The Cramps – Big Beat From Badsville

The Cramps were an American punk rock band formed in 1976 and active until 2009. They were part of the early CBGB punk rock movement that had emerged in New York and are widely recognized as one of the prime innovators of psychobilly. Their music is mostly in rockabilly form, played at varying tempos, with a minimal drumkit. An integral part of the early Cramps sound was dual guitars, without a bassist. The focus of their songs’ lyrical content and their image was camp humor, sexual double-entendre, and retro horror/sci-fi b-movie iconography. Their sound was heavily influenced by early rockabilly, rhythm and blues, and rock and roll like Link Wray and Hasil Adkins, 1960s surf music acts such as the Ventures and Dick Dale, 1960s garage rock artists like the Standells, the Trashmen, the Green Fuz and the Sonics, as well as the post-glam/early punk scene from which they emerged, as well as citing Ricky Nelson as being an influence during numerous interviews. They also were influenced to a degree by the Ramones and Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, who were an influence for their style of theatrical horror-blues. Despite being a Blues band by concept according to Ivy, the Cramps have influenced countless subsequent bands in the garage, punk and revival rockabilly styles, and helped create the psychobilly genre. Big Beat from Badsville is their seventh studio album, released in 1997. It was self-produced by Poison Ivy and Lux Interior and is the only Cramps album to consist solely of original songs.

Label: Big Beat Records
Cat. # WIKAD210