The Beatles: Anthology 4

 


 


The Anthology Collection is a box set of music by The Beatles, released on CD as well as vinyl to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the original broadcast of the video documentary The Beatles Anthology. In addition to remastered versions of the previous collections—each of which focuses on a designated period of the iconic band's history—the comprehensive set now features Anthology 4, a 36-track microcosm of the Liverpudlians' canon, thirteen selections from which have never been released before.

Instead of the previous packaging in cumbersome jewel boxes, the eight compact discs are now all packaged like the 2009 remasters, in double-fold sleeves with forty-plus page booklets inserted in pockets inside the front covers, enclosed in a slipcase appended with graphics similar to The 25th Anniversary Edition of The Beatles Anthology book (Chronicle Books, 2025). 

In much the same way the updated audio quality courtesy Giles Martin boasts much greater separation and presence, the overall graphic design of the individual double-disc packages—by Richard Ward/The Team featuring art by long-time Beatles comrade Klaus Voorman—is brightened with a plethora of images including band photos of the period as well as the Apple Records logo, the intricacy of which is a direct reflection of the music therein, spanning material from the early '60s ("I Saw Her Standing There") to late in the same decade (multiple excerpts from Abbey Road, Apple, 1969), plus the three latter-day exhumations from the vault completed in recent years. 

As such, Anthology 4 depicts how the group evolved by (often but not always) quantum leaps and bounds, to a certain point (generally speaking 1967), then deliberately regressed to regain and retain the foundations of their music. The level of invention depicted over the course of approximately two hours may be no less remarkable to those familiar with the music than to those experiencing it for the first time: The wholly-instrumental cuts like "The Fool On The Hill" are inordinately fascinating.

In those cases of early run-throughs and rehearsals (the skiffle-derived acoustics of "I've Just Seen A Face") in contrast to more complete performances (the first rooftop performance of "Don't Let Me Down"), the remastered sound quality overseen by Giles Martin (the son of the late Sir George, the Beatles' producer), aids tremendously to imprints not only hold the attention but ultimately imprint an enduring favorable impression. 

The sonics thus represent an objective measurement separate from the material and the musicianship. And the level of informality the Beatles often display as they work turns out to be the other most obvious point of continuity of this over-two-hours total. 

The band's willingness to laugh and joke nurtures rather than limits their productivity: In short, progress is progress with "Tell Me Why." And in hearing the skeletal take of the somewhat unsung "Baby You're A Rich Man" (B-side of the 'Summer of Love' '67 anthem "All You Need Is Love"), it is clear that all the participants enjoy the progressive steps in the process.

No observations on the technical aspects of these recordings should overlook, much less disparage, the Beatles' musicianship. Quite the contrary, the level of their playing and singing—including consistently imaginative vocal harmony work on cuts such as "Nowhere Man—never falters to the extent that it undermines their progress.

Along those same lines, Kevin Howlett does not flaunt his expertise in his liner notes for Anthology 4. On the contrary, as in  his discussion of "I Am the Walrus (Orchestra Overdub)," he explicates the differences with other versions in order to further understand the salient points. Without excessive parsing of minutiae, the author clarifies; he does not obfuscate.

As a result, hearing variations on versions of songs like "Helter Skelter," previously available for so long, inevitably leads to (re) discovery of the breadth of imagination in the Beatles' work. In that respect, the relatively recently unearthed, then completed triad of "Free As A Bird," "Real Love" and "Now And Then," (with the first two remixed by Electric Light Orchestra leader, Tom Petty studio collaborator and Traveling Wilburys member Jeff Lynne), eerily familiar as they sound, function as discerning reflection on all that has preceded them and not just on the other six compact discs in The Anthology Collection.

 

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