Henry Rollins and Ian Mackaye have combined to reearth and help release a long lost recording for THE CRAMPS titled "Gravest Gravy".

From the label...

Recorded at Ardent Studios in October 1977 as part of the sessions that birthed Gravest Hits, the tracks on Gravest Gravy were contained on seven 1/4 inch reels. The tapes were transferred by Brian Kehew, the tracks were selected for inclusion by Henry Rollins, engineered by Ian MacKaye and Don Zientara at Inner Ear Studios and mastered by Pete Lyman at Infrasonic Sound.

Originators of a mutant and primal, stripped-down sound with its roots in the primordial soup of Rock 'n Roll - The Cramps crafted their art by delving into the past, dredging into the deepest, darkest crevices of pop culture for derelict and abandoned treasures to add to their ever-expanding arsenal of songs and sounds - with Rockabilly, the most primal of all rhythmic impulses - at the spearhead. Gravest Gravy is a revelation: steeped in rockabilly, instrumental rock, soul, surf, psychedelia, and sixties punk with lyrical inspiration drawn from a myriad of cultural influences including late night television, sci-fi reruns, "car culture," exploitation, slasher and horror films.

Gravest Gravy includes never before heard version of covers, Hungry by Paul Revere and the Raiders, Problem Child, originally recorded by Roy Orbison, and the Jimmy Lloyd track, Rocket In My Pocket as well as several early recordings of songs that that found official release on the band’s second album, Psychedelic Jungle, including The Natives Are Restless (with different lyrics), Can’t Find My Mind and Rockin’ Bones. Also included is fan favorite, Weekend on Mars, which was previously only available as a live recording on The Smell of Female.

Gravest Gravy front cover photo is by the legendary photographer Stephaine Chernikowski (whose photos also grace the back and front covers of Gravest Hits) and the back cover is a jaw dropping, live photo by GODLIS – captured in-the-moment, live on stage at CBGB.

One of the greatest and most influential bands of the punk and post-punk era, The Cramps were musical and cultural provocateurs with a singular vision of what rock n roll was and should be. Often imitated but never equaled, their impact has spanned almost 50 years and their legend and influence continues to inspire - with a new generation of fans spurred by the popularity of their recording of the cult classic, Goo Goo Muck (Ronnie Cook & The Gaylads), which was included in the Netflix hit series "Wednesday."
Groovy gravy….no damn slop!

“In October 1977, the Cramps ventured into Ardent Studios in Memphis, Tennessee with producer and Cramps translator extraordinaire, Alex Chilton.

The band had planned on recording their song ‘TV Set,’ as an A side, along with another track or tracks. Mr. Chilton told them the way he liked to work was to have a band record a lot of songs and from that they would pick the best of the bunch.

Luckily for Cramps fans everywhere, the band did just that. The first evidence of these sessions was unleashed upon an “unsuspecting human world” in April 1978 on the band’s own Vengeance Records label.

It was a two song 7-inch with a version of the Trashmen’s 1963 classic ‘Surfin’ Bird,’ pushed well beyond its breaking point, forcing it to mutate into a much higher form of lowdown, and Jack Scott’s 1959 cool burning ‘The Way I Walk,’ dragged back into the Stone Age... After one listen, it was clear the Cramps had absolutely tapped into Rock ’n’ Roll’s mainline.

In November of the same year, and again from the October 1977 sessions came another two song lesson in how it’s done, or undone, with easily one of the greatest A sides of all time: ‘Human Fly.’ The B side was held hostage by “Domino,” originally sung by Roy Orbison. The Cramps’ version swaggers with infinite confidence and is an absolute thrill to listen to. In the summer of 1979, young degenerates in England were treated to a 12-inch by the Cramps called Gravest Hits, which featured not only the aforementioned four tracks, but also a fifth, again from the October 1977 sessions...

“What happened to the rest of the tracks from those auspicious days in October 1977? In 2026, Larry Hardy, owner and operator of In The Red Records, repelled down, deep into the vast, sunless vault of the Cramps tape collection, and resurfaced hours later, disoriented and out of breath, but overjoyed with what he’d returned to topside with: six 1⁄4” reels of tracks, mixed by Lux [Interior] and [Poison] Ivy... Gravest Gravy is one of the purest collections of unrestrained, wild music you’ll ever hear—like Jerry Lee Lewis unchained, like Elvis meets Tarzan—like it should be.

The Cramps were one of the greatest bands in the history of recorded music, and anyone who heard or saw them, knows and abides by this groovin’ truth. From their inception to this day, the band has fans whose enthusiasm for their life-changing music never wavers. The Cramps made this music for the love of Rock ’n’ Roll. Lux and Ivy made this record for you.” – Henry Rollins