Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Thoroughly original and pushing the envelope of modern music, February 25, 2000
I read a review in SPIN or Rolling Stone where they touted the Beta Band as the divining rod pointing the way where all music was sure to head or evolve. Now, while I knew that they could not be the second coming of music as we know it, I am a fan of other artists on the Astralwerks label and figured that a BAND that was released through a label synonymous with DJ's, breakbeats, trip-hop and such - was definitely worth a listen. The opening track - while some find to be insanely creative - I found to be wierd for weird's sake, that is until the transition into the rest of the album kicked in...fluid from one song to the next. There is probably no instrument left unplayed, no genre unexplored or mixed with (notably: "Broken Up A Ding Dong" which uses driving folk guitars, soft - almost passive vocals, with steel drums and an accelerated almost ska-like breakdown). The hip-hop style tracks are evocative of Beck in many ways (lazy, free form, odd-time signature lyrics) and the layering of the elements never gets in the way of the appreciation of the song as a whole but instead provides new discoveries with each listen. Nothing like this is out there - and quite possibly there will never be. All the more reason to own it.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
don't you get it?, November 17, 2003
Some of these reviews are the dumbest things I've ever seen. One actually said to avoid this until it is considered a classic in 20 years! Can you imagine someone who is such a sheep that they will not pay attention to this until it is considered good by other people?
Simply put, this album is insane. It's elements of insanity often don't fit together precisely, but that's kind of the point; any craziness that works in a linear and smooth fashion is just posing as genuine insanity if you ask me. This is the sound of a band just having fun, and pushing whatever madness they can think of to the absolute limit of listenability. There are times when this album doesn't "work"--many times in fact. But that's what makes it so special in my mind; the fact that they knew they weren't making something consistently wonderful but they made it anyway in the hopes that some of it would be worthwhile, that the recording process itself would reveal something about them as musicians and as people. I think the band themselves say not to buy it because ultimately its not even for our consumption; its a working out of their own demons.
Then why release it in the first place, you ask? Because there will be people like me (and there are a lot of us) who will like it for what it is. We have no expectations for it, we don't put our unreasonable ideas of what the Beta Band is "supposed" to sound like on it just because we have heard "The Three E.P.'s". We listen to this album on its own terms, and even if part of those terms is that the band themselves don't like it, I'm willing to accept that. I like this album. I respect the fact that many people don't, but some of the reasons out there are really dumb, in my mind. If you're thinking of buying it, just listen to the sound samples, and think about how much of that you can take. That's my suggestion. Hopefully you'll come to the right choice, and decide to buy it and love it or not buy it when you would've hated it anyway. I've been talking for too long. Bye.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Befuddled by the Beta Band, July 8, 1999
By A Customer
This cd does stand up with the 3eps. If you enjoyed the tripped out melodies on the 3eps like Dry the Rain, Dr Baker, and Needles In My Eyes then you will feel right at home with tracks like Its Not Too Beautiful, Number 15, The Hard One and The Cow's Wrong. However if you prefered the more quirky beat filled tracks off the 3eps like The House Song, and B + A then Dance Oer the Border, and Broken Up a Dingdong will have you happily bouncing along. But IMHO neither the 3eps nor this cd can compare to what this band can do live. Any comparisons to other cds will leave you with an incomplete picture, this band is one of the most original bands that I have ever heard. If you are new to the Beta Band file this in between the sounds of the early Verve, mixed with the beats that Beck offers, and a touch of Syd Barrett to bring it all together.
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by The Beta Band 
