The Cramps are one of my favourite bands. Their debut album, Songs the Lord Taught Us, is excellent and influenced a million bands. It was produced by Alex Chilton, one of the main persons behind Big Star.

The Cramps ceased when Lux Interior, the singer, died.

Now, legendary Ian Mackaye and Henry Rollins help to bring out Gravest Gravy, a collection of previously-unreleased tracks recorded in 1977.

In Rollins' own words:

In October 1977, the Cramps, who were at that time, Lux Interior on vocals, Poison Ivy on guitar, Bryan Gregory on guitar, and Nick Knox on drums, ventured into Ardent Studios with the extraordinarily talented musician and producer, Alex Chilton. These sessions were responsible for the first two Vengeance Records releases, both permanently disfiguring the music world in 1978.

'Surfin' Bird' / 'The Way I Walk' 'Human Fly' / 'Domino'

“In 1979, young British degenerates were treated to a five track 12” EP by the Cramps called Gravest Hits, which featured all four tracks released in the USA, along with another from the October 1977 sessions, a great channeling of Ricky Nelson's hit 'Lonesome Town.' From there, the band released their first LP, Songs The Lord Taught Us, again working with Alex Chilton, and went onward, releasing records and touring all over until the sad passing of Lux in 2009.

“What Cramps fans might not know, was at Ardent, the band had planned to record their song 'TV Set' to be their first A side, along with another track or tracks. Alex told them that he liked to have a band play every song they knew and the best of the batch would be committed to vinyl. This was fantastic advice, and luckily for us, that's what the Cramps did. This is how 'Lonesome Town' found its way to Gravest Hits. But, there was much more to the story.

“In the late 1980s, Lux and Ivy endeavored to release more recordings from the October 1977 sessions. It was to be titled Gravest Gravy. It was a record for the fans, a journey back to Memphis, back to the first Cramps records, that, try as it might, the world has been unable to heal from. Lux and Ivy mixed several tracks between June 14 and 30, 1989 at Present Time Recorders, in North Hollywood. Alex mixed a few tracks in Memphis. The album had a title, a cover by the great Stephanie Chernikowski, who passed away recently, but for reasons lost to time, Gravest Gravy was shelved.

“In 2026, we sought to change that. It was apparent that this record absolutely needed to be with the fans. A team, still severely cramped from initial contact with the band, began to form and got to work.”

Gravest Gravy is released on 2026-08-21. Get a lime-green vinyl version at Rough Trade. I can't wait to see what merch will be cooked up for this.

#music #MusicTips #TheCramps #IanMackaye #HenryRollins #LuxInterior #BryanGregory #PoisonIvy #NickKnox #psychobilly #RockNRoll