One of the most talked about musical events 30 years ago was The Beatles Anthology TV special that aired on ITV in the UK and ABC in the US. Subsequent to those TV shows, the band released three anthology albums, each containing two discs of rarities. All these years later the band has remastered those discs and have also released the fourth version – Anthology 4.
The two disc Anthology 4 extends the entirety of the band’s releases. Starting with “I Saw Her Standing There” from 1963 to the 2023 release of single “Now and Then”. In between is a mixbag of tracks. “Tell Me Why” starts with studio banter and a false start before the band bursts into the song from A Hard Day’s Night. A sweet sounding version of “If I Fell” follows before a stop in your tracks version of “I’ve Just Seen A Face” arrives a few songs later. Like stumbling into a folk bar one night and hearing a singer do a spirited take on the track, helps if that singer is Paul McCartney.
“In My Life” is a more stripped down take, nostalgic young man John Lennon with a lovely vocal. “Got To Get You Into My Life” is more rough and ready, leaving out the horns that get replaced with a gritty guitar. One of the compilation’s highlights is “Baby, You’re A Rich Man” that has John and Paul asking assistants for cokes and cannabis resin before launching into a loose version of the track that would later appear on The Magical Mystery Tour. The band sounds like they are having a blast as they repeatedly sing the chorus. In similar fashion, the instrumental version of George Harrison’s “Hey Bulldog” is another blast of joy, regardless of Lennon’s comments at the end of the recording.
An instrumental version of “The Fool On The Hill” is intriguing as is the strings, brass, and clarinet overdub take of “I Am The Walrus” with Lennon’s vocals bleeding into the mix. The instrumental strings on “Something” are quite lovely while “All You Need Is Love” is taken from a rehearsal for the BBC broadcast with the reporter describing the band’s recording techniques. The album closes with the band’s last recordings with Lennon’s vocals used as the basis of the tracks. The 2025 mix of “Real Love” has a bit of a Ringo Starr drum kick and for some, it’s nice to have a physical version of “Now and Then” rather than the overpriced single from a few years ago.
Critically the album has been both treasured and trashed, a feeling of scraping the bottom of the barrel has been noted. A significant number of the tracks have already been released on past expanded editions of individual albums making those songs inessential for those who have paid big prices to already own them. Many of the songs talked about above are the same ones that other publications have zeroed in on as well, there is a bit of a consensus on what the goods are. While there are some inessential versions/takes of songs, there is a span of about 15 tracks in the middle of the collection that are sublime and a joy to listen to. Perhaps inessential but a great bit of fun to have playing around the holidays, songs that are as ubiquitous as the Christmas carols being played every where else at this time of year.
8/10
The Light Appears 