Psychedelic Jungle is the second album by the American rock band the Cramps.[1] It was released in May 1981 on I.R.S. Records. It was engineered by Paul McKenna and recorded in January 1981 at A&M Studios. It was self-produced by the Cramps. The photo on the back cover of the album was taken by the noted photographer and director Anton Corbijn.
| Psychedelic Jungle | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 1981 | |||
| Recorded | January 1981 | |||
| Studio | A&M, Hollywood, California | |||
| Length | 40:22 | |||
| Label | I.R.S. (original US/UK release) Illegal (original Australian/New Zealand release) Zonophone (1998 European CD reissue) ViNiLiSSSiMO (2011 Spanish vinyl reissue) | |||
| Producer | The Cramps | |||
| The Cramps chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide |  [2] |
| Smash Hits | 8/10[3] |
| Sounds | [4] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 7/10[5] |
| The Village Voice | B[6] |
Only half of the album's 14 tracks are original compositions, written by guitarist Poison Ivy Rorschach and singer Lux Interior.[7] The rest are cover versions of rock and roll, rockabilly, and garage rock singles from the 1950s and 1960s; these include "Green Door" by Jim Lowe (1956), "Jungle Hop" by Kip Tyler and the Flips (1958), "Rockin' Bones" by Ronnie Dawson (1959), "Goo Goo Muck" by Ronnie Cook and the Gaylads (1962), "The Crusher" by the Novas (1964), "Primitive" by the Groupies (1966), and "Green Fuz" by Green Fuz (1969).[7]
Track listing
editWriting credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[7]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Green Fuz" (originally performed by Green Fuz) | Les Dale, Randy Alvey | 2:09 |
| 2. | "Goo Goo Muck" (originally performed by Ronnie Cook and the Gaylads) | Ronnie Cook, Ed James | 3:06 |
| 3. | "Rockin' Bones" (originally performed by Ronnie Dawson) | Jack Rhodes, Don Carter, Dub Nalls | 2:48 |
| 4. | "Voodoo Idol" | Poison Ivy Rorschach, Lux Interior | 3:39 |
| 5. | "Primitive" (originally performed by the Groupies) | Ronnie Peters, Peter Hindlemen, Norman DesRosier, Gordon McLaren, Bobby Cortez, Steve Venet | 3:32 |
| 6. | "Caveman" | Rorschach, Interior | 3:51 |
| 7. | "The Crusher" (originally performed by the Novas) | Bobby Nolan | 1:47 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8. | "Don't Eat Stuff Off the Sidewalk" | Rorschach, Interior | 2:04 |
| 9. | "Can't Find My Mind" | Rorschach, Interior | 3:01 |
| 10. | "Jungle Hop" (originally performed by Kip Tyler and the Flips) | Kip Tyler | 2:07 |
| 11. | "The Natives Are Restless" | Rorschach, Interior | 3:00 |
| 12. | "Under the Wires" | Rorschach, Interior | 2:44 |
| 13. | "Beautiful Gardens" | Rorschach, Interior | 3:59 |
| 14. | "Green Door" (originally performed by Jim Lowe) | Hutch Davie, Marvin Moore | 2:35 |
Personnel
editThe Cramps
edit- Lux Interior – vocals
- Poison Ivy Rorschach – guitar
- Kid Congo Powers – guitar
- Nick Knox – drums
Technical
edit- Paul McKenna – engineer
- Donna Santisi – front cover photography
- Anton Corbijn – back cover photography
In popular culture
editThe song "Goo Goo Muck" plays during the original dance scene in the television series Wednesday, which led to a resurgence of the song. According to Billboard, on-demand streams of the song in the United States increased from 2,500 to over 134,000,[8] and Spotify streams increased by 9,500 percent since the series was released.[9] Janelle Zara of The Guardian stated that the viral dance trend "may have single-handedly revived Gothic subculture for Gen Z."[10]
Notes and references
edit- ^ a b Raggett, Ned. "Psychedelic Jungle – The Cramps". AllMusic. Retrieved September 10, 2011.
- ^ 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 (May 14–27, 1981). "The Cramps: Psychedelic Jungle". Smash Hits. Vol. 3, no. 10. p. 36.
- ^ Pouncey, Edwin (2 May 1981). "Go for the jungular". Sounds. p. 30.
- ^ Berrett, Jesse (1995). "Cramps". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 95–96. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (May 4, 1981). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
- ^ a b c Psychedelic Jungle / Gravest Hits (CD liner notes). I.R.S. Records. 1989. CD 70058.
- ^ Dick, Jeremy (December 3, 2022). "Wednesday's Dance Scene Brings Renewed Popularity to The Cramps Song 'Goo Goo Muck'". MovieWeb. Archived from the original on December 4, 2022. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
- ^ "'Wednesday' Music Supervisors on Why the Cramps' 'Goo Goo Muck' Was Perfect for Jenna Ortega's Viral Dance Scene". Variety. December 8, 2022. Archived from the original on December 9, 2022. Retrieved December 11, 2022.
- ^ Zara, Janelle (December 14, 2022). "How Netflix's Wednesday became a pop culture phenomenon". The Guardian. Archived from the original on December 15, 2022. Retrieved December 15, 2022.