The Making of The Beatles Anthology 1 Album - What Was Left Out & Why? 

BBC and the Anthologies were the first Beatles recordings I ever bought. It's a backwards way of getting into the Beatles, but that's how I did it.

I'm glad I got the CD singles for "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love" with their non album tracks

The Beatles at the Star Club deserves to be an album in its own right. You'll never hear the Beatles playing so well live. I liked the Anthology series. There were some bizarre omissions and strange inclusions but overall a welcome concept and an exciting time to be a young (20) fan when everyone else was going on about Oasis.

I got this CD for Christmas in 1995 and I listened to it with dad while unwrapping other gifts and having breakfast - so forever in my mind this is a Christmas album, along with the BBC sessions that came out the previous year. I have both on vinyl and play them mainly during the holidays.

I was working at Best Buy in the US when this came out. It was a midnight sale for this only and I still recall the great excitement and buzz when we opened the doors and the fans came flooding in. Best Buy also included a free interview CD with each copy, and all of them were numbered. Being the supervisor for the music section, I got to go through them all and pick out the lowest number for myself (which I still have - #000019).

Has it been 26 years already? Man alive.....I got this on double cassette around Thanksgiving and immediately wore it out...literally.

John Lennon made a statement as part of a legal deposition against the producers of the musical Beatlemania. "I and the other three former Beatles have plans to stage a reunion concert", he said, referring to an event that was to be filmed as a finale of The Long and Winding Road (early name for anthology) so if you think anthology was cool, imagine how cool it would have been with Lennon around.

Anthology 1 was always my favourite, I especially loved the early recordings: That'll Be The Day, In Spite Of All The Danger, Ain't She Sweet, Three Cool Cats & Besame Mucho (this one is especially great) being the highlights for me.

I love that Jeff Lynne worked on the production of "Free as a bird". It probably is the thing that means most to the guy and he deserves more credit,

Crazy how many great songs were dropped off, especially Bad To Me. The final list is still great and decently covers the early era imo. I think it was a good call though to open Anthology 1 & 2 with their newest singles. Just feels right to have them. Loved loved loved the video and never knew about their being an original track order out there. I did have a question about another video topic, is there enough info to cover something like the French discography? More specifically the EPs?

I must admit you do a tremendous job keeping our attention with these videos without being able to play the music. Love it. Keep ‘em coming.

I remember how palpable the excitement was for the Anthology series. I know *I* was excited! :D

Anthology 1 was the first new Beatles release I remember... I was 4. My Dad got it for Christmas 1995 and I remember thinking "wow, new Beatles and weird alternate versions of songs I already know." I was a Beatles fan in the womb. The Anthology is special for me for a fair few reasons (George had excellent taste in cars and seeing him try to scare McCartney in his McLaren F1 was a hoot) but mostly because it was treated, more than most of their archive releases, as something new. It was the closest they came to reuniting as a group and the only time in my lifetime the Beatles were--more or less--active. I didn't know of Live At The BBC until I was in my late teens. My Dad didn't have it and I suspect it wasn't hyped like Anthology was.

Thanks for another great video. When Anthology 1 came out I thought that the inclusion of tracks from the Morcombe and Wise show and the Royal Variety Show were a waste of space. Without the corresponding video they are nothing. Lewisohn wrote of interesting outtakes he heard such as I Should Have Known Better with the Dylan like harmonica intro and I Want To Hold Your Hand, take 2 and take 4. These would have been so much more interesting. In Spite of All The Danger should have been complete being it is such a historic track. You would think that McCartney would have some home demos from that time that his fans would have loved.

Thanks for this video. There are a few points I wish had been addressed. One: the decision to cross-fade the speech tracks into the song tracks so that a "clean" version of the song was not possible. Two: the decision to re-edit two takes of "One After 909" so that the solo was inferior to the edit that had been made for the aborted "Sessions" album. Three: the decision to remove snippets from tracks such as "Shout" to make them almost incomprehensible. If you have any insights on these points, I'd love to learn them. Looking forward to your next Anthology videos.

Love it. Looking forward to Anthology 2 and 3!

The Anthology series is amazing! I wish more than 3 had been released.

I'd like to read a full run down of the notes for each of the planned Anthology 1 inclusions. Out of all of these I'd like to hear John's demo of I'm Happy Just To Dance With You and Take 14 of This Boy. All of the other potential inclusions like the Granada songs, 1962 BBC sessions, the Decca audition recordings and more are mostly out there already. There was also a tape of a lunchtime session at the Cavern Club from 1962 or 1963 that Paul bought at an auction. Nothing from that has turned up anywhere. It has a cover of "Hey! Baby" reportedly on it along with other songs the Beatles never recorded anywhere else.

The fact that some of the Star club songs, John's demo of If I Fell, Happy Just To Dance and Bad To Me and Paul's demo of One and One Is Two didn't make the cut is an absolute crime

I just remember the joy of seeing the familiar Apple labels on an actual new album. :)

I passionately defend Real Love and Free as a Bird to this day. It's a great shame that the achingly haunting Now and Then wasn't recorded.

Great breakdown. I remember ditching work to go to my local Best Buy to get the Anthology 1 double CD. I copied both CDs on to cassette tapes that night so I could take it to work the next day. We all loved the Beatles, but no one had a CD player at work... 😂

I bought all three Anthology sets at the same time. Anthology 2 is my favorite.

I would have loved to hear Paul McCartney singing "September in the rain" from the Decca audition

I own the DVD's CD's & Hardcover book of this set. It is bloody amazing!

The sheer amount of detail in these videos is stunning. It's also clearly evident how passionate you are about this.

Great job as always. I am so glad there has been unofficial releases over the years that have allowed us to at least hear many of these tracks before and after. I look forward to a lot more being released when and if they finally remix the early Beatles albums. Take care

Wonderful presentation, Andrew! It’s always cool to hear the back stories of these releases.It was an exciting time to be a Beatles fan much as it is now with the Get Back documentary. Looking forward to seeing and hearing about Volumes 2 and 3.

Once again, loved the video. The Anthologies is what got me into the Beatles in the first place. Keep up the good work, sir.

It's in-depth videos like these why I love your channel.

It always annoyed me how they cross-faded Paul's interview into My Bonnie. Like come on, give us the full track !

Was always disappointed there were no Star Club recordings on Anthology 1. It's about time they released those! 60th Anniversary Dec 22...? Great video as always.

I enjoy all the videos you have published so far, Andrew. Please, keep 'em coming. Nelio.

Your expertise, insight and love for the music are an inspiration. Truly impressive.

Thanks Andrew for another informative video. Sounds like there's enough for another album in the vaults.

Very interesting and informative stuff! I'm a big Anthology fan, and have all three on triple-vinyl... Looking forward to you covering the other volumes

Stunning effort you've gone to here to explain it all.

Great video Andrew….hard to believe it’s been 26 years since it was released. Unfortunate that some of the Star Club performances were not included as I remember some of those songs were featured in the Anthology film. Very interesting background information. Thanks again!

This was the one I was most looking forward to as I was more interested In unreleased material than I was alternate versions of songs I already knew.

Can’t get enough of the Beatles. They could create one with those cut and I would buy

Firstly how good it is to see you guys taking time out to research and sharing stuff we would never be able to find. These anthology LPs are a great thing for avid beatle fans everywhere and interesting to hear. I was very excited when these were released back in the 1990s and bought the Vinyl, CDs and VHS boxset then later DVD set. I know these aren't go to records but interesting to listen to every now and then. I do believe the anthology series has in my opinion started the re-release boxsets thing off now, from Pepper, white album "Beatles", Abbey Road and now Let it be or Get back. In my heart the best stuff is the originals as they were intended to be heard. What would be interesting what John would of thought of all these outtakes, lost versions etc. I heard those star club recordings back in 1980s on some low budget LPs and thought they were quite rough back then. Look forward to the next video. Please keep up the good work.

That was an interesting breakdown of a good collection of rarities. Great info.

Your attention to detail is staggering. : )

As usual, jam-packed with information! I’m amazed as well, as I didn’t know anything about early track listings. The real shame here is not using “Red Hot”. It’s the absolute stand out of the Star Club tapes, taken at a Prelly-induced unwise tempo that, as the kids say, “shreds”. The real mystery is why the team showed little faith in such obvious tracks as “I’m Happy Just to Dance With You (demo)” and “If You’ve Got Trouble”.

Damn! Now I have to dig out my cd's and start listening again. Merry Christmas all. Peace.

Just made a payment. I'm a latecomer to this episode. Wonderful content. Much new info and gloriously entertaining. Thank you :)

That's just mind blowing! Andrew, you're literally a living Beatl-encyclopedia 😆 Never thought they came up with so many tracks! Now I wonder if we're ever going to listen to them... PS. I hadn't paid attention to manufacture country of my copies until the moment I saw "made in Holland" in the displayed CDs on the video. My copies in all 3 anthologies are made in Italy. 🧐 Thank you so very much!

I bought the CD in 1995, and it was fascinating then. Now, with all the other information out there, it stands out as an important historical recoding for any Beatles collector.

G'day Andrew. Wow the amount of work you go to in order to make these must-watch videos is incredible. I love the small details you add such as emulating the Love Me Do master tapes going in the bin. Your videos are a highlight of my week. Just hope you don't burn out ! I say this selfishly as I would hate not getting any content from you. I am amazed to hear all the tracks that were left out. Would have loved to hear You're My World - even just the 30 seconds of it. All the best to you Andrew. Stay safe and well away from the dreaded lurgy which is Covid. Cheers :)

I haven't watched the 'Get Back' series yet, I will and sure I will enjoy it. Again you've come through with another interesting and entertaining video. Thanks Andy.

I like Anthology 1. To this day I think of it as a kind of fly on the wall look into the Beatles early years as recording artists.

Yet another fantastic and fascinating piece of work !

Another great video, Andrew! Your research and attention to detail is incredible! I think that everyone commenting here could come up with a different running order for this album, according to our preferences for certain tracks. This isn't an album I play a lot as I find Anthology 2 more interesting but again, it's all down to personal choice! Thanks once again.

Thanks for sharing. I heard part of "Anthology 1" long ago. The pre-1962 stuff interested me the most, I recall. Shawn R., Mo-Mutt Music (and longtime Beatles fan)

Entire Decca audition would be a great addition to Please Please Me Special Edition

I bought 2 90 minute tapes of bootleg Beatles demos from the early years-2the rubber soul sessions at a flea market for $10 A couple years before the anthologies started coming out. I wish I still had those tapes, I had them in my Walkman all the time back then. The tapes sounded great, they sounded like a tape you would buy new at a record store. I like the tapes more than the first to anthologies but of course I've bought all 3 anthologies(on CD, I didn't know anybody buying Records back then. I wish I would have bought the records because now I cannot afford them. But you can't change the past, it's a canceled check. Lol.) awesome video Andrew! Very interesting! I love the way they do you can't do that from the awesome Australian concert (it's all over RU-vid). Help, it's been a hard days night and you can't do that, we can work it out 8 days a week Mr. Postman💃🕺

Fascinating video (as usual) Andrew. Can't wait for A2 & A3. Great to be able to enjoy some Beatles related material, as there hasn't been much happening lately ;-)

Thanks Andrew I would love to see those original running order scripts. I remember at the time just been delighted to get anything different from the Beatles, it was a huge deal. Looking back I would love to have heard more home demos and I don't think the 2 singles should of been included. My girl is red hot should of been included.

This albums were such an event for me. I had only just discovered the Beatles' music a few years earlier, and the only bootleg I'd ever heard was the BBC recordings so it was like a goldmine! Free As A Bird made me cry.

Great video! I hope we see some of these outtakes, demos and live versions on future releases, maybe now with more advance technology we will see the release of the star club show or a deluxe version of Please Please Me or A hard day's night

When bbc and the anthology lps were released they seemed to be everywhere!(vinyl) our shop sold dozens of each one up until about 2005 and it seemed the early releases of them were gone!! These LPs don’t show up in the used market anymore like the other records.. just saying how it was here! Great job and great work!! Andrew is the best

The Anthologies were my intro to the Beatles! Especially number 3. I was only 11 when it came out and it blew my mind.

I find it pretty interesting that they considered some of the Star Club stuff for the Anthology a few years before George Harrison managed to get them to withdraw the only "semi-official" release...

Pete Best was a happy bunny when this was released !

I don't envy the compilers of this project. I also understand some of the editorial decisions. As someone once said--it may have been Paul talking about unused outtakes, "They were discarded for a reason!" That's to say, many of these tracks weren't meant to be heard by anyone. However, even if you narrow your list down to those songs that are of genuine historical interest and not just fan curiosity, you still have a very long list. Thanks for this insight, Andrew. I look forward to the forthcoming videos on parts 2 and 3.

Hi Andrew. Yet another well researched video. I purchased my copies of Anthology 1 in the Oxford Street HMV store on the release date. After my initial excitement of purchasing a new Beatles album I must admit I was quite disappointed by the near bootleg quality of the discs. Better quality versions of some of the tracks were available (Polydor had previously issued stereo versions of My Bonnie, Ain't She Sweet and Cry For A Shadow), a true stereo version of Leave My Kitten Alone exists and Searchin' and Shout were unnecessarily butchered. Whilst the album was an essential addition to the collection I still think a lot more care could have been taken over compiling the finished product.

Can’t believe this came out in 1995, only seems like yesterday😳 Great video👍

Fascinating! Thank you

My brother bought Anthology 1 when it came out. At the time I wasn’t impressed as I only liked the original albums but during lockdown I listened again and this time was blown away with how it took me to those times. I’m amazed how much was dropped. Maybe one day a Super Deluxe Anthology 1 will be released with everything that was dropped.

I'm guessing I Saw Her Standing There that was omitted was from what as known as the Cavern Club Rehearsals. At the time of release I was disappointed by the inclusion of dialogue and live performances over more of their studio outtakes and demos. Seems like with anthology 2 they followed format. Thanks for another awesome video Andrew!

In the early 1990’s till around 2004 I worked at a Company in Sydney called Digital Audio Technologies Australia. It was a combination of EMI and Warner Music (the only factory world wide where the two companies manufactured Compact Discs under the same roof as the Austalasian market was small) I was a screen printing operator when the ‘Live at the BBC’ and all the Anthology series discs were first run. The initial run of Anthology discs were priority 24 hour production for about a week with contracted security on all production stations, it was a hectic time but as a Beatles fan myself I felt I was a part of something great. On a tangent, I also remember creating a few possible collectors items by doing a small print run of Past Masters Vol1 in Violet ink instead of Black😬. They’re out there somewhere😄

Excellent presentation. As a first wave Beatle Gen fan growing up in the Sixties as a kid and teenager, Anthology1 was more of a curiosity piece but knowing there was the new song Free As A Bird, really got my attention IMO FAAB didn’t disappoint and stands shoulder to shoulder with their late Sixties work. Written and composed by John in 77 in NY. Middle eights by Paul & George. Jeff Lynne did brilliant production job he must have been in seventh heaven. Often thought it ironic that ELO had had been so influenced by The Beatles and now he he was giving them an ELO influence. IMO Jeff would have made an excellent replacement had they reformed without John The fact that at last Pete Best deservingly got a financial piece of the pie (six figures) through his involvement (pre Ringo) on the Decca auditions was the best thing for me about A1 (Paul had called him, the first time since 62 and said do you want in?) he had been callously dumped and really left adrift so it was really the right thing to do😎👍

We need expanded anthologys

I was 10 when the Anthology series aried on television. It was my first exposure to The Beatles and what started my lifelong obsession. It can not be overstated how massive of an event it was. Now & Then was such a big deal, but Free as a Bird felt bigger. I'm surprised there isn't a ton of coverage of the Anthology project here and that it isn't remastered and streaming on Disney+.

Great video, as always! With 238 comments so far, this may have been mentioned already. You refer to the Beatles' "Bootlegs Recordings 1963" as "short lived." In the U.S. at least, it's still available on iTunes.

fascinating....love your videos

Hi Andrew, Another brilliant video. This is one album that I've yet to add to my collection. I'm kicking myself that I didn't buy it on vinyl when it came out as its very pricey now. I guess I'll have to go with the CD version. It's interesting how much time and effort was taken in making this. ..with 600 tracks to select from ...it must have been an organizational nightmare. But I have to tip my hat to the production team for using the original tapes and mixing console. ..plus getting the original echo chambers up and running again. That's attention to detail. All the best and I look forward to your next video. Mark Anthony K Projekt Gemineye

Very good info brother !!!

I wish they would release the Star Club recordings in their entirety remastered on a nice clean set in every format

your show is THE BEST

love all your video. So educational.

I remember reading about the tracks in The Complete Beatles Recording book where the author had been given access to alternate recordings and unreleased songs so I knew about this in the 80's..

Fantastic content, thanks.

excellent photog , emi 7" box , mixing desk. Amazing!

I know this is bad but I stole this album in '95. I was seven. I'd like to think John would have done the same. I made up for it though by buying The Beatles Rock Band Limited Edition and the Mono box set on 9-9-09. Great video! My Beatles Era!

Very nice video as always! Many things I didn’t already know, so now I’m even more exited for your next video on Anthology 2. I’ve actually never heard any of the Anthology albums in full, because I don’t have them on vinyl (yet). They’re high up on my list, because I think they are an essential album for Beatles fans (and others alike). But, I do know what songs are on there, because I usually look at the track listing drooling over what the songs would sound like… and well, I’ll have to admit that I sometimes could stay away listening to them on Apple Music… haha

I remember queuing up at the Tower Records store in Piccadilly Circus on release day to buy my copy. In those days most music magazines had a picture of George, Paul and Ringo on their covers. It seemed like we could dream that a Beatles reunion could be possible ..Even though it's been 26 years since those days, every time I pass an international newsstand here in Italy, my gaze stops on the music magazines and at least three magazines still carry a cover photo of the Fab Four. Fantastic

This was at the peak of cassette tapes. Don’t forget most people had given up on vinyl and hadn’t fully switched to CD in 1995.

Thank you for a very informative video. It’s an interesting story behind the Anthology project. But how sad that so many of the original tapes had gone lost. About changing tracks … I would have preferred more of the really early stuff. Until “Anthology” came out I thought that the earliest existing recordings was the Sherridan sessions. Finding out there are all these much earlier was really a revelation for me. I remember before I bought the albums watching “Anthology” on the telly. That first episode, especially the scene going down the stairs to a cellar and that tape machine standing there. To me it was pure magic! And when I bought the albums (at that time on cd. Didn’t get the vinyl versions until several years layer) it was the earliest stuff I was hearing the most. I really like “Inspire Of All The Dangers”. And “You’ll Be Mine”. It is so funny. Especially if you know a bit about The Ink Spots. As a parody it’s spot on. And there is something special about getting back to those days, long before they became famous, when they were just some boys jamming on guitars. It is so unspoiled. It started a hunt for other releases with more of that kind of stuff. I bought a lot of lp’s and cd’s with further material. I think it is very exciting following the earliest progression of The Beatles. Even making it a bit ironic, that we usually speak of their experimental period. Because it seems they were always an experimental band. Not in the psychedelic sense, of course. But in the sense, that they were constantly trying out ideas. That very Beatles’ish spirit of trying out any idea, no matter how wierd, seems to have been there right from the first beginning. I’ve been lucky to find what I believe is most of what is out there on various compilations/bootlegs. But what is hidden inside EMI or in Paul McCartneys private collection? Does that recording of “Summertime” with Ringo on drums several years before he joined the band really exists? Are there things hidden somewhere we haven’t even heard of? At least I know from what I found on other releases, that there could have been much more of those things on “Anthology 1”. And also from a bit later. “Anthology 1” brought two new songs from the Decca-session to the light, “Hello Little Girl” and “Like Dreamers Do”. But there is a third one, “Love Of The Loved”. Why didn’t they include that? What could have been removed from “Anthology 1”? I my opinion it is not that interesting with live versions of well known hits. In most cases it is just something close to the studio recording with screaming girls added. So I wouldn’t mind a little lesser of that.

The hardback book is glorious! The entire Anthology is pretty amazing.

GREAT VIDEO ON THE BEATLES ANTHOLOGY 1 ALBUM. IT WAS VERY INTERESTING WHAT WAS LEFT OUT AND WHY. YOU ALWAYS HAVE GREAT VIDEOS. TAKE CARE.

I really loved the collection! But many things were left out indeed. But there were new fresh things added. All in all it was a great beginning to hearing things become “official” and not just from bootlegs. Any luck on the demo of I’m Happy Just To Dance With You? Another great show!

Another excellent video Andrew! As I understand it, though it may just have been hearsay? EMI started to get a bit 'twitchy' in the early to mid 90's because the bootleggers had finally managed to get their act together. They had, somehow managed to pool their resources and got hold of some very good standard recordings of both live and studio material. It was the release of a chronological boxed set of 5 cd's complete with a fully illustrated booklet called The Beatles Artifacts that finally jolted EMI into action. It seems Paul had obtained a copy of this boxed set and felt that EMI should put something out that they had control over. The development of the project is fascinating and your videos are, for me, essential viewing!

IT SHOULD BE A ANTOLOGY 4 IN THE NEAR FUTURE, AND IT SHOULD INCLUDE THE THE MISSING TRACKS FROM THE ORIGINAL ANTOLOGIES.

Great video. Now you have to do the other two Anthology albums.

Great again. 😎👌 Back then in 1995 I was so excited about those releases and couldn't hardly wait, to get the whole bundle ans I still love it. Many tracks I didn't knew until then. Parallel to the TV Anthology Broadcast Version, this was a perfect Christmas for a Beatles Fan. It's a shame, to wait for an Blueray-release of "get back", if you don't have the Disney Channel Account. Their positive music spirit should be a pleasure for everyone. Especially nowadays. Thanxalot for your video!! Greetings from Germany 🐈‍⬛🎶

well done

Great video although it's sad to learn what was left out. It could have been a five volume anthology. Can you provide some comment about any availability and quality differences between the US pressings vs the UK pressings of the Anthology series on vinyl?

Thanks for the vid....When you do volume two it would be nice to talk about the variation between the vinyl and cd format...the physical differences. Danny

11:48 - I think “I Saw Her Standing There” was taped at a rehearsal at the Cavern in late 1962 - and features John on harmonica on the background. There are also a few takes of “One After 909” and Paul’s instrumental “Catwalk.”