Songs the Lord Taught Us
Songs the Lord Taught Us is the debut album by the American rock band the Cramps. It was released in 1980 on I.R.S. Records in America and Illegal Records in England. In 2020, Rolling Stone included Songs the Lord Taught Us in their "80 Greatest albums of 1980" list, praising the band for its "psychobilly sound that went way beyond the kitschiest moments of the Ramones or Blondie and into a whole new realm of garage-trash novelty".[3]
| Songs the Lord Taught Us | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1980 | |||
| Recorded | 1979-1980 | |||
| Studio | Phillips Recording, Memphis, TN | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 37:53 | |||
| Label | I.R.S. (original US release) Illegal (original UK release) Zonophone (1998 European CD reissue) ViNiLiSSSiMO 2011 Spanish vinyl reissue) | |||
| Producer | Alex Chilton | |||
| The Cramps chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Songs the Lord Taught Us | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [4] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | B−[5] |
| Pitchfork | 8.7/10[6] |
| Record Mirror | [7] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide |  [8] |
| Smash Hits | 7½/10[9] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 8/10[10] |
| Tom Hull – on the Web | B+ ( )[11] |
Track listing
Writing credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[12]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "TV Set" | Poison Ivy Rorschach, Lux Interior | 3:12 |
| 2. | "Rock on the Moon" (originally performed by Jimmy Stewart) | Jimmy Stewart | 1:53 |
| 3. | "Garbageman" | Rorschach, Interior | 3:37 |
| 4. | "I Was a Teenage Werewolf" | Rorschach, Interior | 3:03 |
| 5. | "Sunglasses After Dark" (originally performed by Dwight "Whitey" Pullen; contains an interpretation of "Ace of Spades", originally performed by Link Wray[13]) | Rorschach, Interior, Dwight Pullen, Link Wray | 3:47 |
| 6. | "The Mad Daddy" | Rorschach, Interior | 3:48 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7. | "Mystery Plane" | Rorschach, Interior | 2:43 |
| 8. | "Zombie Dance" | Rorschach, Interior | 1:55 |
| 9. | "What's Behind the Mask" | Rorschach, Interior | 2:05 |
| 10. | "Strychnine" (originally performed by the Sonics) | Gerry Roslie | 2:24 |
| 11. | "I'm Cramped" | Rorschach, Interior, Bryan Gregory, Nick Knox | 2:37 |
| 12. | "Tear It Up" (originally performed by Johnny Burnette and the Rock and Roll Trio) | Johnny Burnette, Dorsey Burnette, Paul Burlison | 2:32 |
| 13. | "Fever" (originally performed by Little Willie John) | John Davenport (Otis Blackwell), Eddie Cooley | 4:17 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14. | "I Was a Teenage Werewolf" (With False Start) (Original Mix) | Rorschach, Interior | 4:48 |
| 15. | "Mystery Plane" (Original Mix) | Rorschach, Interior | 2:39 |
| 16. | "Twist and Shout" | Rorschach, Interior | 2:32 |
| 17. | "I'm Cramped" (Original Mix) | Rorschach, Interior, Gregory, Knox | 2:37 |
| 18. | "The Mad Daddy" (Original Mix) | Rorschach, Interior | 3:15 |
Personnel
The Cramps
- Lux Interior – vocals
- Poison Ivy Rorschach – guitar
- Bryan Gregory – guitar
- Nick Knox – drums
Technical
- Alex Chilton – producer
- John Hampton – engineer
- Carl Grasso – art direction
- The Cramps – sleeve concept, mixing
- David Arnoff – photography
References
- Heller, Jason (March 30, 2015). "Where to start with the primal sound of garage rock". The A.V. Club. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
- Hull, Tom (October 12, 2020). "Music Week". Tom Hull – on the Web. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
- "The 80 Greatest Albums of 1980". Rolling Stone. 11 November 2020. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
- Raggett, Ned. "Songs the Lord Taught Us – The Cramps". AllMusic. Retrieved September 10, 2011.
- Christgau, Robert (1990). "The Cramps: Songs the Lord Taught Us". Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s. Pantheon Books. ISBN 0-679-73015-X. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
- Gaca, Anna (October 25, 2020). "The Cramps: Songs the Lord Taught Us". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
- Westwood, Chris (March 8, 1980). "A Dose of the Cramps". Record Mirror. p. 12.
- Considine, J. D. (2004). "The Cramps". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 197–98. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- Hepworth, David (March 20 – April 2, 1980). "The Cramps: Songs the Lord Taught Us". Smash Hits. Vol. 2, no. 6. p. 31.
- Berrett, Jesse (1995). "Cramps". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 95–96. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
- Hull, Tom (October 12, 2020). "Music Week". Tom Hull – on the Web. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
- Songs the Lord Taught Us (CD liner notes). I.R.S. Records. 1989. CD 00007.
- Savage, Jon (November 3, 2009). "Jon Savage on song: Link Wray plays his Ace". The Guardian. theguardian.com. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
Link Wray liked the riff so much he recorded another faster version that didn't quite match the original. No matter. The Cramps were such big fans that they pinched it for their ludicrous yet scary 1978 remake of Dwight Pullen's 'Sunglasses After Dark' – helping to relaunch the Link for a new generation.
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