The Cramps “A Date With Elvis”

The Cramps “A Date With Elvis” 1986. Today, February 20th, is Cramps’ guitarist/songwriter Poison Ivy’s 70th birthday (b. Kristy Wallace, 1953). Originally released on UK label Big Beat Records, this copy is the 1990 reissue on red vinyl from Enigma Records and has four bonus tracks. Swampy, campy punk’d up psychobilly, A Date With Elvis was The Cramps’ third studio LP. It’s also the first record to feature Poison Ivy on vocals: on both “Kizmiaz,” a sneakily sweet garage-psych song that is also hilarious, and the bonus track “Get Off the Road” (a track credited to H.G. Lewis, a filmmaker known for his horror films). The record charted only in Australia, at #98. The Cramps released two singles in the UK from A Date With Elvis: one of my favorites “Can Your Pussy to the Dog?” and “What’s Inside a Girl?” The bonus tracks on our copy are the b-sides from the 12″ singles of those two releases. My other top pick is the frenetically choppy “Cornfed Dames.” The original release includes two cover tracks: the traditional song “Chicken” and the bluesy Charlie Feathers track “It’s Just That Song,” both Cramped-up to make a little evil.