After a long wait, Anthology 4 from The Beatles will finally be released as a standalone disc this November but the road here hasn’t been smooth.
When Apple Records first unveiled the project, fans were told it would only come as part of a deluxe box set, bundled with remastered editions of Anthology Volumes 1-3 on vinyl and CD, plus books and the restored documentary series. For many Beatles diehards who already owned most of that material, it felt like a raw deal. All they wanted was the new disc by itself.
The backlash was immediate. Collectors weren’t happy about having to fork out for albums they already had just to hear the fresh release. The sting was sharper given that Anthology 4 contains only 13 genuinely unreleased tracks. The rest, including new mixes of Free As A Bird and Real Love, plus the recent single Now And Then, had been heard in one form or another before.
What’s missing also raised eyebrows. Once again, the legendary unreleased track Carnival of Light is absent. And the long-awaited deluxe box of Rubber Soul still hasn’t surfaced. Instead, Apple has focused on expanding the Red and Blue albums and putting out a U.S. mono box, fine for some, but frustrating for others who’ve been waiting for deeper dives into the Beatles’ studio catalogue.
Back in the mid-1990s, the original Anthology trilogy was a revelation, lifting the curtain on unheard recordings and demos that reshaped the story of the band. Hopes for Anthology 4 were just as high. For many older fans who lived through Beatlemania, that spark of discovery is still there, but it’s been dampened by Apple’s heavy-handed approach.
At least now, with Anthology 4 finally being offered on its own, fans can get to the music without copping the hefty price tag of the full box. Whether Apple will pay closer attention to what people really want – like the elusive Rubber Soul deluxe and long-buried gems from the vault is anyone’s guess.
Anthology 4
CD Disc One:
1. I Saw Her Standing There (Take 2)
2. Money (That’s What I Want) (RM7 undubbed)
3. This Boy (Takes 12 and 13)
4. Tell Me Why (Takes 4 and 5)
5. If I Fell (Take 11)
6. Matchbox (Take 1)
7. Every Little Thing (Takes 6 and 7)
8. I Need You (Take 1)
9. I’ve Just Seen A Face (Take 3)
10. In My Life (Take 1)
11. Nowhere Man (First version – Take 2)
12. Got To Get You Into My Life (Second version – unnumbered mix)
13. Love You To (Take 7)
14. Strawberry Fields Forever (Take 26)
15. She’s Leaving Home (Take 1 – instrumental)
16. Baby, You’re A Rich Man (Takes 11 and 12)
17. All You Need Is Love (Rehearsal for BBC broadcast)
18. The Fool On The Hill (Take 5 – Instrumental)
19. I Am The Walrus (Take 19 – strings, brass, clarinet overdub)
CD Disc Two:
1. Hey Bulldog (Take 4 – instrumental)
2. Good Night (Take 10 with a guitar part from Take 5)
3. While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Third Version – Take 27)
4. (You’re So Square) Baby I Don’t Care (Studio jam)
5. Helter Skelter (Second version – Take 17)
6. I Will (Take 29)
7. Can You Take Me Back? (Take 1)
8. Julia (Two rehearsals)
9. Get Back (Take 8)
10. Octopus’s Garden (Rehearsal)
11. Don’t Let Me Down (First rooftop performance)
12. You Never Give Me Your Money (Take 36)
13. Here Comes The Sun (Take 9)
14. Something (Take 39 – instrumental – strings only)
15. Free As A Bird (2025 mix)
16. Real Love (2025 mix)
17. Now And Then
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