One gets the feeling from the title and cover art alone that if
the Cramps could have released this live document in Glorious Smell-o-rama they would have jumped at the chance. Even without it one can almost sense the whiffs of perspiration and energy the group was cooking up; recorded at New York's
Peppermint Lounge with
Powers on guitar, the quartet slams out a then mostly entirely new set of songs with, as expected, appropriate covers as needed. The wonderfully profane take on
Hasil Adkins'
"She Said" surfaces here, with
Interior sounding like he's about to die more than once.
The Count Five's
"Psychotic Reaction" and the perfectly appropriate
"Faster Pussycat," taken from the legendary
Russ Meyer film of the same name, also give the band more than a little something to chew on. As for the originals, the usual mess of swampy rockabilly and industrial strength noise comes together in just the right way from the start.
"Thee Most Exalted Potentate of Love" gives
Interior the chance to do his undead but still wired loveman thang right from the start, while
Ivy and
Powers hit the twang hard and
Knox keeps everything going just right.
"Call of the Wighat" is another highpoint, with
Knox showing that he's up to more involved pounding and percussion when the need arises. A studio cut,
"Surfin' Dead," surfaces as a ringer at the end; if not quite
the Cramps go
Beach Boys, it arguably forecasts the
Jesus and Mary Chain's
"Kill Surf City" just enough. ~ Ned Raggett
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