streets on a summer night with the windows down. Preferably in a gas-guzzling steel death trap of an American car. Any pre-70's vintage will do.
The songs range in energy from languid to scorching. Alex Chilton produces and keeps the mayhem coolly contained while cranking the late-night TV psycho horror vibe. The song TV Set establishes the mood with a metaphorical (or IS IT?) dismembering of a woman which carries straight through to the (maybe overly) subdued cover of the Peggy Lee classic, Fever, at the end. In between we're treated to parties with zombies, rides on UFOs, a lunar sock hop, a paean to poison and more.
I think what may have kept me at a distance was a youthful aversion to the horror shtick. But, once you peel that back there's nothing very far afield in this album aside from some deliberate forays into dissonance and flirting with gory subject matter. It appropriates, lashes out, pays due homage and shoots spitballs at a few icons. This album may have turned some heads in its day. Today however, it feels kind of lightweight.
https://open.spotify.com/album/6S9rbimtTmC0v6UBWqSpay?si=bdfFLRFhR4WGS_WNxbkBIg
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