Off the Bone

The first six songs on the Off the Bone collection are from The Cramps’ very first release: Gravest Hits, recorded in 1977 with producer Alex Chilton at Ardent Studios in Memphis. These remain some of the band’s all-time best recordings, achieving an ideal balance between low-rent swing and bristly aggression. For a band that recorded a sea of covers, this contains two of their very best: Peggy Lee’s “Fever” and Ricky Nelson’s “Lonesome Town.” The band’s interpretations are singular. Lux Interior sings each song with maximum feeling, communicating an unambiguous vulnerability even as he vivisects the austere delivery of the preceding generation. The rest of the tracks here are other recordings from The Cramps’ glorious early years, including those made after they relocated to Los Angeles and hooked up with prodigal guitarist Kid Congo Powers. These songs turn loose the simmering internal energy of “Fever” and “Lonesome Town.” “Drug Train,” “The Crusher," and “Uranium Rock” are uproarious dance songs, as sincere as Jerry Lee Lewis in their intent to unleash fun upon hungry miscreant youth.