The Cramps

[john eden]

I recently had a hankering to hear "Songs The Lord Taught Us" again and finally got it on CD after having a cassette copy for about 20 years.

I'm curious about their later work - I used to have Off The Bone and Smell of Female but sort've lost track after that. There must be someone on here who knows?

There also seem to be a bewildering array of compilations of the original versions of tracks later covered by The Cramps (Songs The Cramps Taught Us, Born Bad etc). I reckon some of those would be well worth checking but don't really know where to start.

There's also a potential derail into psychobilly here? I always thought those bands suffered from being a bit to laddish and losing the kitch aspect, but I'm prepared to be proved wrong.

So, The Cramps, in general - your comments, recommendations and musings please!

 

[STN]

I'm not sure Born Bad is one of those albums - hasn't it got Fire of Love by Jody Reynolds on it? Did the Cramps do that too? Songs the Cramps taught us is pretty good though. RE: the later stuff 'Ultra Twist' was a good single, 'Look Mom No Head' and 'A Date With Elvis' are the only later albums I've heard and they're pretty lame to be honest.

I'm not rising to putting my Cramps-related lame to fame on this thread. You'll all have to try and imagine it, it's pretty pathetic.

 

[IdleRich]

Dunno too much about later Cramps I'm afraid but between my girlfriend and I we've several volumes of Born Bad and I would highly recommend them. It's not just songs that the Cramps covered, as I understand it they are a kind of unofficial homage to the Cramps and some of the songs that are included are basically just "things that might well have influenced The Cramps". That's loads of good stuff basically (I'd say just start with Volume 1 and if you like it get some more), I mean, I like The Cramps well enough but I think that they suffer like any band that does loads of covers in homogenising loads of really quite diverse stuff. To me they are almost more interesting as archivists of loads of fascinating and crazy music that they virtually single-handedly brought back to the world's attention. I'm fascinated by the stories of their record finding trips and they have amassed a record collection that is truly amazing - unbelievable in fact.

There's also a potential derail into psychobilly here? I always thought those bands suffered from being a bit too laddish and losing the kitch aspect

I think that you might be on to something here (although I'm also ready to be proved wrong).

 

[martin]

I'm not sure Born Bad is one of those albums - hasn't it got Fire of Love by Jody Reynolds on it?

Born Bad was a much wider series - volume 1 had a couple of Cramps covers, but I prefer the originals and it's also got 'Funnel of Love' by Wanda Jackson which is great. There was some blurb on the back of the BB comps about influences on the Cramps, but it wasn't purely stuff they covered.

Totally off topic, but how amazing are "Rats' Revenge" by Rats and "Good Times" by Nobody's Children?

 

[STN]

King Kurt were okayish. The Meteors were laughably bad (I gave my copy of 'Wreckin' Crew' to my girlfriend's sister, who uses it as a beermat), and I never could get into Demented Are Go (even putting aside their shady associations).

 

[STN]

Eating wheat cheapies from a cracked plastic bowl!

Wanda Jackson is playing this summer, I love her and I don't think I want to go.

 

[john eden]

Ah good - some consensus on Dissensus!

I will give them Born Bad comps a go, nice one.

Idle Rich - I think you are probably bang on with the "archivist" angle - any tips on where to read up on that - is it in the RE/SEARCH "Incredibly Strange Music" book? I never got that one...

Maybe what is great about The Cramps is the whole aesthetic and attention to detail behind it, the music maybe being secondary in the long run?

 

[IdleRich]

"Wanda Jackson is playing this summer, I love her and I don't think I want to go."

My girlfriend and some of my mates went to see her last year and they loved it (although they said that the crowd was full of wankers) - they're planning to go again I think.

 

[martin]

Does Billy Childish's stuff count as 'psychobilly'? Because "Still Talking Bout...Thee Milkshakes" is fucking wicked. And Thee Headcoats' "Conundrum" is one of the narkiest, craziest, hate-spewing, needle-in-the-red LPs I've ever heard - complete chaos.

 

[john eden]

King Kurt were okayish. The Meteors were laughably bad (I gave my copy of 'Wreckin' Crew' to my girlfriend's sister, who uses it as a beermat), and I never could get into Demented Are Go (even putting aside their shady associations).

I think King Kurt actually had some OK tunes... there was some scandal about their stage antics which I don't remember. I think beer and intercourse were involved.

I looked into the Demented Are Go angle the other day and it seems that one member recorded some stuff with neo-nazis after he'd left the band. This may of course be recovery after the fact, I dunno.

Certainly some of the psychobillys I used to know were pretty racist and had no problem knocking about with Blood & Honour skinheads. They also used to come out with all this shite about how rock n roll came out of american folky stuff and wasn't to do with black people.

 

[john eden]

Does Billy Childish's stuff count as 'psychobilly'? Because "Still Talking Bout...Thee Milkshakes" is fucking wicked. And Thee Headcoats' "Conundrum" is one of the narkiest, craziest, hate-spewing, needle-in-the-red LPs I've ever heard - complete chaos.

I guess there may be a crossover but isn't he more garage-punk? Again, not someone whose music I know anything about but am interested...

 

[STN]

I think two of DAG were in a band with the doyen of that kind of nonsense himself. Could be wrong though.

I think King Kurt actually had some OK tunes... there was some scandal about their stage antics which I don't remember. I think beer and intercourse were involved.

I looked into the Demented Are Go angle the other day and it seems that one member recorded some stuff with neo-nazis after he'd left the band. This may of course be recovery after the fact, I dunno.

Certainly some of the psychobillys I used to know were pretty racist and had no problem knocking about with Blood & Honour skinheads. They also used to come out with all this shite about how rock n roll came out of american folky stuff and wasn't to do with black people.

 

[IdleRich]

Idle Rich - I think you are probably bang on with the "archivist" angle - any tips on where to read up on that - is it in the RE/SEARCH "Incredibly Strange Music" book? I never got that one...

That was specifically what I was thinking of as the main source yes. I've read other interviews and whatnot that refer to their collection and collecting habbits but that is definitely the main place (plus I can't remember any other places off the top of my head).
The stuff about Hasil Adkins in that book is also great - I love that man.

Maybe what is great about The Cramps is the whole aesthetic and attention to detail behind it, the music maybe being secondary in the long run?

Possibly so, I think that the Cramps are influential in that a lot of people in a lot of towns around the world were inspired to start their own clubs and bands and what have you because of them. I think that they influenced a movement by being so visibly doing what they do and got people in to music that might be better than the actual stuff they make themselves.
They always come across as nice people as well which helps.

 

[martin]

I think two of DAG were in a band with the doyen of that kind of nonsense himself. Could be wrong though.

DAG had a side-band called the Klansmen, they were under investigation by AFA during the early 90s, and they also recorded some live stuff with Ian Stewart, which may or may not have been released.

 

[STN]

DAG had a side-band called the Klansmen, they were under investigation by AFA during the early 90s, and they also recorded some live stuff with Ian Stewart, which may or may not have been released.

That's what I was alluding to but I'd thought that ISD was actually in the Klansmen with them.

 

[martin]

I guess there may be a crossover but isn't he more garage-punk? Again, not someone whose music I know anything about but am interested...

Milkshakes stuff was more in that direction - they appeared on the Stomping at the Klub Foot live LPs and shared compilations with Guana Batz, Meteors (who really did suck) and some other rubbish band whose name escapes me. Not that I'm out to get married, but if I ever did I'd have to play their cover of "The Girl Who Radiates That Charm" really loud in the church.

As for Thee Headcoats, definitely more garage punk I suppose. Utter genius, I love the fact that you can pretty much pick up any LP and know exactly what it'll be like - 14 songs in under half an hour. Some people hate that, but I like the fact he's put out over 130 LPs that follow the same format. You don't have to worry about running into an experimental jazz ballad half-way through side 2. And anyone who spits out lyrics like "Don't pin no tin star on my chest / Your crummy laws I do detest / I wanna shake the hand of the Indian brave / And lay General Custer in his grave" is OK in my book.

I can CD-R you "Conundrum", killer riffs and disgusted Chatham accent diatribes about teenage alcoholism, memories of child abuse, being dumped by just about every woman he comes across, General Custer getting annihilated (recurring theme), indie poseurs and their corrupt mates in the NME, and how everyone in the world's a 2-faced cunt who deserves to die in some bizarre accident. It's awesome, full of loathing and frustration but hilarious at the same time. And it rocks like a bastard too.

 

[john eden]

That's what I was alluding to but I'd thought that ISD was actually in the Klansmen with them.

That's my recollection - tho the current band members seem pretty emphatic about their non-involvement here: http://www.dementedarego.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=132

Obviously it's quite difficult to unpick what happened, but it ISD had more to gain from his association with another cult band than they did with him, so it wouldn't surprise me if the association was hyped up against the wishes of other members of Demented Are Go...

 

[STN]

some other rubbish band whose name escapes me.

QUOTE]


Frenzy?

 

[STN]

That's my recollection - tho the current band members seem pretty emphatic about their non-involvement here: http://www.dementedarego.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=132

Obviously it's quite difficult to unpick what happened, but it ISD had more to gain from his association with another cult band than they did with him, so it wouldn't surprise me if the association was hyped up against the wishes of other members of Demented Are Go...

You're probably right about all this.

What about the Stingrays (not the Bristolian group with Sean McCluskey; the other lot). They were kind of psychobillyish weren't they?

 

[martin]

What about the Stingrays (

Yeah, that was the band whose name I forgot