Lost Cramps Album ‘Gravest Gravy’ Set for Release

A set of early Cramps recordings that never made it past the reel tapes is finally getting a proper release. Gravest Gravy collects 11 tracks the band cut in 1977 with producer Alex Chilton, the sessions that spawned their first singles “Surfin’ Bird” and “Human Fly.” Some songs from those dates did surface over the years, but a chunk of material stayed locked away.

Lux Interior and Poison Ivy circled back to the outtakes in the late 1980s with plans to release them, only to abandon the project for reasons nobody involved can quite recall. The original tapes have now been transferred and mixed with input from people close to the band. Poison Ivy gave final approval, and she’s also overseeing a broader campaign of reissues through the newly reactivated Vengeance label and The Cramps, Inc.

Henry Rollins, a longtime friend who helped steer this release, called it “a combined effort of people whose lives were changed by the music of The Cramps.” He still talks about seeing them play a small D.C. bar in 1979 with Ian MacKaye standing next to him. “The opportunity to bring this music to fellow Cramps fans is beyond a thrill,” he added. One track, “TV Set,” is already streaming. The full album lands on August 21.