Over four sides of vinyl, Lucky Parker unearths nuggets from the rock’n’roll era, as resurrected by American band The Cramps. Formed in 1976, with singer Lux Interior and guitarist Poison Ivy, the two constants in their line-up, The Cramps were part of New York’s diverse CBGB punk scene. Favouring a stripped-down rockabilly/garage sound, their repertoire of originals and cover versions displayed a penchant for rock & roll and rhythm & blues, and a predilection for retro science fiction and horror imagery, which saw the band come to be regarded as pioneers of the psychobilly genre, although the tag woefully fails do them full justice.

As well as original songs, The Cramps’ albums habitually included cover versions, and Look What The Cramps Dredged Up features 32 of the tracks that were covered by the band. Although most fall into the loose category of rock’n’roll, they all possess a unifying deviancy; rock’n’roll at its most wildly primal and juvenile, the freakish teen music Lux & Ivy idolised and aspired to refashion. Despite their cohesive character, these discoveries vary widely in style, from the peerless balladry of Ricky Nelson to the abandoned rockabilly of Johnny Burnette and the frankly unhinged sound of Fat Daddy Holmes. Rhythm & blues numbers range from Andre Williams’ greasy Bacon Fat to Little Willie John’s timeless Fever and The Top Notes’ pre-Isley Brothers original of Twist & Shout. Throw into the mix Link Wray’s sinister instrumental Rumble, the B-movie horror of The Frantics’ The Werewolf, plus classic sides by Carl Perkins, Richard Berry and Wanda Jackson, and you have a fantastic cross section of The Cramps’ jukebox.

SIDE 1
The Way I Walk (Jack Scott)
Everybody’s Movin’ (Glen Glenn)
Please Give Me Something (Bill Allen)
Chicken Rock (Fat Daddy Holmes)
Hot Lips Baby (Herbie Duncan)
Bacon Fat (Andre Williams)
Her Love Rubbed Off On Me (Carl Perkins)
Love Me (The Phantom)

SIDE 2
Mule Skinner Blues (The Fendermen)
Shombalor (Sheriff and The Ravels)
Jungle Hop (Kip Tyler)
Bop Pills (Macy Skipper)
The Goo Goo Muck (Ronnie Cook)
Go, Girl, Go (Jett Powers)
Rock-n-Bones (Elroy Dietzel)
The Green Door (Jim Lowe)

SIDE 3
Louie Louie (Richard Berry)
Sunglasses After Dark (Dwight Pullen)
Rumble (Link Wray)
Domino (Roy Orbison)
Booze Party (Three Aces And A Joker)
Save It (Mel Robbins)
Trapped Love (Keith Courvale)
Lonesome Town (Ricky Nelson)

SIDE 4
Tear It Up (Johnny Burnette)
I Got A Rocket In My Pocket (Jimmy Lloyd)
Fever (Little Willie John)
Mama Oom Mow Mow (The Bird) (The Rivingtons)
Twist And Shout (The Top Notes)
Can’t Hardly Stand It (Charlie Feathers)
Werewolf (The Frantics)
Funnel Of Love (Wanda Jackson)