Anthology 1 (1996)
Disc One
1.Free as a Bird
2.We Were Four Guys...That's All
3.That'll Be the Day
4.In Spite of all the Danger
5.Sometimes I'd Borrow...Those Still Exist
6.Halleluia, I Love Her So
7.You'll Be Mine
8.Cayenne
9.First of All...It Didn't Do a Thing Here
10.My Bonnie
11.Ain't She Sweet
12.Cry For a Shadow
13.Brian Was a Beautiful Guy...He Presented Us Well
14.I Secured Them...A Beatle Drink Even Then
15.Searchin'
16.Three Cool Cats
17.The Sheik of Araby
18.Like Dreamers Do
19.Hello Little Girl
20.Well The Recording Tests...By My Artists
21.Besame Mucho
22.Love Me Do
23.How Do You Do It?
24.Please Please Me
25.One After 909 (False Starts)
26.One After 909 (Complete)
27.Lend Me Your Comb
28.I'll Get You
29.We Were Performers...In Britain
30.I Saw Her Standing There
31.From Me To You
32.Money (That's What I Want)
33.You Really Got A Hold On Me
34.Roll Over Beethoven
Disc Two
1.She Loves You
2.'Til There Was You
3.Twist and Shout
4.This Boy
5.I Wanna Hold Your Hand
6.Boys I Was Thinking...
7.Moonlight Bay
8.Can't Buy Me Love
9.All My Loving
10.You Can't Do That
11.And I Love Her
12.A Hard Day's Night
13.I Wanna Be Your Man
14.Long Tall Sally
15.Boys
16.Shout
17.I'll Be Back (Take 2)
18.I'll Be Back (Take 3)
19.You Know What To Do
20.No Reply (Demo Version)
21.Mr.Moonlight
22.Leave My Kitten Alone
23.No Reply (Take)
24.Eight Days a Week (Sequence)
25.Eight Days a Week (Complete)
26.Kansas City / Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey
Following the resounding success of Live at the BBC, which proved beyond doubt that Beatlemania was not a passing phenomenon but a cultural constant, Apple Corps turned its focus to the grandest undertaking of all: the Anthology project. No mere compilation or documentary, Anthology was conceived as the definitive retelling of the Beatles’ story. It spanned television, book, and audio—each strand offering an expansive view of the band’s evolution, from raw skiffle beginnings to the height of global superstardom. The TV series aired (in abbreviated form) over three nights, while a sprawling coffee-table tome compiled photographs, interviews, and memorabilia—essentially the Beatles scrapbook fans never thought they’d see. And then, of course, there was the music.
Anthology 1 marked the first volume in a triptych of double CDs, promising a treasure trove of previously unreleased recordings. What fans received, however, was a somewhat more esoteric affair: early demos, live television appearances, outtakes, and studio chatter. For the casual listener, this may have felt like archaeology. For the diehard, it was the long-awaited excavation of the Beatles' primordial landscape.
The first disc begins with Free as a Bird, a Lennon demo reanimated by Paul, George, and Ringo more than a decade after John’s death. With Jeff Lynne (of ELO fame) at the production helm—George Martin having stepped aside due to hearing loss—the track is both respectful homage and subtle reinvention. Its dreamy ambiance and layered harmonies feel more Cloud Nine than Revolver, but the Beatles' DNA remains intact. It was the closest we’d come to a reunion, and it stands surprisingly tall under scrutiny.
From there, we plunge into the shadows of Merseyside. Tape fragments from a teenage Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison (pre-Ringo, pre-record deal) reveal a band still searching for its voice. There are early compositions scratched out in the back of chemist shops, the Tony Sheridan sessions that first caught Epstein’s ear, and the infamous Decca audition—still a painful listen. One is struck not just by how rough the recordings are, but how justified Decca's rejection seems in hindsight.
As the set progresses, things begin to coalesce. We hear the Beatles moving from amateurs to professionals, as George Martin enters the picture and the revolving door of drummers finally settles on Ringo. Still, much of Disc One feels like museum curation—a fascinating if at times clinical chronicle of a band becoming.
Disc Two ventures into more familiar terrain, but with twists. Live TV performances, alternate takes, and studio experiments provide glimpses into the band’s evolving dynamic. The earliest stabs at I’ll Be Back (first in 3/4 time, before Lennon aborts with a wry “too hard to sing”) and the embryonic demo of George’s You Know What to Do offer fascinating what-ifs. Elsewhere, we get early passes at established hits—some nearly indistinguishable from the released versions, others startlingly different (an early Eight Days a Week lacks the punchy intro that would come to define it).
What Anthology 1 ultimately offers is not polish, but process. It is the sound of the Beatles learning to be the Beatles—fumbling, inventing, revising. The casual fan, seduced by 1 or Abbey Road, may find the experience uneven or even underwhelming. But for those attuned to the finer details of the band’s genesis, this is manna.
That later entries in the Anthology series would prove less commercially successful was inevitable. The first volume held the magic of origin—of potential. And in that regard, it delivers.