Anthology 4 (2025)
Disc One
1. I Saw Her Standing There
2. Money
3. This Boy
4. Tell Me Why
5. If I Fell
6. Matchbox
7. Every Little Thing
8. I Need You
9. I've Just Seen a Face
10.My Life
11.Nowhere Man
12.Got to Get You Into My Life
13.Love You To
14.Strawberry Fields Forever
15.She's Leaving Home
16.Baby You're a Rich Man
17.All You Need is Love
18.The Fool on the Hill
19.I Am the Walrus
Disc Two
1. Hey bulldog
2. Good Night
3. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
4. (You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care
5. Helter Skelter
6. I Will
7. Can You Take Me Back?
8. Julia
9. Get Back
10.Octopus's Garden
11.Don't Let Me Down
12.You Never Give Me Your Money
13.Here Comes the Sun
14.Something
15.Free As a Bird
16.Real Love
17.Now and Then
My prediction is that long after the surviving Beatles and most of their original audience have departed the scene, somebody, somewhere, will still be finding ways to repackage, remix, and reissue Beatles material. The simple reality is that the well ran dry decades ago. The equally simple reality is that millions of people will continue to buy anything carrying the Beatles name. Record executives are well aware of this fact, and releases such as this one are the inevitable result.
This set is, frankly, unnecessary and often feels painfully forced. Yes, everything here is authentic. No one is questioning its legitimacy. The problem is that authenticity alone does not make something enjoyable to hear. It is difficult to imagine anyone pulling out this collection—or any of the Anthology releases, for that matter—for casual listening pleasure. These records exist for the completist, the obsessive fan who wants to hear every studio conversation, every discarded idea, every fragment of tape that allows them to pretend they were sitting in the control room at Abbey Road.
Had the compilation focused primarily on alternate versions with genuinely different arrangements or fresh musical perspectives, it might have been more welcome. Those moments certainly exist. Unfortunately, they are buried beneath endless false starts, aborted takes, nervous laughter, studio chatter, and such indispensable historical artifacts as the Beatles asking roadie Mal Evans to fetch them a Coca-Cola. Fascinating from an archival standpoint, perhaps. Compelling entertainment? Not so much.
There are bright spots scattered throughout. Several tracks are presented in skeletal form, stripped down to their instrumental foundations, offering an intriguing glimpse into the construction process. She’s Leaving Home, I Am The Walrus, and Something appear with their orchestral arrangements isolated, allowing listeners to appreciate details often buried in the finished recordings. We also hear Ringo introducing the earliest embryonic version of Octopus’s Garden, little more than a line or two before the group begins discussing whether it might actually become a song. As historical documents, these moments are undeniably interesting. Whether they justify repeated listens is another matter entirely.
The two "new" songs created for the original 1990s Anthology project return here in remixed form. Purists immediately cried foul, but the differences are unlikely to trouble anyone who doesn't spend their evenings comparing waveforms. More noteworthy is the inclusion of Now and Then, the final John Lennon demo rescued through modern technology. It is certainly welcome, although most listeners already own it thanks to its appearance on the expanded version of the famed "Blue Album."
It should also be remembered that the Beatles have already revisited the Anthology concept once before, repackaging the original documentary series for streaming audiences and appending additional material featuring the surviving members reflecting on the past. Whether this was done for historical completeness or financial opportunity is left as an exercise for the reader.
At the end of the day, it is impossible to be entirely cynical because, after all, this is The Beatles. Even their leftovers are often more interesting than many artists' masterpieces. Still, there comes a point where one begins to wonder when the public will finally stand up, look toward Apple Corps, and collectively say, "Enough."
Go back to the main page