The Cramps’ ‘Gravest Gravy’ Unearths Long-Lost Sessions From One of Rock’s Most Brilliantly Deranged Bands: Album Review

The Cramps remain one of the most singular and wonderfully bizarre acts to come out of the punk era—no small feat given the movement's crowded field of eccentrics. By blending rockabilly's raw twang with a macabre, horror-movie aesthetic and a healthy dose of humor, they essentially forged the genre later dubbed psychobilly. Their sound was a gloriously unhinged take on the genre's signature groove, topped with vocals that sounded like a deranged carnival barker. For many, the definitive moment came in 1980 with the video for "Garbage Man," which captured their chaotic energy in vivid, unsettling detail.

Over the following two decades, the band churned out a string of sweaty, visceral albums, with many fans pointing to the early "Gravest Hits" EP, "Songs the Lord Taught Us," and "Psychedelic Jungle" as their finest hours. Their live shows were legendary for their sheer unpredictability. One memorable night at Boston's Metro club in the sweltering summer heat saw frontman Lux Interior begin the set in a skintight leopard-print outfit and women's heels, only to end it nearly naked in a matching thong. In between, he sipped red wine from a female fan's shoe and locked lips with another audience member while shoving a live microphone into her mouth—a move that explains the odd, guttural "Ooooooowwwwwwooofff" sounds on their live recordings. The chaos spilled into the crowd when an inspired male fan leapt onstage to replicate the act with bassist Candy del Mar, who stumbled backward in her spike heels and crashed into a gong, creating an unintentional but dramatic crescendo as security hauled the intruder away. Throughout it all, the band never missed a beat: Poison Ivy Rorschach's abrasive, sandstorm-like guitar riffs, Nick Knox's pounding drums, and Lux's inimitable vocals—a bizarre fusion of Elvis Presley and Bela Lugosi filtered through Iggy Pop's raw aggression.

Despite such iconic moments, the Cramps' legacy has quietly receded since Lux's death in 2009. Founders Lux and Ivy (his lifelong partner) built the band from the ground up, but with no one actively championing their catalog, their influence faded from public consciousness—save for a standout dance sequence in Netflix's "Wednesday" featuring Jenna Ortega. Now, that's set to change. Henry Rollins, the former Black Flag frontman, and Ian MacKaye, co-founder of Minor Threat, Fugazi, and Dischord Records, have teamed up with the reclusive Ivy, who controls the rights to most of the band's output. Together, they're reviving Vengeance Records, the label that originally released the Cramps' earliest and later work, to launch a comprehensive reissue campaign spanning albums, unreleased tracks, and official merchandise.

The first release is a revelation: a collection pulled from the October 1977 sessions at Memphis' Ardent Studios, overseen by Alex Chilton, the Big Star and Box Tops co-founder. Those sessions produced the group's first two singles, later compiled on "Gravest Hits," but Chilton had urged the band to record everything they knew. This new album gathers all the tracks that didn't make the EP—recordings most fans never knew existed. Lux and Ivy mixed the material in the late 1980s and even selected the cover art, but the project inexplicably stalled until now. The tracklist mixes deranged originals (several later recycled on subsequent albums) with obscure, perfectly on-brand covers from the '50s and '60s, including Paul Revere and the Raiders' "Hungry," Sam Phillips' "Problem Child," and Jimmy Lloyd's "Rocket in My Pocket." Notably, this early lineup featured two guitarists—Ivy and the ethereal Bryan Gregory—with no bassist, giving their sound an even thinner, trashier edge.

This release isn't the ideal starting point for newcomers—beginners should still seek out the classics mentioned earlier—but it's a long-overdue, fitting tribute to one of rock's most brilliantly unhinged acts. It honors not just the band itself but also the visionaries behind it, many of whom (Lux, Knox, Gregory, Chilton, and photographer Stephanie Chernikowski) have since passed away. As J.H. Sasfy wrote in the liner notes for "Gravest Hits," "The Cramps don't pummel and you won't pogo. They ooze, you'll throb." That sentiment has never felt more alive or more necessary.