The Chrome Cranks - Oily Cranks (1997)

During their tenure as New York's kings of garage sleaze, the Chrome Cranks were nothing if not prolific. Oily Cranks compiles 30 minutes of raw demo tracks from the band's early days of gestating in Ohio before their move to the big city. Considering that some of the source material for this disc was of dubious audio quality to begin with -- lo-fi being the Chrome Cranks' deliberate, methodically plotted signature sound -- the quality varies wildly. That proves both good and bad. It is what it is -- the sound of a band developing their sound, going through changes, transitions, moods, amp settings, and so on. But there are more than enough worthy moments, including early demos of songs that would later emerge as finished products on the band's handful of albums. It's also interesting to follow the arc of influence, from the Jesus and Mary Chain-flavored "Comeback" to the number of MC5 and Sonics-styled garage tunes. Not the best place to introduce oneself to the Chrome Cranks, but an excellent place for the avid fan to trace the shape of things to come.~© Patrick Kennedy /TiVo