Aside from a trio of their albums, I only have a pair of burned-in memories of the musical oddity known as The Beta Band. The first is, of course, the classic scene from High Fidelity where record-store owner Rob Gordon (John Cusack) wins over a crowd of customers with their most popular single, "Dry the Rain". I already had their quasi-debut album at that point---a loose collection of their first three EP's---but it was great to see that they were getting some attention. The second memory was seeing them live in 2001 at Madison Square Garden (as the opening act for Radiohead); it was a decent set, but the crowd didn't really warm up until they finally played…yep, you guessed it. Sounded great, though.

I never really considered myself a huge fan of the group, but it was easy to see that The Beta Band were something very special. Though they only released four albums before breaking up in recent years, their quirky songwriting and live performances won them a considerable cult following. Why they never made it bigger is beyond me, but their back catalogue is still fascinating in retrospect. From the loose, Beck-like stylings of "The Three EP's" to the stripped-down sound of their last CD, "Heroes to Zeroes", it's an eclectic but highly enjoyable mix of great songs that any adventurous fan of music should look into.

Though a "Best Of" compilation is quite rare for any music group that lasted less than a decade, The Beta Band have unleashed two separate compilations to dutifully preserve their musical legacy. The first is, naturally, a 2-disc CD set of their greatest hits and a complete live performance. The second collection---and the subject of attention today---is a 2-disc DVD set for those with something a bit more visual in mind. Including over a dozen music videos, a handful of documentaries, live performances and more, this 2-disc set is packed with goodness that fans should certainly look into. From top to bottom, below is a list of what's included in The Best of The Beta Band: Film.

As evidenced by the screen captures, there are two things that you can say about this release: there's some odd footage on here...and all of it's really low budget. Fair enough, especially since this mirrors their attitude towards music---it's based much more on quirky ideas and experimentation than slick production and polish. The trailers are curious little promotional pieces starring band members, though I'll admit the only one that immediately jumped out was "Highland Fidelity" (a parody of the infamous movie scene). The documentaries were one of the biggest highlights here, compiling plenty of tongue-in-cheek moments and general goofiness in a more streamlined format, while the live footage is slightly hit-or-miss though still quite entertaining. Those who enjoy the band's music but don't know much about the actual group (like me!) will probably benefit the most from this collection, but die-hard fans will certainly enjoy most everything on display as well. Those relatively new to The Beta Band may find a few things going over their heads, but that's just part of the fun.

Overall, it's quite a well-rounded release and a fantastic souvenir for anyone itching to see more from such a talented and underappreciated band. It's worth noting that this 2-disc set should be graded on a slightly different scale than more traditional DVD releases, though: the content listed above displaces the need for typical bonus materials, while the technical presentation is about as good as it gets for low-budget music videos and the like. In any case, this nicely packed 2-disc set is a fine retrospective for The Beta Band and is certainly worth a closer look. Shall we?

The audio offers an improvement and ranges from good to…well, CD quality for the music videos. This DVD appears to be presented in a straightforward Dolby 2.0 Surround mix, offering little in the way of surround activity but plenty of clarity on nearly all counts. Even the trailers and live shows don't sound half-bad, but some of the source material for each sounds a little on the rough side. Unfortunately, no optional subtitles or Closed Captions have been provided for this release.

Menu Design, Presentation & Packaging:

Mirroring the style of the band's album packaging, the layout and design of the menus (above) is simple and easy to navigate, though some of the fonts are hard to read. Each section of footage is given its own chapter, while most all sections have a handy "Play All" option as well. The packaging itself is easily recognizable, as the front cover contains elements of all four of The Beta Band's album covers. Just for the record, this 2-disc set is housed in a digipak case with a nice slipcover and booklet, while the DVDs themselves are "stacked" on top of each other in separate holders.

Due to the nature of this DVD release, the total content stands on its own---so don't let the negligible rating for this department fool you. Outside of optional band commentary or more live performances, I doubt there was much more that could have been included here.

For any fan of The Beta Band, this 2-disc set is a great release that's packed with relatively unseen footage and other goodies. Followers of this most unique band will certainly want to pick up the DVD collection, while those new to the group will most likely be better off picking up the CD version (or another of their albums). Either way, it's pretty tough to go wrong. Filled with creativity, humor and (most importantly) great music, The Best of the Beta Band: Film is worth its weight in gold for those who lamented the group's passing. It's well worth digging through and comes Recommended.