A second collection of weirdo rockabilly, R&B, blues, and rock & roll purportedly from the Cramps’ personal collection, Magnificent: 62 Classics from the Cramps’ Insane Collection is a gas by any measure. The key to the success of Magnificent is that it never pushes its gonzo nature too hard.
Sure, there are novelties here — many arriving in the beginning, including the Five Blobs’ “The Blob” and Sheb Wooley’s “The Purple People Eater,” two records that couldn’t be called obscure — but it settles into a comfortable groove where silliness and strangeness synthesize, sometimes seeming somewhat scary. It’s all about context, of course: the songs play off of each other, seeming odder when echoing off their predecessors, and that’s the joy of the whole shebang. It plays like an alternate…
…history of the postwar 20th century, assembled entirely from detritus and nothing substantive — and, of course, that’s why it lasts.
1. Jimmy Haskell & His Orchestra – Blast Off! [01:54]
2. Bob & Jerry – Ghost Satellite [01:50]
3. The Five Blobs – The Blob [02:34]
4. Sheb Wooley – The Purple People Eater [02:09]
5. The Electro-Tones – Ghost Train [02:13]
6. Jimmy McConville – Scorpion [02:19]
7. Larry Collins – T-Bone [02:02]
8. The Duals – Wait Up Baby [02:08]
9. Jimmy Lloyd – You’re Gone Baby [01:58]
10. Wanda Jackson – Riot in Cell Block #9 [02:25]
11. Charlie Feathers – Wild Wild Party [02:51]
12. Dicky Doo & the Don’ts – Wild Party [02:09]
13. John & Jackie – Little Girl [02:05]
14. Ric Cartey – Oo Eee [02:13]
15. Buddy Starr & the Starliners – Hold It! [01:33]
16. Terry Corin & Her Boyfriends – Sick! Sick! Sick! [02:14]
17. The Champs – Train to Nowhere [02:03]
18. Rudy Thacker & the Strinbusters – Black Train [01:46]
19. The Frantics – Fog Cutter [01:53]
20. Bo Diddley – Bo Diddley Is a Lover [02:06]
21. Mad Mike & the Maniacs – The Hunch [01:34]
22. Dicky Doo & the Don’ts – Flip Top Box [02:03]
23. Lee Ross – The Mummy’s Bracelet [02:09]
24. The Revels – Dead Man’s Stroll [02:27]
25. The Social Outcasts – Mad [01:39]
26. The Tides – Midnight Limbo [02:24]
27. The Mogambos – Bi-Aza-Ku-Sasa [02:02]
28. The Tokens – Bwanina (Pretty Girl) [02:13]
29. Albert Elias – King Kong [02:21]
30. The Wildmen – King of the Jungle [02:06]
31. Lee Chandler & the Blue Rhythms – Tree Top [01:48]
32. Roger & the Tempests – Bad Bad Way [02:27]
33. Ronnie Dawson – Rockin’ Bones [01:51]
34. Ivan – Real Wild Child [02:14]
35. Betty Smith & the Rhythm Masters – Yeah Baby [01:39]
36. The Dynamos – Woh! Woh! Yea! Yea! [02:16]
37. The Camelots – The Chase Part 2 [02:10]
38. The Sparkles – The U.T. [02:24]
39. Buddy Miller – Teen Twist [02:17]
40. Ronnie Self – Date Bait [02:11]
41. Dicky Doo & the Don’ts – Nee Nee Na Na Na Na [02:04]
42. The Lifeguards – Everybody Out’ta the Pool [02:13]
43. The Royal Teens – Leotards [02:29]
44. The Versatones – Bila [02:08]
45. Robert Mitchum – Ballad of Thunder Road [02:24]
46. The Clovers – Your Cash Ain’t Nothin’ But Trash [02:51]
47. Andre Williams & the Don Juans – Pulling Time [02:48]
48. Billy Ward & the Dominoes – The Bells [03:11]
49. Chuck Ranado & the Electronaires – My Baby’s Gone [02:02]
50. Johnnie Honeycutt – Blue Song of Love [01:51]
51. Lonnie Johnson – Tomorrow Night [02:59]
52. Kay Martin – The Heel [02:56]
53. Ken Nordine – Fliberty Jib [04:33]
54. Bob Lee – Wanted for Questioning [02:15]
55. Wortham Watts – Cotton Picker [02:04]
56. Johnny Burnette & His Trio – Honey Hush [01:58]
57. The Gamblers – LSD-25 [02:08]
58. Duane Eddy – Ramrod [01:37]
59. The Chiefs – Apache [02:21]
60. Paul Peek – Olds-Mo-William [02:14]
61. Tony Burrello – There’s a New Sound [02:20]
62. Spike Jones & His City Slickers – Chloe [03:10]