Never-Before-Released ‘Gravest Gravy’, Out on Vengeance Records
All Photos Courtesy of The Cramps, Inc.—The Cramps Basement — Photo by GODLIS
NEVER-BEFORE-RELEASED ALEX CHILTerN-PRODUCED 1977 ALBUM,
‘GRAVEST GRAVY’, OUT NOW ON VENGEANCE RECORDS
AVAILABLE ON MULTIPLE COLORED VINYL & CD& ON ALL DIGITAL PLATFORMS
THE CRAMPS INC., A NEW COMPANY RELEASING CRAMPS RARITIES PLUS OFFICIAL MERCHANDISE
Album info:
Photo: Stephanie Chernikowski / Design: Jon Krop
As a snotty, pimpled, buckled, and zipped teenager in 1979, I remember regularly returning to a record sleeve in my local record store. It was of a band I at that time knew nothing about, which made it even more curious, as I was quite hip to the scene. It had a haunting and mysterious quality about it and stood out from the rest; that was just the tip of the iceberg, though.
This sleeve cover had me thinking about it even after I left the store, and the next few times I returned, it kept presenting itself, seducing me to "Buy me".
Having no option in those days to hear what was contained in the spiral scratchings of what was inside but to buy it unheard. My curiosity forced me into that being the only option open for me if I wanted to hear it. What it was was a whole 'nother world of rabid Frankenstein insanity that caught hold of me and was far longer lasting than the temporary new crush it set out as possibly being. The album was "Songs The Lord Taught Us" by The Cramps, who were at that time: Lux Interior on vocals, Poison Ivy on guitar, Bryan Gregory on guitar, and Nick Knox on drums, with production mastermind Alex Chiltern.
This was my first exposure to The Cramps and the beginning of my psyche being infected by something that had me "Stay Sick" with the beautiful, poisonous charm of this band and a vital part of punk rock and roll history for a lifetime. The inception of this seminal album sprang from a recording session the Cramps originally did with Alex Chiltern again on production in October 1977 at the much-heralded Ardent Studios in Memphis.
This was later (in the UK) unleashed upon the public as a five-track 12” EP by the Cramps called Gravest Hits, and featured five tracks released from the original October 1977 recording session. "Human Fly," The Way I Walk," "Domino," "Surfin' Bird," and a great channeling of Ricky Nelson’s hit Lonesome Town.
From this auspicious start, the humble beginnings of a rock monster continued, releasing records and touring all over the world until Lux's sad passing in 2009.
What Cramps fans might not know is that, at Ardent, the band had planned to record their song TV Set to be their first A-side, along with another track (or tracks) for the B-side. Chiltern told them that he liked to have the band play every song they knew, and the best of the batch would be committed to vinyl. This was fantastic advice, and luckily for us, that’s what The Cramps did. This is how Lonesome Town found its way to Gravest Hits. But there was so much more to the story...
In the late 1980s, Lux and Ivy endeavored to release more recordings from the October 1977 sessions. It was to be titled Gravest Gravy. It was a record for the fans, a journey back to Memphis, back to the first Cramps recordings that, try as it might, the world has been unable to heal from. Lux and Ivy mixed several tracks from the 1977 Chiltern sessions between June 14th and 30th, 1989, at Present Time Recorders in North Hollywood. Alex Chiltern mixed a few tracks in Memphis. The album had a title and a cover photo, shot by the late, great Stephanie Chernikowski, but for reasons lost to time- and almost criminally- Gravest Gravy was shelved.
In 2026, it was apparent that this record absolutely needed to be with the fans.
A team began to form and got to work to make that happen. It is brought to you now by The Cramps Inc. the artist formerly known as Poison Ivy Rorschach, Larry Hardy, owner and operator of In The Red Records, and Jimmy Maslon, a film producer responsible for some of the Cramps music videos, and owner of the Herschel Gordon Lewis and Doris Wishman film catalogs. Who have long-standing associations with Lux and Ivy, forged over decades. The company has restarted The Cramps’ label Vengeance Records, created official merchandise, and ventured into the vaults to unleash unheard recordings of this amazing band. Ivy being stated as the major beneficiary. The first archival release, the never-before-heard 1977 album, Gravest Gravy, produced by Alex Chiltern, is out today.
Ian MacKaye and Henry Rollins, operating as RAM Prod. (Rollins and MacKaye), are working on behalf of The Cramps Inc., coming up with releases pulled from the Cramps audio archive, and are aligned with Inner Ear Studios in Arlington, VA and Infrasonic Sound in Nashville, TN. The two are working steadily at developing future potential releases on the recently revived Vengeance Records.
The tracks on Gravest Gravy were contained on seven 1/4-inch reels. Six were generated by Lux and Ivy, and one by Alex Chiltern.
Photo credit: Larry & Henry—Robyn Ginsburg | Ian MacKaye—Pat Graham
The tapes were carefully transferred by Brian Kehew, who was happy to report that all seven reels had withstood the test of time, and the tracks were in pristine condition. Many of the songs had multiple mixes, and it had to be clarified which ones were the keepers. Over several nights of concentrated listening and copious notetaking, Henry was able to get an understanding of the changes made from mix to mix. Within a few nights, he determined that the last mix of each song was the keeper. Not only did the tracks sound to be at their fullest potential, but it also made sense.
Henry then sent the mixes and his notes to Ian MacKaye, who, days later, reported back that he agreed on all of them. Ian then volunteered to do some EQ and level adjustment on two of the tracks with Don Zientara at Inner Ear Studios.
Days later, all the tracks were at Infrasonic Sound for mastering under the supervision of engineer Pete Lyman. The results were two six-song sides of The Cramps, extracted from a 1977 amber block, de-fossilized, and ready to be inflicted upon the ears of those who would rather Stay Sick and Turn Blue.
The Cramps Inc. team was able to locate the exact photo of Stephanie’s that Lux and Ivy had envisioned for the cover. The back cover photo was taken by the legendary David Godlis at CBGB.
For very many of us hopelessly addicted Cramps addicts, this rare nugget of previously shelved work being released from the vaults is very exciting and a testimony to the combined hard work of people whose lives were changed and minds poisoned forever by the music of this beautifully horrific and iconic band.
All photos courtesy of Cramps Inc.
“When I first saw the Cramps at CBGB, I was overjoyed — entertained and inspired! And there was a girl in the band! It all felt so real: a fresh take on a regional American sound, updated in a way that was fun, smart, and exciting. I was screaming!” - Debbie Harry
“The first time I saw the Cramps in 1977 at CBGB I was agog at the amazing characters and unearthly sound I was witnessing. The place was packed, although they had only one 45 out, and the crowd was going absolutely nuts. I was entranced. Funny, sexy, and dangerous, I was not sure if the concert would end in an orgy or a riot. Either would do. Imagine my surprise being invited into the band a few years later. Sometimes I still find it hard to believe it ever happened. But it did! And it was a real humdinger!” - Kid Congo Powers
“The Cramps created an occult sound world that you could escape into, full of rockabilly voodoo guitar damage from Poison Ivy Rorschach, with bug eyed psychotic wailings and swampsnake utterances from Lux Interior, driven into a backwoods frenzy by the pounding of Nick Knox’s zombie death drums and Bryan Gregory’s barbed wire feral guitar scrapings. It only took me one hit of witnessing them play live in Glasgow aged 17 in 1979 opening for The Police, and I’ve been hooked ever since. Stay Sick / Turn Blue.” - Bobby Gillespie
Photo credits: Debbie Harry—Martin Goddard | Kid Congo Powers —Michael Grecco | Bobby Gillespie—Powers—Michael
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