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Table of Contents
“The Beatles: 1”
The Beatles: 1 is a compilation album by the English rock band the Beatles, originally released on 13 November 2000. The album features virtually every number-one single the band achieved in the United Kingdom and United States from 1962 to 1970. It also includes “Yesterday”, which was number one in America but only reached number two in Britain.
1 was a commercial success upon its release, selling over 31 million copies worldwide. In the United States, it became the best-selling album of the year and was certified 11× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In the United Kingdom, 1 spent nine weeks at number one on the UK Albums Chart and was certified nine times platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).
Critical reception to 1 was positive. AllMusic described it as “an effective retrospective of the Beatles’ U.S. chart domination during the years 1964–1970.” Music journalist Robert Christgau wrote that with 1, “the Beatles finally get their due as what they were: great artists who transcended their era.”
“Abbey Road”
There are few albums in music history as iconic as The Beatles’ Abbey Road. Released in 1969, it was the last album recorded by the band (although Let It Be would be released after their break-up), and it stands as one of their strongest works.
The album opens with the classic “Come Together,” a driving rocker with some of John Lennon’s most memorable lyrics. From there, the album flows seamlessly through a variety of styles and moods. Paul McCartney’s “Something” is a beautiful ballad, while George Harrison’s “Here Comes the Sun” is a sunny ode to better days. Ringo Starr’s “Octopus’s Garden” is a playful romp, and Lennon’s “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” is a dark and atmospheric closer.
Throughout, the band sounds tight and focused, playing with an intensity that belies the fact that they were on the verge of breaking up. Abbey Road is a fitting swan song for The Beatles, and an essential piece of their legacy.
“Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”
If you’re looking for an album that perfectly captures the spirit of 1967, look no further than The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Equal parts psychedelic and pop, the album is a timeless classic that still sounds fresh today.
The album opens with the title track, a rousing anthem that sets the tone for the rest of the record. From there, The Beatles take the listener on a wild ride through a variety of genres and styles. Highlights include the psychedelic masterpieces “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” and “A Day in the Life”, the beautiful ballad “She’s Leaving Home”, and the rollicking rocker “Getting Better”.
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is an essential album for any music fan, and it remains one of The Beatles’ finest achievements.
“The White Album”
The White Album is the ninth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles, released on 22 November 1968. A double album, its plain white sleeve has no graphics or text other than the band’s name embossed, which was intended as a direct contrast to the vivid cover artwork of the band’s previous LP Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Although no singles were issued from The White Album in Britain and the United States, the songs “Hey Jude” and “Revolution” originated from the same recording sessions and were issued on a single in August 1968.
The album was an immediate commercial success, topping record charts in several countries including the UK and US. Though it initially divided critics, The White Album came to be regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time. In 2012, Rolling Stone ranked it number 10 on its list of the “500 Greatest Albums of All Time”.
The album was recorded during a period of turmoil for the band. Ringo Starr had temporarily left to pursue acting during production; his drumming is limited to two songs. George Harrison had developed a particularly strong interest in Indian classical music and Hindu spirituality, leading him to miss some recording sessions; his sitar playing is included on three tracks. John Lennon was preoccupied with Yoko Ono, his new wife; he privately left the group to work with her on numerous occasions. As a result, Paul McCartney largely took over production duties. The sessions also saw arguments and fistfights break out among the band members; engineer Geoff Emerick quit at one point out of frustration. Nevertheless, The White Album was completed and released on schedule.
Critics have written that The White Album represents a departure from the Beatles’ earlier work. Musicologist Walter Everett sees it as the beginning of their avant-garde phase, in which elements of pop music were combined with experimental sounds and tape loops. Author Ian MacDonald views it as a return to their roots in rock and roll, while musicologist Alan Pollack sees it as an album that bridges their earlier pop style with their later mature art rock. biographer Philip Norman writes that its individualism marked a moment when each member of the group was empowered to make creative decisions without having to consult with the others.
The album’s working title was A Doll’s House; engineer Ken Scott came up with the name while looking through Paul McCartney’s stash of potential song titles. It was changed when Lennon decided that this would be too whimsical and suggested The White Album instead. The artwork was designed by Richard Hamilton, who had previously created the sleeve for Sgt. Pepper. The design consisted of a plain white sleeve with embossed printing on its spine; inside was a folded poster featuring portraits of all four Beatles by photographer Don McCullin.
Despite its eventual acclaim, The White Album was not an immediate success; in fact, its first weeks sales were lower than those for Sgt. Pepper. In Britain, it only reached number 4 on the charts, although it stayed in the top 20 for eight months. In America, it peaked at number 6 but quickly fell down the charts; by February 1969 it had dropped out of the top 40 altogether. However, sales began to pick up after the release of “Hey Jude” / “Revolution” in August 1968; by January 1969 The White Album had reached number 3 in America and number 2 in Britain, where it remained for seven weeks before being displaced by Abbey Road. It ultimately became one of the best-selling albums of all time, with sales exceeding 30 million copies worldwide
“Magical Mystery Tour”
The Magical Mystery Tour is an audio-visual experience like no other. This unique package includes a beautiful hardcover book with stunning images and an accompanying audio CD of the entire album. The book tells the story of the album’s conception and creation, and includes new interviews with Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, George Harrison, producer George Martin, and photographer Michael Cooper.
The album itself is a masterwork, a timeless collection of songs that are as fresh and relevant today as they were when they were first recorded. The CD features newly remastered audio, and the vinyl LP features the original album artwork.
The Magical Mystery Tour is a must-have for any fan of The Beatles, or anyone who appreciates great music.
“The Beatles (The Blue Album)”
The Beatles’ self-titled 1968 album – more commonly known as ‘The White Album’ – is one of the most iconic and well-loved records in music history. But it wasn’t the only album the Fab Four released that year… Just a few months earlier, they had also unleashed ‘The Beatles’ (better known as ‘The Blue Album’), a two-disc set consisting of their first four albums reissued on CD for the first time.
If you’re a diehard Beatles fan, then you’ll already know all this. But if you’re new to the band, or just getting into them for the first time, then ‘The Blue Album’ is the perfect place to start your collection. Here’s why…
For starters, it contains some of the band’s best-known and most loved songs, from early classics like ‘Love Me Do’ and ‘Please Please Me’ to more grown-up tracks like ‘A Day in the Life’ and ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’. In other words, it really does have something for everyone.
But what really makes ‘The Blue Album’ so special is the way it documents the band’s incredible journey from Liverpool lads to global superstars. You can hear them growing and evolving as songwriters and musicians with every track, and it really is quite something to behold.
In short, if you want to understand what all the fuss is about when it comes to The Beatles, then ‘The Blue Album’ is essential listening. It really is that good.
“Past Masters, Vols. 1 & 2”
In 1988, the Beatles’ record company, EMI, released a series of fourteen albums on compact disc, under the title The Beatles Past Masters. The collection brought together the A- and B-sides of all the singles released by the band in the UK, plus a selection of album tracks and rarities, many of which had not been available on CD before.
The CDs were released in two volumes, with Past Masters: Volume One containing all the material from 1962–1965, and Past Masters: Volume Two covering the years 1966–1970.
The Past Masters albums were issued as part of The Beatles Collection, a box set which also included the band’s twelve UK albums (released on CD for the first time), plus a bonus disc of non-album tracks.
Past Masters was originally released as a double album on vinyl and cassette tape on 7 March 1988 in the UK, and on 21 March 1988 in the US. The CDs were issued separately in most territories, but were bundled together as a 2-CD set in Japan, South Africa and Argentina. In 2012, they were reissued as part of The Beatles stereo vinyl box set.
The album artwork was designed by Ivor Arbiter, who had taken the famous photograph of the band crossing Abbey Road for their 1969 album of the same name. The cover photo was taken during the filming of A Hard Day’s Night in 1964, and shows John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr walking across a zebra crossing outside Abbey Road Studios.
All the tracks on Past Masters were newly remastered at Abbey Road Studios from the original analogue tapes by engineer Peter Mew. This was the first time that many of these tracks had been transferred to digital format, and the sound quality was significantly improved as a result.
The mono mixes of “Love Me Do”, “She Loves You” and “I Want To Hold Your Hand”, which had previously only been available on vinyl singles and EPs, made their CD debut on Past Masters. These mixes were created specifically for single release, and differ slightly from the versions that appeared on The Beatles’ debut album Please Please Me.
A number of tracks made their CD debut on Past Masters: Volume One, including “Twist and Shout” (previously only available on LP in North America), “I Saw Her Standing There” (previously only available in mono on LP), “This Boy” (previously unavailable in any format) and “Slow Down” (previously only available in mono on LP).
Volume Two featured several tracks that had not been available on CD before, including “Paperback Writer” (previously only available in mono on LP), “Rain” (previously only available in mono on LP) and “Hey Jude” (previously only available in its extended form on LP).
Several alternate versions of well-known songs were also included: an early take of “Get Back” (titled “The Rehearsal Take”), an edit piece titled “Revolution 1 (Take 18)” which segues into an instrumental version of “Honey Pie”, an alternate mix of ��Across The Universe” without vocal overdubs or reverb, and an instrumental version of “Lady Madonna” featuring only piano and drums.
“Let It Be”
“Let It Be” is the twelfth and final studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. It was released on 8 May 1970, almost a month after the group’s breakup. Like most of the band’s previous releases, it was a number one album in many countries, including both the US and the UK, and was released in tandem with the film of the same name.
The album was conceived as a return to their roots and a farewell to their fans before they embarked on their individual solo careers. However, tensions between the Beatles led to Paul McCartney taking over production duties from George Martin and demanding that the album be completed in just six weeks. As a result, much of the material on “Let It Be” was recorded live and unedited, with little studio work or overdubbing.
The album’s title track, “Let It Be”, was written by McCartney and became one of the group’s most successful singles. The other two singles released from the album, “Across the Universe” and “The Long and Winding Road”, were also written by McCartney and were both critical and commercial successes.
Critics have generally been positive about “Let It Be”, although some reviewers felt that it was not as innovative as the Beatles’ previous work. In 2012, Rolling Stone ranked it number 418 on their list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
“Yellow Submarine”
The Beatles’ 1968 animated classic Yellow Submarine is an exhilarating, psychedelic must-see that’s as tuneful as it is trippy. In this fanciful, musical fantasyland, the evil Blue Meanies have declared war on music, flowers, and all that’s good in the world, so naturally only the Fab Four can save the day! The timeless songs “Eleanor Rigby,” “When I’m Sixty-Four,” “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds,” “All You Need Is Love,” and of course “Yellow Submarine” provide the perfect soundtrack to this groundbreaking film.
“The Beatles Anthology”
The Beatles Anthology is a documentary series by the surviving members of the Beatles, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, along with archival footage and recordings. The series chronicles the history of the band from its beginnings in Liverpool to the breakup in 1970. It was originally broadcast on television in 1995 and 1996, and released on DVD in 2000.
The series was directed by Geoff Wonfor and produced by Mark Haefeli and Murray Lerner. The executive producer was Kevin Godley. The series won several awards, including an Emmy Award for Outstanding Non-Fiction Series and a Grammy Award for Best Long Form Music Video.
The Beatles Anthology is a must-have for any fan of the Fab Four. This 8-disc set includes all six hours of the original 1995 TV series, plus 10 hours of bonus material. The bonus material includes never-before-seen footage of the Beatles in the studio and on tour, as well as new interviews with Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono, and other key figures in the Beatles’ story.
The eight discs are housed in a fold-out digipak with space for all eight discs on one side, and a 32-page booklet on the other. The booklet includes an introduction by Paul McCartney, track listings for all eight discs, and credits for the series.
Disc 1: The Beginning (1964)
Disc 2: Beatlemania (1964-1965)
Disc 3: Help! (1965)
Disc 4: Rubber Soul (1965)
Disc 5: Revolver (1966)
Disc 6: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
Disc 7: The Magical Mystery Tour (1967-1968)
Disc 8: The End (1968-1970)