The Beatles recently announced plans to release a new archival box set called The Anthology Collection on November 21 that features the band’s three 1990s Anthology rarities compilations, as well as a newly created fourth volume. Now comes word that, “by popular demand,” the Anthology 4 compilation also will be made available as a standalone release.
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Anthology 4 can be pre-ordered now at The Beatles’ official online store as a two-CD set and a three-LP package. The collection, which was curated by producer Giles Martin, features 36 tracks, 13 of which are previously unreleased. Most of the recordings span from 1963 through 1969, and include studio outtakes, alternate takes, and a live performance.
The album also features the Fab Four’s 2023 single “Now and Then,” and new mixes of “Free as a Bird” and “Real Love,” the latter two of which originally appeared, respectively, on the Anthology 1 and Anthology 2 compilations. All three tracks were built around demos the late John Lennon recorded in the late 1970s to which the three surviving Beatles members later added parts to complete.
Like “Now and Then, the new mixes of “Free as a Bird” and “Real Love” feature Lennon’s vocals enhanced utilizing modern audio technology. The two tracks were mixed by ELO’s Jeff Lynne, who co-produced the original “Free as a Bird” and “Real Love.”
More About The Anthology Collection and Other Beatles News
As previously reported, The Anthology Collection, which can be pre-ordered now, is available as a 12-LP vinyl package, an eight-CD set, and digitally. The box set includes remastered versions of the Anthology 1, Anthology 2, and Anthology 3 compilations, which were originally released in November 1995, March 1996, and October 1996, respectively.
The volumes featured a collection of rare tracks, outtakes, and live performances from different periods of the band’s history. The songs were presented mostly in chronological order.
The Anthology Collection features a total of 191 tracks. The CD and LP box sets both contain the original sleeve notes for the first three Anthology volumes. Anthology 4 boasts track notes written by Kevin Howlett and an introduction compiled from 1996 interviews conducted with late Beatles adviser and friend Derek Taylor.
The first three Anthology compilations were released as companion pieces to The Beatles Anthology docuseries, which premiered on ABC in November 1995. The program, which aired as three feature-length episodes, told the band’s story from its inception until its 1970 breakup. The docuseries featured then-new interviews with The Beatles’ three surviving members, as well as archival audio of Lennon.
As previously reported, a restored and expanded version of The Beatles Anthology will premiere as a nine-episode series on Disney+ starting November 26. The presentation’s ninth episode is brand-new. It includes previously unseen behind-the-scenes footage of Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr reuniting in 1994 and 1995 to collaborate on the Anthology project and reflect on their shared experiences as members of The Beatles.
The restoration of The Beatles Anthology was overseen by the band’s Apple Corps production team, in collaboration with director Peter Jackson’s Wingnut Films and Park Road Post teams. Giles Martin has created new audio mixes for most of the music featured in the series.
The Beatles Anthology Book Being Reissued
The Beatles Anthology book was published in October 2000 as a companion to the docuseries and compilations. The book is now being reissued on October 14 to mark its 25th anniversary. The 368-page volume is illustrated with more than 1,300 photos and images of documents, artwork, and other archival memorabilia. The coffee-table book features the four Beatles sharing recollections about of the band’s historic journey. Also featured are comments from such close friends and associates as Neil Aspinall, producer George Martin, and Derek Taylor.
The 25th anniversary reissue of The Beatles Anthology book can be pre-ordered now.
Anthology 4 Track List:
CD One:
- “I Saw Her Standing There” (Take 2)
- “Money (That’s What I Want)” (RM7 undubbed)
- “This Boy” (Takes 12 and 13)
- “Tell Me Why” (Takes 4 and 5)
- “If I Fell” (Take 11)
- “Matchbox” (Take 1)
- “Every Little Thing” (Takes 6 and 7)
- “I Need You” (Take 1)
- “I’ve Just Seen a Face” (Take 3)
- “In My Life” (Take 1)
- “Nowhere Man” (First version – Take 2)
- “Got to Get You into My Life” (Second version – unnumbered mix)
- “Love You To” (Take 7)
- “Strawberry Fields Forever” (Take 26)
- “She’s Leaving Home” (Take 1 – instrumental)
- “Baby, You’re a Rich Man” (Takes 11 and 12)
- “All You Need Is Love” (Rehearsal for BBC broadcast)
- “The Fool on the Hill” (Take 5 – Instrumental)
- “I Am the Walrus” (Take 19 – strings, brass, clarinet overdub)
CD Two:
- “Hey Bulldog” (Take 4 – instrumental)
- “Good Night” (Take 10 with a guitar part from Take 5)
- “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” (Third version – Take 27)
- “(You’re So Square) Baby I Don’t Care” (Studio jam)
- “Helter Skelter” (Second version – Take 17)
- “I Will” (Take 29)
- “Can You Take Me Back?” (Take 1)
- “Julia” (Two rehearsals)
- “Get Back” (Take 8)
- “Octopus’s Garden” (Rehearsal)
- “Don’t Let Me Down” (First rooftop performance)
- “You Never Give Me Your Money” (Take 36)
- “Here Comes the Sun” (Take 9)
- “Something” (Take 39 – instrumental, strings only)
- “Free as a Bird” (2025 mix)
- “Real Love” (2025 mix)
- “Now and Then”
(© Apple Corps Ltd.)
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