The strangest record to treasure
Dustie Montequis | Ukraine | 06/21/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I'll start with WARNING: don't buy the record if you don't know who the Cramps are, 'cos if you don't, than it would be a waste of time trying to explain what to expect from "born bad vol.5". this doesn't mean that the compilation lacks in somethin' on its own but if you like this kind of music you're runnin' a high risk of already being a psychobilly maniac. as far as I know, this compilation is the fifth record from the series compiled my lux and ivy (from cramps) from their private collection of rockabilly rarities and records that never really made the history they should have had. luckily. 'cos this kind of music is deffinitely not for those who like to be like others. the record is far from being a "psychoattack over europe" as the tracks were recorded long before rockabilly met punk, but the general impression of the compilation is that not all treasures of the era made their transition from "pulp fiction" into mobilephone melodies. in general the record sounds like one exagerated drunken theatric cabare country rock opera. screamin' jay hawkins sings hank williams kind of thing.
the only well known figure on the compilation is carl perkins though 'her love rubbed off' is not the song you'll find in a classic rock'n'roll jukebox favorites compilation. early garage is represented by the readymen's 'shortnin' bread' - a track that is very hard if not impossible to forget, not to mention that it will sing and kick in your head for 3 days at least (if you're lucky). this track could be compared with the trashmen's 'surfin' bird' (already (if I'm not mistaken)presented in 2 versions on other 'born bad' compilations) and with the chips' 'rubber biscuit' (another second-hand digged rarity gem from john water's "cry-baby" soundtrack). freddie & the hichhikers 'sinners' - a haunting guide how to stay away from meetin' friends in hell reminds in a way the huns' 'destination lonely' though it could have sounded completely different on some other compilation. each track is unique in its own strange way not to mention that you won't easily find most of them and would never find some of them on your own elsewhere. so if you've already heard of some stuff mentioned here you'll definitely know why this record would be the frist thing you'll grab to save in case of fire."
