I’ve had the first anthology for a couple of years,listened to it once. Just recently picked up two and three,not had chance to listen to them yet. Looking forward to spending some time with them,hopefully soon. ✌️& ♥️
Hi Brian,Great review. You inspired me to just buy all 3 finally on vinyl. I've had the CD's since they first came out, but realise that I HAVE to have them on vinyl (the best way). I'm a lot older than you (55) & have been a fan since I was 6 years old in 1966. I first got caught up in The Beatles at that age when the cartoon series was on TV. I then really got into them when I was 8-9, when Get Back was playing on the radio. Since then.....WOW!
Excellent! I love having them on vinyl and I'm sure you will too. Quite jealous that you got to hear the Beatles on the radio when those songs were brand new. Thanks for the comment!
I have recently pulled these and Live at the BBC out of retirement and been fascinated all over again by the many treasures to be heard on these. All of the Anthology albums and the BBC are great for times when you want to hear the Beatles, but want something different from the proper albums. Also they offer great insight into the Beatles and how they worked on the music.
Brian nice collection of the albums. In the 1980s Captiol wanted to release an album of Beatles unreleased songs but that was quickly shot down by the surviving Beatles. The unreleased song "Obladi Oblada" is my favorite too! Regarding the song "Not Guilty", at least George revived the song and re-recorded it for his "George Harrison" LP in 1979. I wish they had put George's demo of "Sour Milk Sea" that he wrote for Jackie Lomax. I love the ATMP demo too, the guitar and bass are so great. They should have put the version of the song "Let It be" on their too, where Paul sings ..."For there will be no sorrow..." instead of "...For there will be an answer..."
Thanks for the comment. Yes I wish they would have officially released that 80's album of unreleased songs. I have the bootleg of the "possible" album. Its called "Sessions" and I really like it. Worth checking out if you haven't seen/heard it. I agree with "Sour Milk Sea" being poorly missed. Someone online matched up George's demo with the Jackie Lomax studio recording and it sounds awesome. Imagine a EP with 1. Hey Bulldog 2. Lady Madonna 3. Across The Universe 4. Sour Milk Sea
I still listen to these from time to time.I bought the CDs and the LPs brand new (never have opened the albums).I love the outtakes /alternate versions.I only wish that they had continued the series.There is plenty more that could be released.
Totally agree. Anthology 4 could have included: Carnival Of Light, Helter Skelter (20 min version), Now & Then (3rd and unfinished Lennon demo), It's For You (Paul's demo), Revolution (take 10), etc etc. Maybe someday they will release something along the lines of what Dylan has been doing with his Bootleg Series. Also I recommend giving the vinyl a listen. Even though they were prob sourced from the digital masters, they still seem to have a better over all sound compared to the CDs. Thanks for the comment!
Nice video! I have Anthology 1 on CD (surprisingly found at a thrift store) and have had 2 and 3 over the years through other sources. I agree they are underrated. There are some lovely versions of some tracks on them and it's nice to hear the back and forth between the band members. Unfortunately, the Anthology albums are quite expensive on vinyl! I have all the other Beatles albums on vinyl (actually just posted a video about them yesterday) but the Anthologies have been put on the back burner for the time being.
Yes, you're right. I had a friend who owned the Anthologies and had no idea what was on them. I play them regularly. They are a fantastic resource. I especially like the take of 'You've Got to Hide Your Love Away' with the preamble "Paul's broken a glass, broken a glass, a glass he's broke today".
Hi Brian: Yes, you have interested me in going back to listen to the "Anthologies" which I have had since they first came out (on cd) but I don't listen to them very often. I would have loved to have seen the record labels - despite one person saying recently (on another video) it was a bit over the top - however, I guess he/she doesn't understand how much we record nerds love to see the labels!!!! It is always very important to me.
Just got these records (all 3 volumes) today in the mail - I live in Canada - from a seller in the UK. They are the recent De Agostini magazines reissues. They appear to be excellent pressings. Very pleased!
I believe the only reason the BBC was remastered was because they released Vol. 2 and wanted to have both out at the same time in the same quality. The Anthologies were released in 1996 and the 20th anniversary came and went, so unless they are planning a 25th anniversary (which I doubt) we will just have to be happy with the originals.
Excellent point on these albums are overlooked. There is some really great stuff on them. As historic records they have a value all of there own. I don't listen to them often. I am looking to get them on vinyl, though. Just haven't found them at a decent price yet but will keep looking. Beautiful cat, by the way.
Yes finding them at a decent price is what kept me from getting Anthology 1. I finally got lucky when my local record store got a used copy in. I feel like they didn't mass produce the Anthology on vinyl like they did with the CDs. Thanks for your comment!
I love the Anthology's. See if you can locate the ep's for these. The Real Love ep has cool outtakes of Yellow Submarine with Ringo's spoken intro, Here, There and Everywhere(take 7 overdubbed onto take 13) and a live version of Baby's In Black...The Free As A Bird ep has outtakes of This Boy (incomplete takes of 12 & 13), Christmas Time (is here again) and I Saw Her Standing There(take 9)...anyway! Thanks for posting this. You've inspired me to dust off my copies.
Same here. I've been collecting Beatles for years and the Anthology's were a breadth of fresh air. The one outtake that blew me away off Anthology II was And Your Bird Can Sing, which I believe is Take 2. Great! Have you seen the Director's cut?
I love the Anthology albums... however, I would remove the live recordings and replace them with more studio outtakes. Also, I believe that there are some important things missing: Some Other Guy, Besame Mucho (Let it be version), Revolution (the version from the video), Dig It (long version)
The early version of "One after 909" from Anthology 1 is much Better in my opinion than the one that they recorded on the Let it Be Album the Later years
Nice touch putting a photo of Stuart Sutcliffe in top right hand corner of Volume 3. Bad form cutting obliterating Pete Best's face on Volume 1. He did a least deserve a full photo alongside the other 3.
Yes I believe it is standard. I got my frame at Target (if you live in the States) and I got the largest one they offered. It fits perfectly. Good luck!
Are these available as digipak cds packaged like mini vinyl LP’s? All the Beatles back catalogue has been repackaged this way but the Anthology albums seem to not have been given the same treatment
Hi Brian, just a quick question about the anthology series. On the back (track listing) there is no mention of which version of each song it is, that be a demo, a different take, live version etc... is there any reliable source telling one what each version is? I checked online and couldn't find any info other than Wikipedia and we all know how "reliable" that is! 😂 thanks!
I just purchased the album (on CD) and just want to know the exact 'versions' of each track (so as I say, if this mean the take is a 'demo', a 'take, - i.e. 'take 3', a 'live performance', etc, etc). I found this track listing on Wikipedia and is the only place I've found any sort of track listing highlighting the 'versions' of each individual track... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthology_3 ... But is there anywhere else I could find similar info, and/or is the info on Wikipedia correct to your eye? Thanks!!! :)
Hi Doron, sadly no, I don't think they will ever release a remastered Anthology on CD or Vinyl. Perhaps you already know, but they did release a remastered Anthology on I-Tunes and it's still available to download. In my opinion the vinyl version of the Anthologies sounds great. The CDs are ok, a bit quiet and maybe a little lacking in bass. If you don't have the Anthologies yet and you are trying to figure out what format to purchase, I would go with the vinyl. Thanks for your question!
Brian Bringelson would you consider there to be any issues with the sound quality in CD? Say in comparisons to their studio albums, how is the quality?
