Best of the Beta Band

A somewhat peculiar way to send off a very peculiar band, The Best of the Beta Band is a two-disc compilation (priced as a single) intended for newcomers and collectors alike, with disc one a best-of and disc two a recording of one of the last gigs. Any Betas fan is bound to have at least one problem with the selection of tracks on the first disc. That's to be expected. One notion that nearly every fan will agree on, however, is that each of the band's albums has its own identity and would be better off left, and therefore experienced, intact. (The real nuts griped when the first three EPs were simply bound together.) You do want the albums, from front to back, with all the exposed seams and strokes of genius tied together, as they were intended to be heard. But this is a fine point of entry, containing the five proper singles and most of the other best-known moments, including a lumbering anthem that crosses Primal Scream's "Loaded" with Harvest folk rocker Michael Chapman's "It Didn'