Stay Sick!

AMG Review of Stay Sick!

David Cleary
All Music Guide

The Cramps waited four years after their top-notch A Date with Elvis before releasing their next studio album. Most all the songs here follow the same ockabilly-based formula of previous releases. Many of the selections (such as "Daisys Up Your Butterfly," "Everything Goes," "All Women Are Bad," and a cover of "Muleskinner Blues") are cast in a moderate tempo, and the instrumental playing shows minimal song-to-song contrast. Lux Interior's vocals are comparatively reserved (though there are some exceptions, such as the snarling cover of "Shortnin' Bread"). Lyrics, too, are a bit tame by Cramps standards, the major exception being "Mama Oo Pow Pow," which has gleefully tacky verses about spanking and discipline that rival their most tasteless. "God Damned Rock 'N' Roll" is, for all practical purposes, a parody of Bob Seger's "Old Time Rock and Roll." The biggest surprise is the atypically soaring vocal on "Journey to the Center of a Girl."