Hot Shots II

Beta Band

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 17, 2001)
• Original Release Date: June 26, 2001
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Astralwerks
• ASIN: B00005K9Z6
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #21,888 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Hot Shots II continues the Beta Band's play with epileptic beats and creepy melodies as they again rearrange a record collection stocked with Pink Floyd, Talk Talk, the Beatles, and the full Astralwerks catalog. A clipped toy piano inspires a shiver on "Al Sharp" while the swirling synth of "Eclipse" recalls Brian Eno's contribution to the Trainspotting soundtrack (which the Beta Band would have dominated were the movie made two years later). The album's deep-bass sounds and obvious craft are arresting, but attempts at the band's cleverness or playfulness expose seams that would best remain hidden. The lyrics of "Eclipse" falter through a satirical allegory of politics, concluding with "the people with the answers," "the people with the questions," and "the people with the books" sitting down to "smoke a pizza pie." While almost every song contains layers of crackling vinyl, laser, or toy-piano effects, it's only in the closing hip-hop version of Harry Nilsson's "One" that the sounds neatly meld. Newcomers to the Beta Band should start with The Three E.P.'s, but old fans will find Hot Shots II a better second full-length than 1999's self-titled release. --Sarah Sternau

Product Description
Hot Shots II is the quartet's most accomplished work: folksy, futuristic, dubbed-out atmospherics and off-kilter pop. Think Beck meets Lee Perry meets Pink Floyd meets RZA meets Beatles. This U.S. version features an exclusive track. 11 tracks. 2001 release.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Breakthrough for the Betas, April 16, 2002

By	A. Hasselwander "ahasselwander" (Washington, DC USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Most people first learned about the Betas from "that movie", when John Cusack puts on "Dry the Rain" in order to sell copies of the 3EPs... sure enough, everyone in the store started doing that by-now-familiar Beta Band dance. "Who is this?" a patron asks. "The Beta Band".

"Dry the Rain" was the only song on the 3EPs with pop potential, but anyone buying that CD was pleasantly surprised at the diverse, driving melodies and rainy Scotland day lyrics. But, that one song kept coming up.

With Hot Shots II, the Betas have gotten past High Fidelity, John Cusack, and Dry the Rain. Oh, and they've also gotten past that inconvenient other CD that happened two years ago. New millenium, new Betas. Hot Shots II is probably the best CD of the year, period, and it is still, incredibly, being overlooked. Every song is an original. All the tracks, starting with "Squares", are incredibly catchy, well-produced, and interesting from start to finish.

And, here's a news flash- these guys can PLAY their instruments. While it would be impossible to generate all of these sounds without a lot of overdubbing and sampling, all the guitar, bass, keyboards, and most of the drums is all Human Being-produced. Anyone who's been to a live show can attest to this.

Specific songs do stand out. "Dragon", a dark song about strange people (I think fellow musicians) is haunting, with an amazing synth bass riff. "Human Being" could be the highlight of the record, the Beta Band's equivalent to "A Day in the Life." The banter between Betas on "Eclipse" between the people with the answers and the people with the questions adds a funny, light atmosphere to the record.

Hot Shots II is the closest thing I've heard to what a new post-Pepper Beatles album must have sounded like in 1968- everything is so incredibly new, fresh, and daring. And it sounds great. You will wear out your CD player on this CD.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunningly beautiful spaced out bliss, August 1, 2001

By	paul escamilla (NYC) - See all my reviews

I had the Beta Band- 3 Ep's album, and although i liked it a fair amount (especially when stoned ), i was not prepared for how much I would love Hotshots 2....

This is one of those albums that takes me a couple of weeks to get all the way through...The reason? Because as soon as the first song has finished, I absolutely must hear it again...and again...and again....

Eventually, I make it to the second song....and the whole process starts again...but after listening to the second song ten times...well, i have to go back and listen to the first song again....

So, after 3 days, I've only managed to get through the first 4 songs....but every minute has been aural bliss to me...

The beautiful hypnotic melodies are layered onto super-cool trippy beats in a way that makes me think I'm listening to what the Beatles would be creating if they had lasted till 2001....

Others may disagree, but i'd say this is one of the essential recordings of 2001, so far....

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The chill-out Beta Band album?, July 19, 2004

By	Ian Watts (Charleston, SC USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I picked up Hot Shots II shortly after I got ahold of the Beta Band's new album Heroes to Zeros, even though I was already familiar with several of the tracks. As the follow-up up to their much-maligned (even by the band itself) first album, Hot Shots II was generally regarded as a more polished and deliberate effort than its predecessor. While the record is certainly better than most of the trash out there today, I would say that it suffers from two weaknesses in the end. The first is its uneven quality; Squares is perhaps my favorite Beta Band song, but Eclipse is either a satire I don't get or simply a silly song with bad lyrics. The final track, a cover of One is the Loneliest Number, also sounds pretty out of place and probably should have been left off the album entirely. Another potential weakness is the fact that the album seems to find its sonic range early on and sticks with it to the end. Upon first listen, many of the songs sound fairly similar to each other. After a couple more listens you begin to appreciate the depth and subtlety of the music, but the fact remains that most of the tracks are assembled from the same combination of relaxed vocals, looped melodies, and spacy electronic effects. Those looking for more spontaneity and variety may want to check out the Three EPs or Heroes to Zeros first. If you're in the mood for some laid-back music with a touch of electronic psychedelia, though, Hot Shots II is a sure bet.