Day 409: The Cramps – Psychedelic Jungle
I’m very big on seasonal living these days, I firmly believe that if you embrace every part of the year you always have either something to celebrate or something to look forward to, but this year I’ve been sadly lacking. I love autumn and I especially love Halloween, and somehow it’s creeped up to mid-October and I’ve not been in the spirit at all, I don’t even have decorations up. I need to start getting ready for the best time of the year, so I thought I’d start preparing by listening to a bit more of the Cramps.
Album cover courtesy of I.R.S. Records
I covered their album Bad Music For Bad People on day 256 and said I’d love to explore more of their stuff, so what better time to do it than in the pre-Halloween era. Their second album Psychedelic Jungle was released in 1981, and it features original compositions by Lux Interior and Poison Ivy as well as about half of the album consisting of covers, including the now-iconic cover of “Goo Goo Muck”, originally recorded by Ronnie Cook and the Gaylads. It was self-produced by the band and it features the two permanent members of the band, along with guitarist Kid Congo Powers and drummer Nick Knox.
Based on what I’d heard from the Cramps, it’s exactly what I expected – it’s a very enjoyable loose and swampy psychedelic rockabilly-tinged surf rock record that’s got a bit of a horror-theme. There’s something seedy and sleazy about the whole album, but not in the sort of creepy way where you feel like you need to take a shower after listening, it’s more the fun type of sleaze. Many of the songs sound like they’d be playing in some very cool dive bar or sleazy strip club in a film, and if I ever was considering a change of career as a late-night performer and I got to choose the songs, “Primitive” with its Howlin’ Wolf sample would probably be on the list. I don’t know what kind of clientele there is to many of these places but I’m assuming it’d be an acquired taste.
Another thing I was thinking while listening to this album is that Poison Ivy is underrated as a woman in rock, I love the old-school blues inspired jangly guitar in their songs. And I think there’s something kind of romantic to Poison Ivy and Lux Interior, they really matched each other’s freak and they’re both so instrumental to their sound, if they hadn’t met they wouldn’t have had their life partners and we wouldn’t have had the Cramps.
I liked Psychedelic Jungle, the songs are slow but that’s the second thing that what makes them so wonderfully creepy, with the first one being the vocals. It’s a fun choice to kick off the Halloween season. However, I thought I’d like this more than the B-sides of Bad Music For Bad People, but I’m inclined to rank this the same as that one, I can’t quite justify a 9. Psychedelic Jungle gets an 8.5/10, I’m keen to listen to more of their stuff.