Best Of Hawkwind Friends And Relations, The

Yet another of the albums drawn from the stash of Hawkwind outtakes and live cuts first accumulated for the Acid Daze box set; and another that has apparently been compiled with no regard whatsoever for the music itself -- beyond, perhaps, an eye for some of the better-sounding material in the original cache. The 1972 Sundown cuts, the 1971 BBC sessions, and even some of the mid- to late-'70s tracks are, at least in the world of Hawkwind oddities, eminently listenable, and one should never get bored listening to Dave Brock gallantly strain his way through Lemmy's "Motorhead." No, the problem with this collection -- as with the myriad others born of the same low-rent parentage -- is: why do labels even bother? If you're already a Hawkwind fan, you know precisely what it is (fact: never trust an album that includes "Hash Cake 77"); if you're not, you won't care. And if you're undecided, there are around 200 Hawkwind LPs and CDs out there already. What are the odds on you picking up this one? (Er...around 200 to 1, actually.) ~ Dave Thompson