When The Beta Band shuffled onto the scene in the mid-1990s, there were plenty of brilliant young groups of musicians around, but too precious few were doing anything genuinely original. Uncompromising (some say self-sabotaging) and making it all seem so effortless, the quartet hit chords with music lovers looking for a potent blend of bizarre beats and percussion and melodies that soared and soared.
Now, 20 years on, Because Music is set to begin its Beta Band reissue campaign, starting with a Best of and their first and finest collection, The Three EPs.
On September 21 (in the US), the French label will reissue remastered copies of the two albums. The Three EPs will be re-released as a 4LP+CD box, collecting the band’s EPs — Champion Versions (on red vinyl), The Patty Patty Sound (on double yellow vinyl), and Los Amigos Del Beta Bandidos (on blue vinyl) — plus a CD version (pre-order the EPs here). The Best of The Beta Band will be released as a 2xCD set, comprising the original hits package plus a 2004 live recording of a Shepherd’s Bush Empire show in London (snag that here).
Although many nod and point toward those first three EPs as a high-water mark for the Band, there are blinders on all of their proper albums; so, appropriately, everything by the band will be re-released as 2018 rolls on. After these first two comps, their debut self-titled record will get a re-release on October 12, Hot Shots II on November 16, and Heroes to Zeroes on December 14.
Coinciding with the reissues, the Zeroes to Heroes: The Beta Band Archive exhibition will be staged at London’s Bomb Factory from September 13 to November 3. Devised by independent curator, publisher, and organizer of the Catlin Art Prize Justin Hammond, the show will feature the band’s creative and original artwork and scads of Beta Band ephemera.
To whet your appetites for the reissues, check out the remastered (champion) version of their most famous track “Dry the Rain” down below:
The Three EPs:
Champion Versions:
A1. Dry the Rain
A2. I Know
B1. B + A
B2. Dogs Got A Bone
The Patty Patty Sound:
C1. Inner Meet Me
D1. The House Song
E1. Monolith
F1. She’s the One
Los Amigos Del Beta Bandidos:
G1. Push It Out
G2. It’s Over
H1. Dr. Baker
H2. Needles in My Eyes
The Best of The Beta Band:
Disc 1:
01. Dry the Rain
02. Inner Meet Me
03. She’s the One
04. Dr. Baker
05. It’s Not Too Beautiful
06. Smiling
07. To You Alone
08. Squares
09. Human Being
10. Gone
11. Broke
12. Assessment
13. Easy
14. Wonderful
15. Troubles
16. Simple
Disc 2 — Live at Shepherd’s Bush Empire:
01. It’s Not Too Beautiful
02. Squares
03. Inner Meet Me
04. Simple
05. She’s the One
06. Easy
07. Dr. Baker
08. Dry the Rain
09. Quiet
10. Broke
11. Assessment
12. Dog’s Got A Bone
13. House Song
More about: The Beta Band
