Contents

Anthology 1

Anthology 1
Compilation album by the Beatles
Released	20 November 1995 (1995-11-20)
Recorded	12 July 1958 – 18 October 1964; c. 1977 and February–March 1994
Genre	Merseybeat
Length	124:54
Label	Apple (CDP 7243 8 34445 2), Capitol
Producer	George Martin, Jeff Lynne ("Free as a Bird")
The Beatles chronology
Live at the BBC (1994) Anthology 1 (1995) Anthology 2 (1996)
Singles from Anthology 1
"Free as a Bird" Released: 4 December 1995

Anthology 1 is a compilation albumbythe Beatles, released on 20 November 1995 by Apple Records as part of The Beatles Anthology series. It features rarities, outtakes and live performances from the period 1958–64, including songs with original bass player Stuart Sutcliffe and drummer Pete Best. It is the first in a trilogy of albums with Anthology 2 and Anthology 3, all of which tie in with the televised special The Beatles Anthology. It contains "Free as a Bird", the first new Beatles song in 25 years, which was released as a single two weeks after Anthology 1.

The album topped the Billboard 200 album chart and was certified 8× Platinum by the RIAA. It reached number 2 on the UK albums chart.

The Anthology albums were remastered and made available digitally on the iTunes Store on 14 June 2011, individually and as part of the Anthology Box Set.

Content[edit]

The album includes material from the Beatles' days as the Quarrymen, through the Decca auditiontosessions for the album Beatles for Sale. It is of historical interest as the only official release of performances with Best and Sutcliffe in the band – Sutcliffe, the band's original bass player during 1960, and sporadically during the group's second Hamburg season, appears on the disc-one tracks "Hallelujah, I Love Her So", "You'll Be Mine" and "Cayenne"; while Best, who was the official drummer from just prior to the group's first departure for Hamburg in August 1960 until 15 August 1962 when he was replaced by Ringo Starr, is on Disc One, tracks 10–12, 15–19 and 21–22.

Disc One, tracks 10–12, were recorded at a session in Hamburg where the Beatles served as the back-up band to the English rock and roll musician Tony Sheridan. Some songs from this session were released on the 1962 album My Bonnie, credited to Tony Sheridan and the Beat Brothers. The song "My Bonnie" would be their introductory single in England, featuring Sheridan on lead vocal and guitar. Tracks 21–22 are the only surviving recordings of the Beatles' first EMI session. Track 22 is the original recording of "Love Me Do", which would be re-recorded by the group four months later for their first single. Track 24 features EMI session drummer Andy White, in place of Ringo.

Disc Two contains performances from comedy duo Morecambe and Wise's popular television programme, Two of a Kind, as well as the opening song from their famed performance on The Ed Sullivan Show, which introduced the band to most of the US in 1964.

The flash-point for the album came with the song "Free as a Bird" – the three remaining Beatles Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr re-working a John Lennon demo recording given to McCartney by Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono. Produced by Harrison's Traveling Wilburys bandmate Jeff Lynne, the three added additional music and lyrics, instrumentation and backing vocals, with McCartney and Harrison both taking a turn at a lead vocal. Released a week after the compilation, the CD single featured three exclusive B-sides.

The live BBC Radio recording of "Lend Me Your Comb" was held back from Live at the BBC for inclusion on this album, but it was later also included on On Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2.

Album cover[edit]

The cover of Anthology 1 is the first third of the Anthology collage made by Klaus Voormann and Alfons Kiefer. Various photographs and album covers are torn and collected together. Pete Best's face was torn away from the Savage Young Beatles record jacket in the centre of the album cover, revealing the face of his successor, Ringo Starr, below. The bottom leftmost photograph on the Anthology 1 cover does feature an unobscured Best.^[1]

The missing portion of the photo was subsequently used on the cover of Best's 2008 album Haymans Green, an act described by one fan as "Pete Best's revenge".^[2]

Reception[edit]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[4]
MusicHound	2/5[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[6]
Wall of Sound	84/100[7]

The album was a large success throughout the world. It was the first Beatles album to enter the Billboard 200 album chart at number one. It sold 855,473 copies in its first week, the 27th largest one-week sales in the Soundscan history, succeeding Fresh HorsesbyGarth Brooks. In its second week, Anthology 1 sold 453,000 copies and maintained the top spot. This was repeated the following week, with 435,000 copies sold. In its fourth week, the same quantity was sold, but the album fell to number two, behind Mariah Carey's Daydream. In the following week, the album fell to number three but with 601,000 sales. Anthology 1 was certified 3× Platinum by the RIAA after six weeks in the US market. In all, the album spent 29 weeks on the Billboard 200, reaching cumulative sales of 3,639,000 sales as of April 2001. In the UK, reaction was similar, but the album peaked at number two, behind Robson & Jerome's eponymous album. In Australia, the album spent two weeks at number one in December 1995.

Track listing[edit]

Spoken word tracks in italic.

CD release[edit]

All tracks in stereo, except spoken word tracks and where noted.

Vinyl release[edit]

Cassette release[edit]

Charts[edit]

Certifications and sales[edit]

Personnel[edit]

The Beatles

• John Lennon – vocals, rhythm guitar, harmonica, piano on "Free as a Bird"^[51]
• Paul McCartney – vocals, bass guitar, rhythm guitar, synthesizer and piano on "Free as a Bird"^[52]
• George Harrison – lead guitar, ukelele and slide guitar on "Free as a Bird",^[53] vocals on "Roll Over Beethoven" and "You Know What to Do"
• Ringo Starr – drums, percussion, vocals on "I Wanna Be Your Man" and "Boys"
• Pete Best – drums on "My Bonnie", "Ain't She Sweet", "Cry for a Shadow", "Searchin'", "Three Cool Cats", "The Sheik of Araby", "Like Dreamers Do", "Hello Little Girl", "Bésame Mucho", "Love Me Do"
• Stuart Sutcliffe – bass guitar on "Hallelujah, I Love Her So", "You'll Be Mine", "Cayenne"

Additional musicians

• Colin Hanton – drums on "That'll Be the Day", "In Spite of All the Danger"
• John Lowe – piano on "That'll Be the Day", "In Spite of All the Danger"
• Tony Sheridan – lead vocal and lead guitar (guitar solo) on "My Bonnie"
• Andy White – drums on "Please Please Me"
• Jeff Lynne – backing vocals and electric guitar on "Free as a Bird"^[54]

See also[edit]

• Outline of the Beatles
• The Beatles timeline

References[edit]