Beatles Anthology audio newly remastered for streaming

The three Beatles Anthology albums have been made available on streaming services for the first time.

The three compilations consisted of outtakes and demos from across the band’s entire career and the double albums were released over a year, starting in November 1995. In America the Fab Four chalked up three more number ones although only Anthology 2 reached the top spot in the UK. Free As A Bird, the single that featured the ‘Threetles’ adding to a John Lennon demo, was also kept off of number one by Michael Jackson‘s Earth Song. A second (and final single) Real Love (utilising another Lennon demo) peaked at number four in Britain.

The music is now ‘live’ on many services, including Deezer, Prime Music, Spotify, Tidal and others. For the SDE reader, what is significant is that these albums have been remastered at Abbey Road Studios by the same team of engineers responsible for The Beatles’  2009 studio album remasters. I’m not a betting man, but one suspects physical reissues of these newly remastered sets are highly likely at some in the near future.

One question remains however, and that is, what is to become of the six Anthology-era tracks that were issued on the CD singles of Free As A Bird and Real Love? These bonus tracks were, and remain, exclusive to those releases and are now something of an anomaly. They aren’t on the streaming services, but might they be included as bonus tracks on some physical Anthology reissues? The version of Here, There and Everywhere on Real Love is particularly good. There aren’t many commercially released Beatles tracks unavailable in remastered form, but these are amongst them.

Free As A Bird bonus tracks

1. I Saw Her Standing There (Lennon–McCartney) – 2:51
   • Recorded 11 February 1963 at EMI Studios, London
   • Produced by George Martin
   • This version (take 9) was recorded after the version released on the album Please Please Me (take 1). The introductory count-in from take 9 was edited onto the start of take 1 for the album.
2. This Boy (Lennon–McCartney) – 3:17
   • Recorded 17 October 1963 at EMI Studios, London
   • Produced by George Martin
   • Two incomplete versions (takes 12 and 13), which both break down into laughter.
3. Christmas Time (Is Here Again) – 3:02
   • Music recorded 28 November 1967 at EMI Studios, London; Christmas greetings recorded 6 December 1967 at EMI Studios, London

Real Love bonus tracks

1. Baby’s in Black – 3:03
   • Recorded live at the Hollywood Bowl: 29 August 1965 (spoken introduction by John Lennon) and 30 August 1965 (song performance).
2. Yellow Submarine – 2:48
   • Recorded at EMI Studios, London: 26 May and 01 June 1966. A new remix with a previously unreleased “marching” introduction with the sound effects mixed higher in volume throughout
3. Here, There and Everywhere – 2:23
   • Recorded at EMI Studios, London: 16 June 1966. This is a combination of take 7 (a mono mix of the basic track with Paul’s guide vocal) with a 1995 stereo remix of the harmony vocals as overdubbed onto take 13 superimposed at the end.