The Cramps "Songs the Lord Taught Us" (1980)
Another band where I'd heard the name but wasn't really familiar with
the music... I assumed punk, based on the name and era. There is some punk
here, but the band also digs deep into rockabilly, surf music and even
b-movie soundtracks. The b-movie theme extends out to the lyrics with
songs such as "I was a teenage werewolf" and "Zombie Dance".
The vocals are pleading, snarling and desperate, the music ranging from
bare and unvarnished to drenched in reverb - as the song dictates/requires.
In places this album has a guttural rockabilly that sounds
like it would fit nicely into Nick Cave's early oeuvre with the
Birthday Party and early Bad Seeds.
Unfortunately the album, though critically acclaimed, was commercial disappointment. When
the band went out to tour it, their guitarist Bryan Gregory drove off
with a van full of their gear which he sold to help fuel his drug
addiction. The band never saw him again until years later.
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