The Beatles Anthology

I consider it everyone's inalienable right to remember their own lives the way they choose to. I've quite blatantly dropped in biographical snippets throughout this site...and you'll probably believe them...if I'm believable.

In the case of The Beatles, it's a little different. Their lives have been picked over again and again by:

• journalists
• writers
• friends
• associates
• malevolent hacks &
• opinionated nobodies like me

The Anthology project is their memories...by the four people who lived them.

Anthology 1/2/3 framed poster 

Now, that memory may or may not have much to do with what is objectively the truth...or it may gloss over important details...but so what? The Beatles were a phenomenon...and, at the very least, Anthology conveys innumerable details that may make their music come alive (once more) for you. So, depending on what your level of interest is, one or more of these three Anthology products may be right for you:

1   the music...out-takes, alternative versions, LIVE concerts from three distinct stages of The Beatles career.

2   the DVD...an astonishing retrospective with 10 hours + extras featuring:

• interviews with The Beatles, producer George Martin, Apple exec. Neil Aspinall
• great concert footage
• TV appearances etc.  

3   the book...a coffee table book and a half! Available as both hardback &   paperback, you may have to consider the hardback version if you're a big fan... because you'll probably refer to it many, many times.

Personally, I'm particularly interested in songwriting and what King Crimson's Beatle-mad guitarist Adrian Belew calls "the naked song", so the demos & alternative takes, false starts and half-songs spread across the 3 double CD albums are mostly interesting... and sometimes invaluable.

I have to admit, I  had little interest in Anthology 1 which covered their "...Moon In June..." Beatlemania period as the songs were, though sometimes pretty inventive, still reasonably simple. I found much more of interest in Anthology 2 & 3, by which time their songwriting had became more complex & exploratory. Trust me, I have listened to Anthology 2 & 3  many, many times...and to see the genesis of tracks like Strawberry Fields Forever or While My Guitar Gently Weeps has been a treat, indeed.

The Anthology albums aren't entertaining, as such...they're more for musicians and songwriters...or the Beatle nut:

The Albums:

Anthology 1

Covering:

• The beginnings the band, starting with The Quarrymen   
• the Decca auditions  &
• Beatlemania +
• Free As A Bird, the first reconstituted single, originating from a Lennon demo

The Beatles: Free As A Bird

The Beatles Anthology 1

"...this CD serves as a historical retrospective...arranged in chronological order. Some of the material is prefaced with spoken words by Lennon, McCartney, and Brian Epstein. The spoken words help set the stage for the material that is to follow. Included with the collection is a 46 page booklet that describes each of the tracks...(consisting) of demo cuts, alternative cuts, live cuts, and bootlegs. One thing that helps is to follow the material in the booklet with the music (which) helps complete the historical experience that this collection provides..." Amazon reviewer L.A. Scene

"...Of the three Beatles Anthology volumes, this first one is easily the most exciting for Beatles fans and collectors...This volume takes fans back to the very beginning to:

• 1958's "That'll Be The Day"...
• ...Then we hear home demos that were recorded in Paul's garage...
• ...followed by the material recorded in Hamburg...
• ...five selections from the Beatles' Decca Audition

It gets better and better as time goes by:

• I'll Get You at the London Palladium in 1963
• All My Loving on Ed Sullivan in 1964
• One After 909 - I actually prefer this version to the one that got released in 1970
• Eight Days a Week - the tight harmony at the beginning works well...
• ...How Do You Do It - the unreleased single
• Free As A Bird - a new Beatles masterpiece...
  

Die-hard Beatles fans will not be disappointed with this set!..." Amazon reviewer Jesse Ross 

Anthology 2

Covering: 

• Help
• Rubber Soul
• Revolver
• Sgt. Pepper
• Magical Mystery Tour +
• Real Love, the second reconstituted single from a Lennon demo

Highlights include:

• the strings-only version of Eleanor Rigby
• giggly, stoned version of And Your Bird Can Sing
• instrumental Within You & Without You
• You Know My Name, Look Up The Number (long version, wonderfully bizarre)

The Beatles Anthology 2

"...This, of course, is the second volume in the series of rare and unreleased Beatles recordings. It's a real treasure trove for Beatlemaniacs. Mostly alternate versions of previously released songs, but there are a few unreleased songs...Hardcore Beatles fans will get a lot out of it..." Amazon reviewer Johnny Heering "trivia buff"

"...Anthology 2 is less a historical document than 1, but the sound here is of better quality, even if the takes sometimes break down. The two disk set covers the period from 1965-1968, so we get a lot of studio experimentation and alternate takes of familiar songs:...

• Tomorrow Never Knows without that cool backbeat that Ringo used to propel the song. Here it merely drones
• And Your Bird Can Sing has a very different guitar instrumental track and the Fabs cutting up in the vocal booth
• Got To Get You Into My Life is minus the horns and with a much more martial feel
• Eleanor Rigby strings-only gives an interesting contrast to how a song is put together and the timing involved.
• I'm Only Sleeping has a mellow vibes intro, then changes to something more like the released version...
• Across the Universe in which Lennon's vocals are spotty, but this piece is still moving and the strings absolutely shimmer..."

Amazon reviewer J. DeTurk

"...There are many songs of note, I am simply going to hit the highlights:

• You've Got To Hide Your Love Away and with minor changes sounds...is unfinished and does not have the ending the way we hear it on the CD.
• You also hear Paul walking the band through a very early version of Yesterday. It is so new that before the song he is instructing John and George...what the chord progression is. The lyrics are finished. The only difference is that we don't hear the cellos and violins that they later used
• Norweign Wood...(which)...has much more sitar than the recording we know
• Taxman...third verse has added harmony of note
• Got To Get You Into My Life...does not have the horns that were added later...
• ...Strawberry Fields shows the progression of the song from an acoustic guitar to the finished project. The evolution of this song is very interesting.
• A Day In The Life is in its very early stages also and it shows you how George Martin was able to put the song together in stages...

...Any Beatles collector needs to buy this as well as the other two Anthology albums..." Amazon reviewer Michael Wheeler "Stratocaster"

Lennon's original Real Love demo from Lennon Anthology

Anthology 3

Covering:  

• The White Album
• Let It Be &
• Abbey Road

Highlights include:

• All Things Must Pass demo
• Lennon messing up on Julia
• McCartney's intro & messed up lyrics to Rocky Raccoon
• the acapella 3-harmony Because

The Beatles Anthology 3

"...First of all I would like to say to every casual fan this is not a CD for you. This is not meant to be a album full of hits that sound better than the previous versions. This is more of a look inside to at them making the songs and a way to release versions that are a bit different. Instead of anthology it could have been called rarities because thats pretty much what this is. For die-hard Beatles fans this is awesome..." Amazon reviewer Eaglesfan

"...This third volume is an excellent CD for any fan of The Beatles. I really enjoyed the booklet as well. This album screams must-have..." Amazon reviewer Anthony Nasti "Tony"

"...Anthology 3, as with one and two also has outakes and unfinished songs. I will only hit the highlights or songs of note:

• You hear 3 unfinished songs from side two of (Abbey Road), Mean Mr. Mustard, Polythene Pam and She Came In Through The Bathroom Window...
• ...While My Guitar Gently Weeps...an acoustic version and has a charm of its own
• Rocky Racoon is still unfinished and has verses that were later dropped
• Something has George Harrison playing the song solo without the band and again he uses extra lyrics that were later dropped on Abbey Road
• Paul doing Teddy Boy (which) appeared on his first solo album
• a very early version of George Harrison doing the title song from his first solo LP, All Things Must Pass.
• (Paul doing) Come And Get It, which was later recorded by Badfinger

Amazon reviewer Michael Wheeler "Stratocaster"

The DVD:

Everything you always wanted to know about The Beatles...but were afraid to ask! Ten hours altogether of Beatle-packed INFO. Considerably longer than the 1995 broadcast version, the Anthology DVD is a treasure trove that also acts as a wonderful time capsule. Open it at your risk, because this DVD should come with a sticker:

Warning! Do not play because you will want to go back to the Sixties, where the music was better and people were a lot slimmer!

Obviously the DVD isn't an escapist purchase like a movie...and you may not watch it again and again...but I see the DVD as a part of History that I, in my own small way...as a fan, participated in. For me, The Beatles' story...is partly mine, so, I'm biased, very biased, when I say that every home should have a copy! 

There are 4 DVDs and a bonus disc:

• DVD 1  The Beatles' early lives & the beginnings of the band
• DVD 2  Beatlemania, A Hard Days Night & Help
• DVD 3  Rubber Soul, Revolver & Sgt. Pepper's 
• DVD 4  Magical Mystery Tour, The White Album, Let It Be & Abbey Road
• DVD 5  The Making of Anthology, Free As A Bird, Real Love + George Martin etc.

Enjoy it!

The Beatles Anthology DVD 

"...Anthology is a 10-hour nuts-and-bolts epic...(and)...virtually every aspect of the band's history is covered, there's lots of rare performance footage (and music by artists who influenced the Beatles, as well) and the DVD transfer is crisp and clear..." Amazon reviewer Clare Quilty

"...The Beatles Anthology DVD set is a fantastic look at one of the most influential rock groups in history. I'm a new fan, so getting this behind-the-scenes look at The Beatles was a real eye opener. Through their own voices and loads of archival footage (interviews and concerts), John, Paul, George and Ringo take you on a journey from their humble beginnings in Liverpool to their final break up concert on top of Apple Records.

I've got hours of enjoyment watching these DVDs, and it's amazing to see The Beatles go from small local band to international superstars. Even though they broke up around the time I was born, watching these DVDs I did get a sense of what Beatlemania was all about. So if you're wondering whether...(it's)...worth buying, I'll say yeah, yeah, yeah!..." Amazon reviewer Alex Honda "onyx575"

"...I thought there would at least be a decent amount of music on here and from what we watched there isn't. If I weren't so **** lazy I would have sent it back for a refund. If you want to know all about their lives etc. and don't care that much about the music it could be a good purchase.

Note to self look up the EXACT meaning of Anthology and other BIG words before making a purchase. :-)..." Amazon reviewer J.D. Foster

                                           The Book:

The Anthology book is big & heavy (even the paperback version) and is presented like a scrapbook, with letters, memos, drawings, doodles etc. making it a much more interesting experience than I would have presumed. The layout is very impressive and there are pictures, many I'd never before seen, on virtually every page.

As you might imagine, the full story's here...but there's also lots of spicy gossip like:

• crazy times in Hamburg
• groupies
• drugs, including LSD
• meeting Elvis
• Paul is dead rumors etc.

...all told in the best humor, with lots of detail, far more than the DVD.

The Beatles Anthology book

"...The group's autobiographical effort is a compelling and, at times, poignant read - with a treasure trove of never-before-seen photographs and artwork..." Amazon reviewer Scott Rivers

"...This long awaited brand new Beatles history contains 368 pages and more than 1,300 photos, many never seen before by the public. It's loaded with personal stories from...the early rough days, their rise to fame, the social changes they caused and how they finally broke up.

It's written as an autobiography...Their tales are filled with humor and they mince no words about their lives and what they stood for. This is a MUST HAVE library volume for Beatles fans and something you'll enjoy, keep and refer to for a long time..." Amazon reviewer Irvin Goodman

"...What I really liked about this book was their accounting of their pre-fame days:

• George Harrison's account of how he and Paul as teens hitchhiked for days, slept on beaches and bleachers, hardly had any money and were just two boys out to see the world was touching
• Paul and John going to Paris together after John gets a 100 pounds as a birthday gift
• The boys almost freezing to death in their unheated van, touring the country (George losing control of it, causing a wreck which injures Neil Aspinall, their roadie, and subsequently getting his license suspended!)

Ringo sums it up in the end when he says that the Beatles' story was about four guys who really loved each other. That love really comes through in this book..." A. Tindell "ajtlawyer"

"...I feared that this book might be a cheap cashing-in. Rather, it's a beautifully mammoth effort..." Amazon reviewer Michael Cluff "Geek-for-Hire"

The Anthology book will really take you a long time to get through it, so if you're a fan whether young, old, die-hard...or tragic and committed, I highly recommend it...but stock up on some munchies first!

For more info, see:

• wikipedia Anthology
• a number of Threetles (Paul, George & Ringo) photos, frustratingly not sequential
• George Harrison: Anthology promo interview with Australia's Today Tonight, November 1995 (9.55)