The number ofBeatlesreissues can feel overwhelming, but few fans would quibble with a remastered "Anthology Collection."
The trove of outtakes, demos and live cuts originally dropped in 1995 and 1996 as a companion to the multi-part documentary series that drew nearly 30 million viewers per episode when they aired on ABC.
The three-part "Anthology" audio collection also unveiled the first two "new" Beatles songs – "Free As A Bird" and "Real Love" – sinceJohn Lennon's death,prompting a frenzy among Beatles fanatics.
That collection has been given an extensive refresh as well as an expansion with a36-track "Anthology 4"to complement theDisney+ debut of "The Beatles Anthology" documentary, out Nov. 26 with a new Episode 9 arriving Nov. 28.
Longtime Beatles producer and consigliere George Martin curated the original "Anthology" music. But for this revamp, out now on vinyl, CD and streaming,Martin's son Gilesis the architect behind the various remasters and stereo processing (a subtle spread of the mono signal) for the 191-song behemoth.
While the first three "Anthology" installments contain numerous tweaks that will enthrall audiophiles – a new mix of "All My Loving" from "The Ed Sullivan Show," a new mix of "Help" from "The Blackpool Night Out" TV series and stereo processing of a home demo sequence of "Strawberry Fields Forever" among them – the new Volume 4, also available as a standalone addition, is an exceptional supplement.
Giles Martin, who is the executive music producer on the upcomingSam Mendes-directed Beatles movies, recently chatted with USA TODAY from the set of the films slated for 2028 about some of the previously unreleased material on "Anthology 4," which also includes the ostensibly final Beatles song,"Now and Then,"released in 2023.
The first take of 'In My Life'
The stirringLennon compositionsounds a bit faster and with some slightly different phrasing than the final version on "Rubber Soul," but what struck Martin about it most was Lennon's singing.
"That ability, in the moment, to convey a song in the studio … it's just how good they were," he says. "There's no, 'let's put the drums down first.' It's a finished song (from the beginning). The rawness of that transgresses everything and you realize it's such a beautiful song and an incredibly poignant song for someone so young. And also the vision my dad had to bring out his baroque piano piece in the middle section (of the song) while the boys went for lunch!"
Martin says that he read the words to "In My Life" at his father's funeral in 2016. "It was his favorite lyric of the Beatles."
A rehearsal of 'All You Need is Love'
The lighthearted run-through was fora BBC broadcastthat would be the first worldwide satellite broadcast, Martin says, and the pressure was vast despite the band's goofing around during this take.
"My dad said he was panicking in the control room and there they are and even when they're joking around they're still good," Martin says. "There's that energy in it and all you have to do is put energy in the right place and you get hit records."The band, Martin says, would frequently jest and tease when they knew something wasn't live. But when they knew it was they could turn out something "incredibly iconic."
"It's like the rooftop concert in 'Get Back.' It's just a performance on the rooftop and it sounds like a record."
An acoustic 'Helter Skelter'?
In the new installment of the "Anthology" documentary,Paul McCartneybriefly strums an acoustic guitar and sings some of what would become"Helter Skelter,"one of The Beatles' most raucous songs.
So is there a version of McCartney's acoustic sketches anywhere in the archives?
"No, there isn't. If there was, you'd have heard it," Martin says. "He was noodling probably with the idea of it being loud. Paul had read somewhere thatThe Whowere the loudest band and there was a rumor that they killed fish in a pond from the loudness, like 'Spinal Tap,' they went to 11. So Paul was like, wait a second, we're meant to be the biggest and best and to be the loudest band."
Martin notes that the primal guitar of "Helter Skelter" are much like those in "Revolution" as both are "still very progressive now. This was before people were into distortion. But the Beatles had also watched (Jimi) Hendrix play and were thinking, 'OK…' That's what the Beatles did."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Beatles 'Anthology' addition is an exceptional trove of outtakes
