The Beta Band - The Best of the Beta Band
(Click here)
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
Music CD Cover
Artist: The Beta BandEdition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2005-10-04
Music Label: Astralwerks
Soundtracks:
Music CD 1
- Dry The Rain
- Inner Meet Me
- She's The One
- Dr. Baker
- It's Not Too Beautiful
- Smiling
- To You Alone
- Squares
- Human Being
- Gone
- Broke
- Assessment
- Easy
- Wonderful
- Troubles
- Simple
- It's Not Too Beautiful - Live 11/29/04
- Squares - Live 11/29/04
- Inner Meet Me - Live 11/29/04
- Simple - Live 11/29/04
- She's The One - Live 11/29/04
- Easy - Live 11/29/04
- Dr. Baker - Live 11/29/04
- Dry The Rain - Live 11/29/04
- Quiet - Live 11/29/04
- Broke - Live 11/29/04
- Assessment - Live 11/29/04
- Dog's Got A Bone - Live 11/29/04
- House Song - Live 11/29/04
Free Music Notes for The Best of the Beta Band
Free Music Review: A great send-off for this great band...worth it for the 2nd disc alone!
Hit: 5 Stars
The Beta Band were an experimental rock band from Scotland that disbanded in 2004 after about 10 years together. In that time, they released the excellent Three EPs album, the difficult self-titled album, and their two masterpieces, Hot Shots II and Heroes to Zeroes. So why the greatest hits? And why am I rating it 5 stars?
First of all, for the uninitiated, this would be a great start to try and get into the Beta Band's melodic, textured, swirling and downright unclassifiable brand of music. Tracks from all 4 albums are on here so this would be a great sampler. Then you should move on to buying all 4 of their albums.
For the already initiated fans (such as myself), besides being a nice send-off, the 2nd disc is a live set recorded on their farewell tour. And it's a revelation. As someone who has seen the Beta Band live, I can personally attest to the fact that the songs have completely different characters when performed on stage. Still great but they take on a life of their own. And this live set shows that off and is all the better for it. From a song like Dr. Baker, which sounds completely different here, to the dual drum kit duet/duel of Broke (seeing this done live is AWESOME), live Beta Band is a different beast...and one that will be sorely missed.
In all, this is a great set for the new fan or the established one. And a fitting send-off for a band that will be sorely missed, no matter how much out of the mainstream they were during their all to brief career.
The Best of the Beta Band Poster
With a total of four full-length releases (counting their Three EPs compilation), it may seem a little premature for a retrospective, but since The Beta Band disbanded at the end of 2004, it's understandable. Of course, "understandable" was never the band's specialty. Like an Earth-bound Spacemen 3, or Beck in his more out-there moments, The Beta Band lurched through a sometimes-bizarre kaleidoscope of indie rock and ambient texture, creating solid pop songs out of playful futurism. With druggy shuffles and quasi-trip-hop backgrounds, "DJ" John MacLean fashioned a rolling pastiche of samples and sounds that meshed perfectly with drummer Robin Jones' lumbering beats. Meanwhile, vocalist Stephen Mason's moaning tone and odd but cerebral lyrics (when intelligible) gave a shambling energy to songs included here like "Dry the Rain," "Dr. Baker"and "Squares" (the latter from 2001's Hot Shots II). Still, instrumental breaks like the one that finishes "Assessment,"originally released on 2004's underrated Heroes to Zeros, make it clear that lyrics and melodies are only there to give some grounding to the band's rampant yen for experimentation. The two-disc set also includes a sterling live recording that will make you hope this supposed swan song is just another idiosyncratic indulgence, and that it really isn't over for good. --Matthew CookeAlternative Rock Music CDs
Music Genres
Top music charts in Music that Matters in the long run
Mellowdrone - BoxRelease date: 2006-04-04; Music CD
Best price: $2.71
Price in other shops:
The Helio Sequence - Love and DistanceRelease date: 2004-06-08; Music CD
Best price: $9.80
Price in other shops:
Jimi Hendrix - The Cry of LoveRelease date: 1990-10-25; Music CD
Best price: $58.95
The Beta Band - The Best of the Beta BandRelease date: 2005-10-04; Music CD
Best price: $9.19
Price in other shops:
Cat Power - The GreatestRelease date: 2007-03-20; Music CD
Best price: $9.66
Price in other shops:
Lisa Germano - Excerpts From a Love CircusRelease date: 1999-06-08; Music CD
Best price: $7.59
Price in other shops:
Steve Miller Band - AnthologyRelease date: 1991-04-23; Music CD
Best price: $7.15
Price in other shops:
Jethro Tull - Stand UpRelease date: 2002-01-08; Music CD
Best price: $7.15
Price in other shops:
The Beatles - Magical Mystery TourRelease date: 1990-10-25; Music CD
Best price: $8.87
Price in other shops:
The Dandy Warhols - The Dandy Warhols Come DownRelease date: 1997-07-15; Music CD
Best price: $7.25
Price in other shops:
Top Rated Albums
The Flaming Lips - At War with the MysticsRelease date: 2006-04-04; Music CD
Best price: $5.50
Price in other shops:
King Biscuit Time - No StyleRelease date: 2000-08-01; Music CD
Best price: $4.29
Price in other shops:
The Beta Band - Hot Shots IIRelease date: 2001-07-17; Music CD
Best price: $7.98
Price in other shops:
The Beta Band - The Beta BandRelease date: 1999-06-29; Music CD
Best price: $6.21
Price in other shops:
Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga GaRelease date: 2007-07-10; Music CD
Best price: $9.98
Price in other shops:
The Beta Band - Heroes to ZerosRelease date: 2004-05-04; Music CD
Best price: $4.95
Price in other shops:
Radiohead - In RainbowsRelease date: 2008-01-01; Music CD
Best price: $6.58
Price in other shops:
The Aliens - Astronomy for DogsRelease date: 2007-06-19; Music CD
Best price: $3.98
Price in other shops:
High FidelityRelease date: 2000-03-28; Music CD
Best price: $10.19
Price in other shops:
The Beta Band - The Three E.P.'sRelease date: 1999-01-26; Music CD
Best price: $10.82
Price in other shops: