It has been a long wait since Apple released the three previous Anthology albums. Anthologies 1, 2 and 3 were an overview of the Beatles' career in chronological order. However, the new release covers the whole career on two discs starting with the first track off the debut album up to Let It Be and Abbey Road.

Like previous Anthology releases, this is not a "greatest hits" or a straightforward compilation of Beatles tracks but outtakes and unreleased versions that illustrate different stages in a song's evolution.

Back in 1963 studio time was expensive, especially for a new group like the Beatles. Most of the recording for the Please Please Me LP was completed in one day. Songs would often be performed "live" with few overdubs. Multitrack recording was in its infancy at the time. Some great tracks were recorded with basic equipment.

I Saw Her Standing There is a great start with "take 2" sounding slightly different to "take 1" which made the final album. Many of the early recordings were already in the band's set so it was not necessary to waste studio time on developing arrangements.

This all started to change as Lennon and McCartney started to deliver numerous new songs for the Beatles. Songs tended to be released on LPs before the public had heard them live. More arranging would take place in the studio. The Anthology series is a great way to hear how a song evolves in the studio. This Boy was the first track that the band recorded on a four-track machine. This gave them more flexibility as new tracks could be recorded with existing material "bounced" onto one of the other tracks.

The Beatles were touring extensively and with numerous television and radio appearances songs were often written while on the road. Many of the tracks for the film and third LP A Hard Day's Night were composed between performances in Paris in 1964.

While the Lennon/McCartney songwriting partnership dominated, George Harrison had started to develop as a writer. Don't Bother Me, written in Bournemouth when he had a heavy cold, made the second album and his next recorded title did not appear until 1965's Help!. I Need You is one of the stand-out tracks from the album. "Take 1" on this album is clearly an early version and before the iconic volume pedal sound had been added. In the film George is singing this protected by the British Army on Salisbury Plain and he is clearly very cold!

Still on Help!, the Beatles return to their skiffle roots with I've Just Seen a Face. On to Rubber Soul. The booklet notes that John Lennon had been looking at writing a song that referenced their Liverpool beginnings. In In My Life be recalls the places and people of his past. Of course, they would return to remembering Liverpool in 1967 with Penny Lane / Strawberry Fields Forever. Nowhere Man seems to mix speeds during the harmony introduction. Fortunately they had sorted this by the released version. Like several of the tracks in this collection it is an instrumental version of the track, the Karaoke version!

Got You Get You Into My Life, a song about pot according to McCartney's book Lyrics, showed the early version of the song with fuzz guitar riffs that were later replaced by brass. The band were looking for a Tamla-Motown vibe on this track.

The Beatles first used George Harrison's guitar on Norwegian Wood (Rubber Soul) but on Love You Too the group developed a more complete Indian sound with the addition of the tabla. The lyrics also had more of an Indian spiritual feel.

As previously mentioned, Strawberry Fields Forever was the Beatles returning to their Liverpool background. Strawberry Fields was a children's home in Liverpool. The final track was the result of slowing down one take and speeding up another. "Take 26" is the faster take and the final elements of the song are coming together. This is a very complex song with new sounds and arrangements especially with Ringo's drum sound. Even in 2025 it sounds futuristic. The electric guitar was played by Paul. He played lead on many Beatles tracks. The mellotron was very much in evidence on this track. It was mostly played by George Martin though the "swirling flutes" at the end were added by John Lennon.

She's Leaving Home, the only track from Sergeant Pepper on this Anthology, is an orchestral version with the harp very audible.

Four tracks are from the Magical Mystery Tour. Baby You're a Rich Man is clearly developing in the studio. Roadie Mal Evans plays an important role for Paul and John! The bass guitar line could be described as throbbing. All You Need is Love was broadcast live on the BBC although the backing was pre-recorded. This version was a rehearsal the day before the broadcast, the first time Lennon provided a lead vocal and with the orchestra. The studio was full of Beatles, orchestra and friends including Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Marianne Faithful and Graham Nash. The Fool on the Hill and I am the Walrus are both the instrumental backing tracks, the latter is the orchestral overdub. Sing-along time.

Hey Bulldog is one of the Beatles' most underrated tracks and less well-known as it was only on the Yellow Submarine soundtrack. Nevertheless, it is an amazing track with an unmistakable piano and guitar riff.

By this time George was becoming not just a good songwriter but a great songwriter. The "White Album's" While My Guitar Gently Weeps is one of the stand-out tracks on that album. One of the most notable things about this track is that it features Eric Clapton, late of Cream, on lead guitar. The CD notes state that this is a later recording than the released one which suggests that they thought they could make it even better.

In-between takes the band would often jam on their favourite songs. Cue Paul taking the lead on Presley's Baby I Don't Care. This leads into Paul rocking out on Helter Skelter. It is often said that Lennon wrote the rockier songs and McCartney the more melodic ones. Well, this is a McCartney track which shows he was, at the very least, the equal of Lennon with the rockier tracks. With the lyrics still incomplete at this stage the song already blows your speakers out (and puts blisters on your fingers). Such a contrast with the following two tracks I Will and Can You Take Me Back before the mellow mood continues with John Lennon's Julia.

Anyone who has seen the full Get Back film documenting the January 1969 recording sessions will be aware of how the track Get Back evolved in the studio. The band were joined by Billy Preston, a friend from Hamburg days, who happened to be in London. His keyboard playing was the glue that held the song (and the group) together. Preston is also featured on Don't Let Me Down. The studio version became the b-side of Get Back but this version is the first take on the roof of Apple in Saville Row 30 January 1969.

The medley on Abbey Road consisted of incomplete songs that were stitched together but, somehow, it works. However, it is George Harrison who contributes the best songs on Abbey Road. Something and Here Comes the Sun have both become classics. George had become a prolific songwriter by this stage. After the Beatles split George was the first to have a solo number one with My Sweet Lord. Furthermore, his writing ensured that All Things Must Pass was released not as a double album but as a triple!

All in all this is an excellent addition to the Anthology line. While every track is a classic it also gives a wonderful indication into how these songs were recorded.

Keep that. Mark it "fab"

Esoteric

Original release: 2025

Essential Tracks