Gravest Gravy [Unreleased Sessions With Producer Alex Chilton From 1977 LP]

The Cramps - Gravest Gravy [Unreleased Sessions With Producer Alex Chilton From 1977 LP]

In October 1977, the Cramps ventured into Ardent Studios in Memphis, Tennessee with producer and Cramps translator extraordinaire, Alex Chilton. The band had planned on recording their song ‘TV Set,’ as an A side, along with another track or tracks. Mr. Chilton told them the way he liked to work was to have a band record a lot of songs and from that they would pick the best of the bunch. Luckily for Cramps fans everywhere, the band did just that. The first evidence of these sessions was unleashed upon an “unsuspecting human world” in April 1978 on the band’s own Vengeance Records label. It was a two song 7-inch with a version of the Trashmen’s 1963 classic ‘Surfin’ Bird,’ pushed well beyond its breaking point, forcing it to mutate into a much higher form of lowdown, and Jack Scott’s 1959 cool burning ‘The Way I Walk,’ dragged back into the Stone Age... After one listen, it was clear the Cramps had absolutely tapped into Rock ’n’ Roll’s mainline. In November of the same year, and again from the October 1977 sessions came another two song lesson in how it’s done, or undone, with easily one of the greatest A sides of all time: ‘Human Fly.’ The B side was held hostage by “Domino,” originally sung by Roy Orbison. The Cramps’ version swaggers with infinite confidence and is an absolu(more...) SIDE A 1. TV Set 2. Weekend On Mars 3. Twist & Shout 4. Jungle Hop 5. I Can't Hardly Stand It 6. Hungry SIDE B 7. The Natives Are Restless 8. Domino 9. Can't Find My Mind 10. Rockin' Bones 11. Problem Child 12. Rocket In My Pocket