LPCDreissues: Looking forward to the past

Originally released by Illegal Records in 1983, ...Off the Bone gathers fifteen essential recordings from the first years of The Cramps. Drawing on their early singles, the Gravest Hits EP and material from their first two studio albums, the compilation captures the group’s primitive mixture of rockabilly, garage punk, rhythm and blues and trashy horror-film imagery.

At the centre of the band were vocalist Lux Interior and guitarist Poison Ivy, whose obsession with obscure 1950s and 1960s rock ’n’ roll helped shape a sound that was both deeply rooted in the past and completely unlike anything else emerging from the late-1970s punk scene. Bryan Gregory’s distorted guitar and Nick Knox’s stripped-down drumming added an abrasive, hypnotic edge.

“Human Fly” opens the collection with buzzing guitar, skeletal rhythm and Lux Interior’s exaggerated vocal performance. “The Way I Walk,” “Domino” and “Surfin’ Bird” demonstrate the group’s ability to transform early rock ’n’ roll and novelty songs into something darker and more threatening, while “Lonesome Town” reveals a surprisingly atmospheric and restrained side.

“Garbageman” and “Fever” combine swampy guitar tones with theatrical vocals, followed on the second side by the relentless rhythm of “Drug Train.” The band’s versions of “Love Me,” “I Can’t Hardly Stand It,” “Goo Goo Muck” and “She Said” strip their source material down to raw riffs, pounding drums and intense vocal performances.

The closing sequence of “The Crusher,” “Save It” and “New Kind of Kick” maintains the record’s wild momentum. Together, these recordings provide a concentrated introduction to the original Cramps sound and document the period in which the group established the foundations of psychobilly, garage-punk revivalism and underground rock ’n’ roll culture.

Track listing:

Side A
A1. Human Fly – 2:12
A2. The Way I Walk – 2:38
A3. Domino – 3:05
A4. Surfin’ Bird – 5:03
A5. Lonesome Town – 2:55
A6. Garbageman – 3:32
A7. Fever – 4:16

Side B
B1. Drug Train – 2:33
B2. Love Me – 1:57
B3. I Can’t Hardly Stand It – 2:39
B4. Goo Goo Muck – 3:02
B5. She Said – 3:11
B6. The Crusher – 1:48
B7. Save It – 3:01
B8. New Kind of Kick – 3:28