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The Beatles' 'Anthology 1' at 20: Fab Four's Finest Early Rarities

29 November, 2015 - 0 Comments

While the Beatles' first Anthology, released 20 years ago this month, isn't exactly canonical Fab Four, it's worth remembering how momentous the compilation seemed at the time. Perhaps you were among those whose minds were blown in anticipation of new Beatle baubles, demos, outtakes and live cuts that went beyond what even the most rapacious bootleg collector would have been able to gather up. 

Would it feel as if one were present at Abbey Road, beholding an impassioned conversation before the next masterpiece was commenced? Would there be takes to challenge the known, canonical ones for "best ever" versions? Would one discover a fresh McCartney vocal to claim as a favorite going forward, some new delight that would repay hundreds of listenings, just as the old Beatles records always had?

Upon its November, 1995, release, Anthology 1 was a huge seller, as if there was any way it could not be. Posthumous round-ups of rarities were normally geared toward the obsessives, but as we're talking Beatles, Fab Four diehards form their own kind of widespread subculture, and thus a listening majority. 

And it's not hard to imagine fans agog over performances like a live cut of "This Boy" from The Morecambe & Wise Show, which torches the official B-side, thanks to a Lennon vocal on the middle eight that explodes with the same intensity of "Money" and "Twist and Shout," only with more finesse, and perhaps more heart. 

By: Colin Fleming

Source: Rolling Stone

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