Songs the Lord Taught Us

• Artist: The Cramps
• Rating:
• Release Date: 1980 05
• Total Time: 53:32
• Genre: Rock

Review

Continuing the spooked-out and raging snarls of their Gravest Hits EP, the Cramps once again worked with Alex Chilton on the group's full-album debut, Songs the Lord Taught Us. The jacket reads "file under: sacred music," but only if one's definition includes the holy love of rockabilly sex-stomp, something which the Cramps fulfill in spades. Having spent Gravest Hits mostly doing revamps of older material, the foursome tackled a slew of originals like "The Mad Daddy" and "TV Set" this time around, creating one of the few neo-rockabilly records worthy of the name. Years later Songs still drips with threat and desire both, testament to both the band's worth and Chilton's just-right production. "Garbageman" surfaced as a single in some areas, a wise choice given the at-once catchy roll of the song and downright frightening guitar snarls, especially on the solo. The covers of the Sonics' "Strychnine" and Billy Burnette's "Tear It Up" -- not to mention the concluding riff on "Fever" -- all challenge the originals. Interior has the wailing, hiccuping, and more down pat, but transformed into his own breathless howl, while Ivy and Gregory keep up the electric fuzz through more layers of echo than legality should allow. Knox helms the drums relentlessly; instead of punching through arena rock style, Chilton keeps the rushed rhythm running along in the back, increasing the sheer psychosis of it all. ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
TV Set	Lux Interior, Ivy Rorschach	The Cramps	(3:12)
Rock on the Moon		The Cramps	(1:47)
Garbage Man	Lux Interior, Ivy Rorschach	The Cramps	(3:34)
I Was a Teenage Werewolf	Lux Interior, Ivy Rorschach	The Cramps	(3:03)
Sunglasses After Dark	Lux Interior, Rosalind Michelle Pullens, Ivy Rorschach	The Cramps	(3:47)
The Mad Daddy	Lux Interior, Ivy Rorschach	The Cramps	(3:47)
Mystery Plane	Lux Interior, Ivy Rorschach	The Cramps	(2:42)
Zombie Dance	Lux Interior, Ivy Rorschach	The Cramps	(1:55)
What's Behind the Mask	Lux Interior, Ivy Rorschach	The Cramps	(2:05)
Strychnine	Gerry Roslie	The Cramps	(2:25)
I'm Cramped	The Cramps	The Cramps	(2:37)
Tear It Up	Dorsey Burnette, Johnny Burnette, Paul Burlison	The Cramps	(2:32)
Fever	Eddie Cooley, John Davenport	The Cramps	(4:16)

Credits

Alex Chilton (Producer), The Cramps (Main Performer), Booker C. (Organ), Booker C. (Keyboards), Byron Gregory (Guitar), John Hampton (Engineer), Lux Interior (Bass), Lux Interior (Vocals), Poison Ivy (Guitar), Poison Ivy (Vocals), Nick Knox (Drums)

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