Split Personality

Digitally remastered and expanded edition. An 'Even Bloodier Edition' of the legendary psychobilly album Blood On The Cats which was originally issued in 1983 on Cherry Red's Anagram label. Featuring the original album which successfully combined music from UK psychobilly scene leaders The Meteors, The Sting-Rays and The Guana Batz, US pioneers Panther Burns, Irish punks The Outcasts, gothabilly rockers Alien Sex Fiend and even horror rocker Screaming Lord Sutch to create a suitably psychotic blend. Psychobilly was one of the biggest youth cults of the 1980s, remembered for the followers' gravity-defying quiffs and aggressive "wrecking" dance. The music became an adrenalized mix of rockabilly and punk featuring lyrics often inspired by horror and science fiction films. 'Blood On The Cats' was the first compilation to try to define psychobilly and many fans' first exposure to a genre that, at that stage, was still unformed, being part of a worldwide movement inspired by punk but devoted to primitive rock 'n' roll of the 1950s and 1960s.

A characteristically humongous (8-CD) box set from the wonderful obsessive-compulsives at Bear Family, documenting the Killer's '60s tenure at Smash Records. Lewis made consistently good music during this period, but the combination of his personal scandals and the British Invasion made him a pariah to radio programmers until mid-decade, when he returned to his country roots. Highlights of the set include the entirety of a Texas live show, with Lewis and his crack band rendering various early rock standards at dangerously high (i.e., proto punk) speed, some excellent duets with his (then) wife Linda Gail, and gorgeous renditions of standards like Willie Nelson's "Funny How Time Slips Away" and Merle Haggard's "Lonesome Fugitive." Lewis fans with deep pockets should grab this one immediately…