The Cramps – Smell of Female/ A Date With Elvis/ Rockinnreelininaucklandnewzealandxxx/ Stay Sick!/ Look Mom, No Head!/ Big Beat From Badsville/

In the late 1970s, when other whippersnappers rediscovered the joys of rock ‘n’ roll, twisted it around, and called it punk, the Cramps latched onto rockabilly, tossed in other pop culture elements (B movies, surf music), and called it something even scarier — psychobilly. That’s sex, drugs, rock ‘n’ roll, and sex; mix together, and don’t stop shaking.

A Date With Elvis, originally released in 1986, opens with “How Far Can Too Far Go?”, as good a representation of psychobilly as you’ll find. Poison Ivy’s stinging guitar and Nick Knox’s steadfast drums work in simplistic tandem, there’s a wicked bassline for additional menace, and vocalist Lux Interior hogs the spotlight with manic glee.

This is the distinctive Cramps sound as created by the band’s core (a succession of guitarists and bassists have come and gone over the years). “Cornfed Dames”, the band’s tribute to Southern gals, runs a close second, with Knox keeping up a steady drumbeat, Ivy patiently chugging alongside on guitar, and Interior pleading, “Whip that cream baby, till the butter comes!”

1990’s Stay Sick! is the most rockabilly-influenced of the bunch (and the best CD of the six), from the opening barrel-roll of “Bop Pills” (Dick Penner’s ode to amphetamines) to the howling closer, Jimmie Rodgers’ “Muleskinner Blues”. Ivy’s guitar work burns like fire on the unhinged cover of “Shortnin’ Bread”, and Interior gets that hiccuping stutter just right on Carl Perkins’ very lewd “Her Love Rubbed Off” (in both studio and live versions, the latter being especially raunchy). Bonus tracks include a suitably frantic cover of “Jailhouse Rock”.

After the giddy delights of Stay Sick!, both Look Mom No Head! (1991) and Big Beat From Badsville (1997) are something of a disappointment. Songs as blatantly titled as “I Wanna Get In Your Pants” (Look Mom) take the fun out of the innuendoes, and “Sheena’s In A Goth Gang” (Big Beat) is, well, kinda dull, something you just don’t expect from the Cramps. But the band is partially redeemed by tracks such as “Jelly Roll Rock” (Look Mom) and a grungy (in the pre-’90s sense of the word) “Peter Gunn” (Big Beat).

Smell Of Female and Rockinnreelin…, recorded in 1983 and 1986, respectively, capture the group in all their fuzzy live glory. On their rendition of “Heartbreak Hotel” (Rockinnreelin), Interior’s braying, stuttering vocal is full-on dementia, giving you some idea how the song might’ve turned out had the King remained at Sun and recorded the track under the influence of bop pills. The same show features yet more obscure covers, including Dave “Diddle” Day’s “Blue Moon Baby” and Jackie Lee Cochran’s bluesy “Georgia Lee Brown” (studio versions appear on Date With Elvis), and closes with an surprisingly poignant rendition of Ricky Nelson’s “Lonesome Town”.

Each CD has bonus tracks, and remastered sound gives it all a new snap; the one serious omission is liner notes (only an aficionado will know “Bop Pills” was originally released on Sun). The resurrection of the Cramps’ music for the 21st century is a fitting reward for a band that’s always remained true to the demon spirit of rock ‘n’ roll.