Seven years after "Ally McBeal" went off the air, fans of the Emmy-winning comedy drama will finally get to see the show from beginning to end Tuesday with the release of the complete series on DVD. But luckily for the show's composer and co-star Vonda Shepard, the wait for Ally to return hasn't been long at all. In fact, she has never really gone away.

During the show's run from 1997 to 2002, Shepard's original theme song and performances of cover tunes represented the musical stream of consciousness of Calista Flockhart's character. The great thing is, the appeal of the show -- and ultimately Shepard's songs and covers -- has a worldwide following that continues to this day.

"About six months ago I did a big European tour, and I just sat on stage and just felt so grateful to have the opportunity to play," said Shepard in a recent @ The Movies interview to talk about the release of the DVD set (Fox Home Entertainment). "Whether it's a club, a theater or a bigger place -- just to play music and get to do this for a living -- I swear I'm so appreciative, and 'Ally McBeal' was obviously a huge part of why that's possible. It was like I was Dorothy wearing the ruby slippers but I didn't know how to click those heels until I got a tremendous break."

The "break" in question is how "Ally McBeal" creator David E. Kelley came to know Shepard. At the time, Shepard said she was 32 and "living in the indie world and playing tiny clubs in New York and struggling." And true, while Shepard was friends with Kelley's wife, actress Michelle Pfeiffer, since she was 19 years old, Kelly didn't really know Shepard or her music.

"When I met David through Michelle, he was just Michelle's husband," Shepard recalled. "So one night when I flew in from New York to play a nightclub gig in L.A. and invited them as my guests, David just happened to be formulating 'Ally McBeal.' It was incredibly serendipitous, as David that night had the epiphany to call me and ask about the music I was playing."

There's no question that using music to tell a story on a television show is a tricky proposition (think: "Cop Rock"), but Shepard said from the very beginning that she had complete faith in what Kelley was envisioning for her to tell the narrative of the show through her performances at Ally and company's local hang-out.

"I trusted David and I knew his track record, so I knew it was going to be something soulful, deep and intelligent, so I didn't have one moment of trepidation," Shepard said. "Life hands you these opportunities and you can choose to walk down the path or not, and I was excited."

Being excited ended up being sort of a self-fulfilling prophecy for Shepard. Her cover of The Exciter's "Tell Him" was what Kelley originally wanted for the theme, until he heard a slate of her original tunes.

"I played all of the producers of the show five songs and David said, 'Well, if you can get "Searchin' My Soul" squeezed into one minute, that can be the theme song.' You bet your a-- I squeezed it in there," Shepard said, laughing.

With her foot in the door, stepping into the world of "Ally McBeal" presented a world of possibilities for Shepard, who not only got to record such classics as "Hooked on a Feeling," "It's in His Kiss (The Shoop Shoop Song)" and, of course, "Tell Him," but leave her creative fingerprints all over them. It was an especially satisfying opportunity for Shepard given all her years in the school of hard knocks -- the experiences of which she put to good use in the re-creation of the songs.

"I was always a hard worker, but I just felt so appreciative to have a job and to be working in the way I was working," said Shepard, who turned 46 in July. "There were pretty much no limits in terms of the budget for music. I got to be the producer and if I wanted a horn section or string section, I got them. I wanted to do a really good job and didn't want to take it for granted. When you do struggle for that long and finally get a break, you don't let your ego get carried away."

Fans of "Ally McBeal" will get to experience Shepard's performances once again with the release "The Best of Ally McBeal: The Songs of Vonda Shepard" (Sony Legacy), a new compilation soundtrack album that not only features her on vocals, but one of her more famous duets recorded for the show -- "Chances Are" -- recorded with fellow cast mate Robert Downey. And while Downey has remained a consistent talent over the years, Shepard said she is thrilled over the veteran actor's resurgence in the business.

"I recently read a big, two-page New York Times article about him in the next 'Iron Man.' He just seems to be in such of a great place in life," Shepard said. "I knew that when I was working with him it was a very special moment in time. It was an opportunity to work with one of the best actors I've ever seen in my life. He was going through a really rough time at the time, but we got to get some good music out of him, and I got to produce one of his solo songs on the last 'Ally McBeal' album. It was so great to work with him."

In addition to such "Ally McBeal" songs as the theme, the cover of Dusty Springfield's "I Only Want to Be with You" and "Baby, Don't You Break My Heart Slow" (a duet with Indigo Girl Emily Saliers), the new soundtrack album features some material previously unavailable on any of the show's compilation discs -- and Shepard couldn't be any more jazzed.

"One of them is 'I Know Better,' which is one of my new songs, and there's also 'Something About You,' which was on the show but never on one of the albums. It's such of an exciting, fun song," Shepard enthused.

While "I Know Better" is also featured on Shepard's latest album, "From the Sun," Shepard said she included it on the new "Ally McBeal" compilation because it compliments the musical feelings she conveyed on the show.

"It's on the new solo album that I put out about nine months ago, but when I say, 'I put it out,' about four people heard it," cracked Shepard. "But the song is the kind of song, that if 'Ally' had been on, it would be on the show for sure. I think people will relate to it because it has a very soulful quality."

For a person who's been the musical soul of "Ally McBeal" since 1997, you couldn't expect anything better.