Cream of the Crap! Volume 1

This collection features "out of print odds and sods" culled from various releases by the Hellacopters, including several of their own singles and split singles with Rocket From the Crypt, the New Bomb Turks, and Electric Frankenstein. These tracks, which were recorded between December 1994 and August 1999, are not arranged in chronological order; however, this musical "smorgashboard" manages to hold together reasonably well anyway. Not surprisingly, the album offers the band an opportunity to showcase its influences through several cover versions; the bands represented thusly include the Stooges ("I Got a Right"), Victims ("Television Addict"), Social Distortion ("The Creeps"), the Rolling Stones ("Gimme Shelter"), and, on the lounge side, April Stevens ("I Got a Lip"). The cover versions range from good ("I Got a Right") to completely unnecessary ("Gimme Shelter"), but they fit well with the original songs on the album. You can hear the Hellacopters' blistering metal-punk-garage salvo throughout most of this collection, which features such hard rock verities as wah-wah guitar solos (e.g., "Tilt City," "Down Right Blue") and lyrics about solving your problems through drinking ("Freespeedin'"). Granted, this album isn't the best place for newcomers to start and it isn't essential for those who aren't die-hard fans, but it's still a solid collection as well as a great boom for completists who don't want to pay $275 dollars for a copy of "Killing Allan" online.