No one was more shocked than I was when the followup to “Stay Sick” reared its mutant head just two years afterward! By this time, a gulf of at least three to four years between albums was expected. Domestically, the band got shifted from Enigma to their sister label Restless, but I never saw a copy on that label. I had already bought the UK import on Big Beat by the time it made it belated US appearance. It’s advent heralded a sea change in the band’s makeup; steadfast drummer Nick Knox had bid the band “sayonara.”  Less surprising was the absence of Candy Del Mar. In their places were Slim Chance of The Mad Daddys on bass and Jim Sclavunos [Grinderman, The Bad Seeds] on skins. The road ahead would be a bit shaky.

The Cramps – Look Mom! No Head! | 1991 – 2

This opus starts with a bang as the amphetamine buzzbomb of “Dames, Booze, Chains And Boots” kicks the doors down and takes no prisoners. The Cramps modus operandi stretches a bit to encompass the bluesy strains of “Hardworkin’ Man,” “Hipsville 29 BC” and “The Strangeness In Me.” The ball-peen hammer percussion in Jack Nitzsche’s “Hardworkin’ Man” is a particular highlight as The Cramps go all musique concrete on us. Lux spiritual forebear Iggy Pop appears on another cover, this time a duet on “Miniskirt Blues” that seems a tad sedate, considering the history of those two.

The conceits of the album also stray a bit from the peak of licentious frenzy that was “A Date With Elvis.” The only world class double entendre on this album is found on the lascivious “I Wanna Get In Your Pants;” a sultry revisit to the “Wild Thing”  A-D-E-D chord sequence, which is actually about cross dressing as well! Lux sounds really convincing, in case the accompanying photos of Lux in latex fail to convince. “Bend Over I’ll Drive” is actually a single entendre.

Losing Nick seems to have taken some of the wind out of the sails of the Bad Ship Cramps this time out. The brace of covers are more diffuse than the usual Cramps influences. “Hardworkin’ Man” actually dates from the 1977 soundtrack to Paul Schrader’s “Blue Collar” and was originally sung by Captain Beefheart! Some cuts [“Blow Up Your Mind,” “Alligator Stomp”] manage the previously impossible and have the listener checking their watches! Some adjustments would have to be made.

The Cramps – Flame Job | 1994 – 2.5

Three years later, The Cramps were now signed to the Medicine Label, distributed by Giant and owned by WEA. Slim Chance was still ensconced in the band but Harry Drumdini was the new timekeeper. The net effect was that the music began to swing a little more than the last outing; not a bad thing when a rockabilly band is being discussed. In keeping with the title, “I’m Customized” and “Sado County Auto Show” broaden The Cramps focus to the tried and true JD topic of hot rods. “Mean Machine” sounds like a car song, but the subject is actually Lux Interior himself.

The enthusiastic ode to mood modifiers, “Let’s Get F*cked Up,” dispenses with Lux’s usually veiled language and something is lost in the new bluntness. Previously, you could count on Lux devising new ways to talk dirty via innuendo and double entendre. As he began to approach fifty it’s like he didn’t have time for that sport any more. Far wittier is “Naked Girl Falling Down The Stairs,” a creative look at Marcel Duchamp’s most famous painting as seen through The Cramps special filter.

What is side two of the LP version is dominated by almost a full program of covers. Of the two originals, “Inside Out And Upside Down With You” manages to ingratiate itself with the Cramps-addled cranium but “Swing The Big Eyed Rabbit” is perhaps reaching for a sexual metaphor beyond my grasp. A cursory glance reveals that the title has been cribbed from “an earthy novel of love and hate in the Virginia hill country.” Of the covers, none of these make much of an impression, but the smoky late night version of “Route 66” reaches for something of the ideal of their cover of “Fever.” Overall, The Cramps still seem stuck in the doldrums. Was it all downhill from here?

Next: The Cramps reach for the home stretch…