The Chrome Cranks -- Diabolical Boogie

If you explored the Cincinnati underground music scene in the late '80s/early '90s, chances are you knew Chrome Cranks singer/guitarist Peter Aaron ... or at least saw one of the shows he booked at various venues in the area. Aaron sparked the Cranks in Cincinnati with guitarist William Weber, then moved the entity to New York City for their extended run (their most steady lineup also featured NYC cult heroes Jerry Teel and Bob Bert). The band didn't make it to the turn of the century, but their face-melting, rubbed-raw Post Punk made its way to the public via several EP, LP and single releases. This post-mortem anthology collects singles, demos and compilation contributions, combining for a solid and representative retrospective. Aaron's personalized liner notes are an interesting peek into the mind of a band that perhaps didn't get its proper due at the time, but certainly deserves a place in the pantheon of the Lower East Side's rich underground music history. Aaron cops to many critics' assessment that the band sometimes wore its influences (Gun Club, Stooges, Birthday Party, Suicide) on its sleeve too blatantly, but Aaron's guttural howl was almost too internal and bleedingly personal to be completely the result of mockery, while he and Weber's slanted, impetuous guitar dueling is every bit as intriguing and creative as any of their peers (if not more). Like those peers, the Cranks rewired and turned inside out their Blues influences, meshing them with primal, often sexual rhythms that had the dank moldiness of a neglected basement. The demo "Remember Me" and the druggy compilation cut "Pin-tied" have the staggering slinkiness of Iggy Stooge at his soul-regurgitating best, while 7-inch tracks like the dissonant thrash-about "Collision Blues" and the train-brakes-scraping-the-tracks rumble of "Burn Baby Burn" show the band's versatility. There are a large number of cover songs on the collection, most -- as Aaron notes -- humorously recorded for tribute albums that never materialized. "Mr. Fingers" by Dayton legends Brainiac is given a minimalist spin (complete with vibraphone), while elsewhere the band showcases more of their influences with unique, hot-wired versions of songs by Devo, Television, T-Rex, Germs, MC5, Daniel Johnston, Pere Ubu and, most improbably, AC/DC (for the record, they did a mean, snarling "Dog Eat Dog"). The Chrome Cranks' crazed yet riveting cacophony found its way onto a few full-lengths in the '90s, but this collection is a great overview of what the band was capable of. (Mike Breen) Grade: A-