I have read quite a few reviews regarding this album and a majority of them have complained that "Fiends of Dope Island" has no indication of the band's instrumental growth. Most devoted Cramps fans claim that after a 6-year gap, this CD (the first ever to be released since 1997's "Big Beat from Badsville") doesn't show any evidence of the band taking a fresh musical direction: instead the Cramps' outrageous psychobilly melodies are rehashed and recycled from the past, thereby becoming out-of-touch with today's pop audience. Well, I bought "Fiends of Dope Island" and I personally feel that despite the band's age, it would be a shame for the Cramps to alter their signature sound or image just to sell more records; in fact, doing otherwise would mean having to sell out! To me the rock elements on "Fiends" are just as enjoyable and catchy as before; this CD proves that after the birth of the 21st century, the Cramps are finally back in business! A potential classic on its own, "Fiends of Dope Island" contains funny, danceable songs amalgamating references to black masses, psychotic drug abuse, grisly murder, and of course the late Elvis Presley. My most favorite tracks are "Fissure of Rolando," "Dopefiend Boogie" and "Mojo Man from Mars." Primal drums and Lux's sarcastic punk howling fold nicely upon Poison Ivy's guitar (which can erect, sway and slither like a Cobra seduced by its charmer) Of course "Fiends" DOES have a few flaws; some of the choruses are mindnumbingly repetitive, Lux's lyrics are nothing more than random nonsense phrases shouted in a microphone, and also the CD exudes the BIGGEST exploitation a certain 4-letter F-word! The general content here is undoubtedly the most EXPLICIT Lux has ever performed in an audio recording.

1. Big Black Witchcraft Rock (3:28)
2. Papa Satan Sang Louie (2:48)
3. Hang Up (2:44)
4. Fissure of Rolando (3:53)
5. Dr. Fucker M.D. (Musical Deviant) (3:17)
6. Dopefiend Boogie (4:20)
7. Taboo (3:47)
8. Elvis Fucking Christ! (3:18)
9. She's Got Balls (2:59)
10. Oowee Baby (3:08)
11. Mojo Man from Mars (2:59)
12. Color Me Black (4:01)
13. Wrong Way Ticket (4:25)

After Lux Interior passed away on 2/4/09 I pulled this one out because it was the only Cramps CD I owned - I had everything else on vinyl or cassette, and my car only plays CD's. I'd only given it a listen or two when it came out - although I'd been a Cramps fiend since Gravest Hits, I thought that BBFB wasn't worthy - that it could have been recorded by any hard-rock band. Well, after ten or so consecutive listens this time around, I love this disc! True, it's not as good as their early stuff (what could be?), but if these songs with this level of musicianship were recorded by anybody else, this CD without a doubt would be considered the apex of their career. Lux's lyrics have never been funnier or more clever, but the hero as always is Ivy Rorschach and her incredibly great guitar playing - nothing else can bring a smile to my face like her sound. After she recovers from Lux's death, I fervently hope she will resume her playing career - she's just too good to quit making music.

I'm convinced that the Cramps are undead -- they really don't age, and they claw themselves out of the grave every couple of years to release another weird album. This album is pretty much the same as their previous few -- very good in places, but uneven. About half the songs are good, but the other half sound tired and wasted. The Cramps were a little better when they sang more monster songs and strange covers and less deviant sex songs, but nevertheless they can still be witty and entertaining. "It Thing Hard On", "Like a Bad Girl Should", and "Wet Nightmare" are funny enough tunes to justify buying this record if you're a Cramps fan and want to keep your collection complete. However, if you're just getting into it you might want to buy some of their earlier stuff before trying this.

1. Cramp Stomp (3:24)
2. God Monster (4:06)
3. It Thing Hard-On (2:49)
4. Like a Bad Girl Should (3:05)
5. Sheena's in a Goth Gang (2:44)
6. Queen of Pain (3:50)
7. Monkey With Your Tail (3:38)
8. Devil Behind That Bush (3:33)
9. Super Goo (2:27)
10. Hypno Sex Ray (2:26)
11. Burn She-Devil, Burn (2:23)
12. Wet Nightmare (3:36)
13. Badass Bug (2:25)
14. Haulass Hyena (2:53)
15. Confessions of a Psycho Cat (3:32)
16. No Club Lone Wolf (2:28)
17. I Walked All Night (2:49)
18. Peter Gunn (3:10)

This album is a perfect introduction to just what it is that makes the Cramps such a special slice of pure, unadulterated rock and roll. The thing is, the Cramps have been around since the mid-70's and have never let up being the hardest-working band around, never relenting and never slowing down for a second. This album only proves that they set the pace and everyone else is out of breath trying to catch up. This is a 1994 album and outdoes the whole bratpack of rockabilly and garage rock newcomers 20 years their juniors. Lux and Ivy have got it down on this album, an album that never lets up for a second; even when it dips into the slower numbers, it's still got you firmly by the throat, it's just shaking you a little bit softer.

There are so many good songs on here that the mind reels. Stuff that could easily make for a decades worth of underground classics and minor-league hits all get crammed together here. From "Let's Get F'd Up" (a personal favorite and an anthem for all time) to "Naked Girl Falling Down the Stairs" to "Strange Love" to their knee-trembling cover of "Route 66." This surely ain't the best that the Cramps have to offer, but, if anything, it's a clearly marked billboard announcing they never left and they surely aren't going away anytime soon.

Get it, redeem your faith in rock and roll.

1. Mean Machine (3:57)
2. Ultra Twist (3:47)
3. Let's Get F*cked Up (3:55)
4. Nest of the Cuckoo Bird (3:25)
5. I'm Customized (3:04)
6. Sado County Auto Show (2:59)
7. Naked Girl Falling Down the Stairs (2:44)
8. How Come You Do Me (2:16)
9. Inside Out and Upside Down (With You) (2:27)
10. Trapped Love (2:00)
11. Swing the Big Eyed Rabbit (3:39)
12. Strange Love (2:49)
13. Blues Blues Blues (2:23)
14. Sinners (2:06)
15. Route 66 (3:16)

I'm telling you the Cramps give you a kick in the pants with this album. They don't only kick you they murder you with a machete! This album is everything great about rock n' roll raw, raunchy, hard, fast and wet, kind of like sex. They mix all the alchemical musical elements in: Rockabilly, Surf, Garage punk, nose pin punk and a heavy dose of hard rock. Bam! The thing in the lab explodes killing everybody in sight! There is not one bad song in this album from start to finish. Of course they use stuff of different songs in the past like making a collage out of your favorite comics and magazines. For instance they use the back drop of a great surf instrumental called "Margaya" by the Fender Four for a insane Lux ramble about the joys of being a hedonist on the song "Wilder Wilder Faster Faster", they redo the awesome blue collar ode song originally by Captain Beefheart "Hardworking Man" its a low down bluesy song they do to devastating effect, another is "Miniskirt Blues" a rockin' garage 60's sleazoid musical bit by The Flower Chldren they do it Cramps style with a harder rocking beat and its a duet with who else but the king of Garage rock himself Iggy Pop! Iggy and Lux sound like demonic twin brothers. They also do "Hipsville 29 BC" a song by the Sparkles it is a insane moaning 60's snot punk anthem that the Cramps own and make their own before the song ends. Then there is the great "Strangeness in Me" by the unknown Rockabilly group the Runabouts. The original is errie and it seems like something a serial killer would sing to his victim before decapitating the person. The Cramps don't mess with this song they keep it the way it was recorded, Lux even sounds like the messed up hillbilly singing the original.
There is alot of their own originals and they are all damn good! "Dames, Booze, Chains and Boots" starts off the album with a rip snorting bonfire. This track just kicks. Then it goes onward. "I Wanna Get in your Pants" is great. The song sounds as if its a sap 50's love song sang by Lux, double entendres in this song make it sound like Lux wants to indulge his inner transvestite and put on his girlfriend's pants and clothes. Yet it sounds like he literally wants in her pants! Only the Cramps could pull that one off. My personal favorite is "Eyeball in a Martini" the song being about a guy who sees eyeballs all over the place. Ivy plays a cool little surf riff in this song the best line being "Went to Lover's Lane to scan for UFO's /You Just imagine what I saw when I pulled down her pantyhose."
This is my favorite Cramps album and thats saying alot. They put out consistently good stuff all the time. For my money this is the best. Its a damn shame that their stuff now seems to be out of print. Shouldn't happen to a band of this influence and caliber. It seems in these times that all the good bands get shafted. So if you see this at all buy it you won't be disappointed.

1. Dames, Booze, Chains and Boot (4:35)
2. Two Headed Sex Change (2:52)
3. Blow Up Your Mind (4:29)
4. Hardworkin' Man (4:02)
5. Miniskirt Blues (2:39)
6. Alligator Stomp (4:04)
7. I Wanna Get in Your Pants (4:18)
8. Bend Over, I'll Drive (4:05)
9. Don't Get Funny With Me (3:23)
10. Eyeball in My Martini (3:20)
11. Hipsville 29. B.C. (2:31)
12. The Strangeness in Me (3:17)
13. Wilder Wilder Faster Faster (4:55)
14. Jelly Roll Rock (2:27)

1989's "Stay Sick!" is another energetic rock album that clearly marks the highest point of the Cramps' musical creativity. Interestingly, the songs of this particular CD have rejuvenated lyrical elements of the band's outrageous obsession with cheesy science fiction films and off-the-wall frightfests (which were temporarily lost in 1986's "A Date with Elvis.") In fact, the title of "Stay Sick!" was once a spooky catchphrase spoken by Ghoulardi, an early television horror host who became popular in Lux Interior's home state of Ohio. As a whole, this record is fueled by twisted rockabilly tunes, simplified chorus hooks and groovy pop rhythms. Supported by Poison Ivy's raw, vibrating guitar strings, Lux the frontman adapts an audio persona more warped than ever before; while belting out his vocals, he emits a fury of bestial growls, puppy dog yelps and strangely sexy croons. "Stay Sick!" has, of course, quite a few highlights. The CD's upbeat single "Bikini Girls with Machine Guns" is an underground party hit heavily drawn from alcohol binges, psychedelic drugs and a whole other variety of forbidden excesses. "All Women are Bad" is definitely the most well written track here, as it briefly explains how enticing vamps in history led men to their ruin (and why we all love them for it!). In "Creature from the Black Leather Lagoon," (obviously dedicated to the Hollywood monster of the same name) good ol' Lux shimmers his hips in a hilarious Elvis Presley spoof! Speaking of the King, the Cramps' dizzying cover of his celebrated hit "Jailhouse Rock" can best be described as a hyperactive noise riot done after swallowing one too many Twinkies! Beware, freaks and riff raffs: the sexual content on "Stay Sick!" is the most explicit ever presented (other than 2003's "Fiends of Dope Island"). There is no doubt in my mind that it was intended to press the panic buttons of mainstream censorship. "Everything Goes" is a throbbing country tune where Lux pushes fetishism to its most absurd level! "Mama OO Pow Pow" is a naughty barnyard ditty about spankings, bondage and other acts of kinky behavior. However, one of the CD's bonus tracks, a nostalgic cover of Carl Perkins's "Her Love Rubbed Off," is probably the ONE Cramps track that officially crosses the invisible line of obscenity. Snatch this incredible album...IF YOU DARE! ;)

1. Bop Pills (2:24)
2. God Damn Rock & Roll (2:38)
3. Bikini Girls With Machine Guns (3:17)
4. All Women Are Bad (3:08)
5. The Creature From the Black Leather Lagoon (3:06)
6. Shortnin' Bread (2:50)
7. Daisys Up Your Butterfly (2:38)
8. Everything Goes (3:46)
9. Journey to the Center of a Girl (4:49)
10. Mama Oo Pow Pow (2:33)
11. Saddle Up a Buzz Buzz (2:43)
12. Muleskinner Blues (2:51)
13. Her Love Rubbed Off [Studio] (2:58)
14. Her Love Rubbed Off [Live] (5:05)
15. Bikini Girls With Machine Guns [Live] (3:19)
16. Beat Out My Love (2:15)
17. Jailhouse Rock (2:27)
18. Jackyard Backoff (3:17)