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3.44pm
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1 May 2011
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The Anthologys are a great intro for getting into bootlegs.
Along with the many hightlights (In Spite Of All The Danger , TNK, You Know To Do to name but 3) there are many pointless edits (While My Guitar Gently Loops Endlessly, Not Guilty senselessly butchered into such a crummy version, How Do You Do It ? (why on earth edit one line)) and some of the later year takes (Hello Goodbye , Penny Lane , I Will ) are too similar to the final released versions to arouse interest.
And why ignore take 11 of What You're Doing yet include take 4 of Mr Moonlight !!
"I told you everything I could about me, Told you everything I could" ('Before Believing' - Emmylou Harris)
7.47pm
19 September 2010
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Alissa said:
I suppose my only beef with the albums is the tampering with tracks that were meant to be… untampered with!
No. No no no. These same edits (Or similar edits) would have occurred in 1965 as occurred in 1995. These songs were viewed as, let's be honest, the crap. Therefore, to make what wasn't good enough 30 years earlier worthy of release, they edited. In much of the same way things were edited in 1969. Was it “tampering” George Martin did on Strawberry Fields, editing two separate takes into one song (the exact process used in Anthology)? Of course not. Same thing here. It’s a peeve of mine that people cry foul over something that the Beatles had done earlier in their career.
As if it matters how a man falls down.'
'When the fall's all that's left, it matters a great deal.
9.22pm
Reviewers
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1 May 2011
Offline mr. Sun king coming together said:
Alissa said:
I suppose my only beef with the albums is the tampering with tracks that were meant to be… untampered with!
No. No no no. These same edits (Or similar edits) would have occurred in 1965 as occurred in 1995. These songs were viewed as, let's be honest, the crap. Therefore, to make what wasn't good enough 30 years earlier worthy of release, they edited. In much of the same way things were edited in 1969. Was it “tampering” George Martin did on Strawberry Fields, editing two separate takes into one song (the exact process used in Anthology)? Of course not. Same thing here. It's a peeve of mine that people cry foul over something that the Beatles had done earlier in their career.
There is a difference, in my opinion, between the officially released proper versions and the outtakes because they are outtakes. No one is going to say that lucy in the sky (i use it as an example) is better because its had the organ part of take 54 put in over the original bass of take 42 than if it was left alone because it will always be compared with the officially released one, as that is the standard by which it is rightly measured with. I dont believe that any of the outtakes, alternates are better than the originals, tho some are darn good. The Beatles chose the best versions is the ultimate message from The Anthology's.
Therefore i'd rather have the full take 21 of any song than some hybrid.
If someone call tell me why WMGGW is improved due to the end loop i'd like to hear it. Same goes for the editing job on Not Guilty which was abysmal.
However its a personal thing. And thats why the Anthology is a great intro to the world of bootlegs. You hear the alternates, enjoy them for what they are, and maybe find they are edited and go and get the unedited.
"I told you everything I could about me, Told you everything I could" ('Before Believing' - Emmylou Harris)
10.04pm
19 September 2010
Offline meanmistermustard said:
mr. Sun king coming together said:
Alissa said:
I suppose my only beef with the albums is the tampering with tracks that were meant to be… untampered with!
No. No no no. These same edits (Or similar edits) would have occurred in 1965 as occurred in 1995. These songs were viewed as, let's be honest, the crap. Therefore, to make what wasn't good enough 30 years earlier worthy of release, they edited. In much of the same way things were edited in 1969. Was it “tampering” George Martin did on Strawberry Fields, editing two separate takes into one song (the exact process used in Anthology)? Of course not. Same thing here. It's a peeve of mine that people cry foul over something that the Beatles had done earlier in their career.
There is a difference, in my opinion, between the officially released proper versions and the outtakes because they are outtakes. No one is going to say that Lucy in the Sky (i use it as an example) is better because its had the organ part of take 54 put in over the original bass of take 42 than if it was left alone because it will always be compared with the officially released one, as that is the standard by which it is rightly measured with.
I know all that. But if you want people to buy Anthology, you need it to be good music. You can't have it be complete s**t. So they edited it to make sure it was an enjoyable listen, on top of an interesting listen.
As if it matters how a man falls down.'
'When the fall's all that's left, it matters a great deal.
10.28pm
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1 May 2011
Offline mr. Sun king coming together said:
I know all that. But if you want people to buy Anthology, you need it to be good music. You can't have it be complete s**t. So they edited it to make sure it was an enjoyable listen, on top of an interesting listen.
If they wanted an interesting and enjoyable listen with the Anthology's they should have ditched Mary Jane. Neither interesting or listenable, just 6 minutes of unlistenable garbage – 6 minutes!! Even the remix didnt make it bareable.
"I told you everything I could about me, Told you everything I could" ('Before Believing' - Emmylou Harris)
5.34pm
12 April 2012
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I’m a big fan of the Anthology albums they’re amazing, it’s better than any bootlegs, i think if you’ve got anthology you don’t need bootlegs i just miss very few songs (love of the loved, it’s for you, tip of my tongue, carnival of lights, window window)
Once there was a way to get back homewards. Once there was a way to get back home; sleep pretty darling do not cry. And I will sing a lullaby
10.55pm
Reviewers
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1 May 2011
Offline For me the anthology series are a good introduction to the bootlegs, however there is so much amazing music out there that is not officially available eg the complete bbc sessions, the strawberry fields outtakes, what youre doing take 11, some of the live concerts (candlestick park ’66), the esher demos.
Plus the anthology has the most pointless edit ever known in the history of music namely Not Guilty . I have no idea what they were thinking when making a great song into a piece of worthless garbage, turning a heavily frustrated song into a gutless whimper. Worse still they were using a crappy edit made in the 80’s, they could easily have went back to the master take when compiling the series in the 90’s and given us something listenable.
"I told you everything I could about me, Told you everything I could" ('Before Believing' - Emmylou Harris)
5.30am
22 May 2012
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The anthology series (d.v.d/book/audio) are a necessary piece to any complete Beatles collection. The real gems of the audio series are the unreleased songs. Tracks like Not Guilty , Come And Get It , That Means Alot, If You’ve Got Trouble , You Know What to Do, What’s The New Mary Jane , 12 Bar Original, Leave My Kitten Alone , etc. make the series worth owning in my opinion. Obviously Free As A Bird and Real Love are great songs worth having. It is also nice to here the different versions and work-throughs of classic Beatle tracks. I love the alternate versions of She Came In Through The Bathroom Window , Helter Skelter , Sgt. Peppers Reprise, I’m Only Sleeping and Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da. Plus, it’s nice to here tunes take shape over several tracks. The verdict is that I LOVE this series…couldn’t live without it really! The third is probably my favorite because that’s my favorite period of their career. It would be nice if they released a fourth edition to the series. I know they’ve got a 27+ minute version of Helter Skelter and the Carnival Of Light track out there somewhere. They’ve got a version of Revolution that includes alot of the sounds edited for John’s abstract piece and a longer version of the instrumental Flying . I even think they started work on a third posthumous track of John’s at the same time they did Free/Real for the releases.
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-All Good Children go to Heaven
12.13pm
12 April 2012
Offline I completly agree. Anthology 3 is also my favourite one, because that’s my favourite beatles period and it features unreleased songs, kinfauns demos, alternate versions and of course interesting stuff from the get back sessions, and I also love the unreleased songs, the alternate versions (of which some are very different) and also the live songs
Once there was a way to get back homewards. Once there was a way to get back home; sleep pretty darling do not cry. And I will sing a lullaby
6.08pm
12 November 2012
Offline I love the anthology albums, but I feel bad when I have to find a bootleg for the songs that the album is missing. My favorites are You Know What To Do, Leave My Kitten Alone , That Means A Lot , Not Guilty , and While My Guitar Gently Weeps .
"The world is a very serious and, at times, very sad place - but at other times it is all such a joke."-George Harrison
6.32pm
Reviewers
29 November 2012
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I like the Anthology sets and I remember being in high school and eagerly buying each one at my local indie record store on the day they were released in the dark days before the internet, lol! But, while the edits of different tracks and versions is good for the general public, I still go to my bootlegs mainly for outtakes and alternate versions.
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6.34pm
12 January 2013
Offline Joe said
I think it’s the second best in the series, behind 2 but ahead of 1. There are some excellent tracks on it – an alternative Helter Skelter , Junk, Not Guilty , All Things Must Pass and Something demos, Mailman Bring Me No More Blues, and Come And Get It . You should really have those in your collection.
Well looks like I’m not the onlyone with the best taste in anthology’s
The Incedibly True Story THat Never Ends. By Sam.
Best Friend: WHat are you listening to
Me: The Beatles
Best Friend: Go Figure
12.39am
28 January 2013
Offline It’s a shame many songs were left out. More than half of the Decca Audition is and some unreleased Beatles songs only recorded at George’s house. I would like to see those, as well as some Cavern rehersals, as well as takes of other songs, possibly insturmentals would be a nice touch?
And if you saw my love, I'll love her to.
9.19pm
Reviewers
14 April 2010
Offline Alex said
mjb said:
Alex said:
I really like hearing all of the different versions.I actually love hearing the goofs! I always find them funny and endearing
Me too, I wonder what they were laughing at on ‘And Your Bird Can Sing ‘
I always wondered that myself. Recently, I was listening to it and found that if you listen very closely to the beginning of the track, you can hear a sound that resembles someone either smacking their lips together or throwing ‘air kisses’.
Can anyone else hear it? 
If someone did that to me before singing or giving a speech, I would be cracking up as well.
To the fountain of perpetual mirth, let it roll for all its worth. And all the children boogie.
2.39pm
3 May 2012
Offline Yeah, I’ve heard that and I did wonder if that’s the reason for the laughing. Is it really that funny though? Maybe it’s the combination of the kissing (or whatever it is) and then trying to sing properly and failing.
Moving along in our God given ways, safety is sat by the fire/Sanctuary from these feverish smiles, left with a mark on the door.
(Passover - I. Curtis)
12.11pm
Reviewers
14 April 2010
Offline fabfouremily said
Yeah, I’ve heard that and I did wonder if that’s the reason for the laughing. Is it really that funny though? Maybe it’s the combination of the kissing (or whatever it is) and then trying to sing properly and failing.
To anyone other than the participants, probably not. To them, it was probably more silly than anything else – assuming that is what got them going in the first place.
Of course you know, once you start telling yourself not to laugh…
To the fountain of perpetual mirth, let it roll for all its worth. And all the children boogie.
11.39pm
21 November 2012
Offline The anthology albums are great.
My favourite things on it are the different versions of Strawberry Fields, While My Guitar Gently Weeps , and the instrumental of Eleanor Rigby . Beautiful.
Anthology 1 is great because it takes you back to before they were famous and that’s interesting, even though a lot of it is bad quality. It’s always fun to hear songs they used to play live and which didn’t appear on albums. I like Hello Little Girl (I know, I know), How Do You Do It , some of the songs make me laugh (Three Cool Cats for example) and the Morecambe and Wise bits are hilarious. Can’t Buy Me Love in another pitch clearly doesn’t work, the No Reply demo is hilarious and to hear I’ll be back in a different tempo is quite interesting too. And of course it has Free As A Bird , which I absolutely dislike but it’s still an important part of it. The alternate takes of tracks are interesting, no matter what track, but sometimes putting it on there is just pointless since it’s too similar to the final version. This also goes for 2 and 3.
Anthology 2 is cool too, it covers my favourite period. I love Real Love . Again love the songs that don’t appear on albums, like That Means A Lot and If You’ve Got Trouble , which I like a lot, but it just needs work. It’s not a bad song at all. Hearing such a different version of TNK is great, except that it’s quite annoying. It’s interesting anyway. Of course It’s Only Love is awesome too, with the beginning. And And Your Bird Can Sing is funny too. I quite like the guitars in it. Not too keen on the version of Norwegian Wood that appears on this, idk, it gives me a headache. I like the different versions of I’m Only Sleeping , the instrumental one is quite cool. It has a special relaxing vibe to it..or whatever. Love love love the Strawberry Fields demo’s and versions. It’s so interesting to hear how John gave that song shape. I wish they’d put the demo’s of She Said She Said on it as well. Also nice to hear Only A Northern Song without all the weird sounds and trumpet s**t.
Anthology 3 may be my least favourite, but it has one of my favourite bits on it: While My Guitar Gently Weeps . Beautiful. I think I love this just as much as the final version, they’re both just perfect. I like the LOVE version too, with the strings. They did a good job on the arrangement of that. Hmm most of the songs we know from the albums actually sound pretty similar to the final versions. Especially the Let it be stuff. Hmm I don’t like Not Guilty that much and I’m also not too crazy about this version of All Things Must Pass . I like the final version much better. I like Teddy Boy , Ain’t She Sweet ..they’re both fun. Come And Get It is genuinly a good song in my opinion, catchy and happy. Because is beautiful, even in a capella, maybe even more so. I’ve never given Step inside love a proper listen, now I’m thinking of it. I will do that. Then there’s A Beginning, which apparently was supposed to be placed before Don’t Pass Me By . Well after hearing it and knowing what it sounds like you now know why that idea was so bizarre. Oh yeah I love the Anthology version of Obladi Oblada, but I still prefer the final version, with all it’s goof stuff like the piano and John and George yelling stuff like ”arm” and ”leg”. Then there’s weird stuff like What’s The New Mary Jane , which literally gave me nightmares and I’m very grateful that didn’t end up on the White Album .
All in all it’s very interesting, but you really have to be interested in it. You have to be a big fan of the music, only then you can appreciate it. I couldn’t miss it, but it’s not the most crucial Beatles thing to own. The alternate versions are interesting and the demo versions too. It kind of gives you an insight in their brains. But some of the versions are just too similar to the final versions to be posted, like I said. They could’ve made room for other songs, I’m sure there were plenty other options. It’s great we got to hear some of their pre-fame stuff though, and some songs that didn’t end up on albums and so which we wouldn’t have heard otherwise.
1.42pm
Reviewers
29 August 2013
Offline Joe said
Have you played The Beatles: Rock Band? There are studio chat outtakes all over that, before the songs load. Some of them appeared on the Anthology DVDs, but a lot of them are previously unreleased (my favourite is John going through the lyrics of Come Together , singing “He got… teenage lyrics!”).
Love playing Rock Band with my kids – we have managed to get 7 people playing, 4 on instruments and 3 on mikes – great fun.
Err – and on the Anthologies – finally bought them last week and looking forward to exploring them in the coming months. Will put some thoughts here when I have had time to digest.
==> trcanberra and hongkonglady - Together even when not (married for those not in the know!) <==
2.27pm
Reviewers
Moderators
1 May 2011
Offline All of the Rock Band chat has been released underground on Helter Skelter ‘s Yellow Chatter Custard volumes. Not something that is a often repeat listen but well worth seeking out and keeping.
"I told you everything I could about me, Told you everything I could" ('Before Believing' - Emmylou Harris)
4.27am
Reviewers
29 August 2013
Offline BBCSessions1963 said
It’s a shame many songs were left out. More than half of the Decca Audition is and some unreleased Beatles songs only recorded at George’s house. I would like to see those, as well as some Cavern rehersals, as well as takes of other songs, possibly insturmentals would be a nice touch?
Just listening to the first disc now and completely agree. Does anyone know why these items (the rest of the Decca audition in particular) were not included?
==> trcanberra and hongkonglady - Together even when not (married for those not in the know!) <==
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