There was some consternation when this release was announced. The Anthology series was being expanded to four double albums — but that fourth one was only going to be available as part of this deluxe box set. And while the previous Anthologies had mostly featured unreleased tracks, Anthology 4 has a slimmer margin: of the 36 tracks, only 13 are previously unreleased.

As we know, the decision was ultimately made to release Anthology 4 as a stand-alone release as well as in the deluxe set. Hooray! That provides more incentive to pick up the new disc if you didn’t want to splurge for the entire box set, which was looking like it was going to be of most interest to completists.

But there’s more to this release than meets the eye. Anthology 1 through 3 have all been remastered (they were first remastered for digital release on iTunes in 2011). And that isn’t the only sonic upgrading that’s been done. The pre-1962 tracks on Anthology 1 (including the earliest known Beatles studio recording, “That’ll Be The Day,” recorded at a Liverpool home studio in 1958), have all been spruced up and sound vastly improved. Select tracks (e.g. “All My Loving,” from the first Ed Sullivan appearance in 1964), have been given new mixes by Giles Martin, son of original Beatles producer George Martin, who’s worked on all the album deluxe reissue box sets since 2017’s Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Other tracks have been tweaked with new stereo processing (described as “a subtle spread of the mono signal”). And some tracks have been swapped out for the bonus track versions that appeared on the deluxe reissue box sets. In all, there are changes to over 30 tracks, meaning these Anthologies aren’t entirely the ones you remember.

Source: goldminemag.com./Patrick Prince

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The Beatles made quite a splash on the film world with A Hard Day’s Night. Along with starring in the 1964 film, the group also churned out an album that left most of their peers behind in terms of the depth of the material.

Many of the songs on A Hard Day’s Night are no less than pop music standards these days. But do you know the stories behind these songs and this album? 

The title track of the album and film has gained great notoriety for the memorable opening guitar chord (which is actually a few different instruments playing multiple chords). Many people also know the story of how they came up with the name of the song. Ringo Starr uttered the phrase when he came out of a session and realized that the group had worked into the darkness. But John Lennon had also used the phrase in his book In His Own Write, the publication of which predated the recording of the song. 

The Beatles recorded not only the songs that went into the film but also the remaining tracks that filled out the album. That’s 14 songs in all. And every one of them was written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. For the first time, The Beatles had recorded an album of all original material, something that was unheard of in the world of pop music at the time. Because he still wasn’t confident as a writer, George Harrison was relegated to singing a Lennon/McCartney song (“I’m Happy Just To Dance With You”) to get a lead vocal on the album. 

Source: americansongwriter.com/Jim Beviglia

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On the 10th of April 1970, Paul McCartney announced what had, by then, been falsely reported so many times as to seem almost impossible – The Beatles, biggest band to ever do it, were finished.

Within a week he’d released his first solo record. Before the year was out, all three of his former bandmates had done the same, and as of today, the solo careers of each ex-Beatle have between them produced, depending on how you count it, something in the region of 85 albums.

That’s a lot to wade through for anyone keen on venturing beyond the band’s mere-12-studio-album discography. But wade we must, and there is so much to learn in our wading. These records are charged with parting barbs and so variously excellent and awful and bewildering. They contain in their collected mass not just a huge quantity of interesting and enjoyable music, but a path toward an understanding of what it was that made the band work as it did. Who was good at what? Who needed what from whom, whose instincts were balanced by whose, and what kinds of adventures might result from the removal of the structures of the band?

Source: gq-magazine.co.uk/Killian Faith-Kelly

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The most controversial moment in The Beatles’ career was certainly when John Lennon called the band “bigger than Jesus.” While the comment was meant to be a bit of hyperbole about how big Beatle mania was, it was taken literally. Many album-burnings later, The Beatles lost their seemingly unshakeable grip on the world.

While Lennon apologized for his comments, it never truly erased this dark spot on the band’s tenure. As the band’s time together drew to a close, Lennon became more and more open about his lack of faith in religion, as well as other systems of belief. This change didn’t help his case with the infamous “Jesus” comment. After shouldering a pretty big PR crisis during his band years, Lennon proved he wasn’t afraid to speak his mind in his solo career, releasing a song that felt like him doubling down on his prior controversy.

Lennon famously pondered a world without religion in “Imagine.” He wasn’t shy about his opinion that many organized religions did more harm than good. His solo career was riddled with songs that explore the idea of “false idols,” including the topic of conversation today: “God.”

Lennon wasn’t an avid atheist. He often explored spirituality and religion, but in the end, he always returned to his view that belief is usually misguided. In “God,” Lennon rejects pretty much everything other than the one force he did believe in: love.

Source: americansongwriter.com/Alex Hopper

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“Hey Jude” was released over 50 years ago, and it’s still one of The Beatles’ most revered songs. The tune carries a message that’s meant to be hopeful, with lines like “Take a sad song and make it better.” However, the story behind “Hey Jude” is actually a little depressing. Here’s the tale of how Paul McCartney became inspired to write “Hey Jude”. Spoiler, it’s a tearjerker.

In 1968, McCartney was on his way to visit Cynthia Lennon and her son, Julian. At the time, Cynthia was going through a divorce from his fellow Beatle John Lennon. Lennon had been having an affair with Yoko Ono, his later second wife. Apparently, the separation from Cynthia ended up being quite nasty.

According to The Beatles Anthology, it was on the drive there that McCartney came up with what he describes as “a hopeful message” for Lennon’s son, Julian. Julian was around 5 years old at the time.

McCartney said of the drive, “I would always turn the radio off and try and make up songs, just in case… I started singing, ‘Hey Jules – don’t make it bad, take a sad song, and make it better…’”

Little did he know that gesture of positivity would go on to become an international hit. “Hey Jude” would spend 9 weeks at No. 1 in the U.S. and would also sell 8 million copies worldwide.
“Hey Jude” Is a Song for When You “Feel Lousy”

Interestingly enough, Julian Lennon, who’s much older now, has mixed feelings about “Hey Jude”.

“Well, you know, I have a love-hate with it, I have to say,” he admitted to Men’s Journal. Although he’s thankful for the song, it’s also a “stark and dark” reminder of what went down at that time in his life.

Source: americansongwriter.com/Kat Caudill

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Collider ranked "Dig It" as the worst Beatles song, calling it "an empty song."
Paul McCartney confirmed John Lennon announced leaving the band in a meeting.
McCartney said he and Lennon reconciled before Lennon's death: "It was beautiful."

Despite disbanding in 1970, The Beatles have maintained their international popularity. However, not all their songs are exactly beloved.

In February 2026, Collider released a ranking of the top worst Beatles songs. The list featured tunes like “Savoy Truffle” from 1968, 1965’s “Run for Your Life,” “Your Mother Should Know” from 1967, 1965’s “What Goes On,” and “Little Child” from 1963.

According to the publication, the top five worst Beatles songs include 1964’s “Honey Don’t,” 1970’s “Maggie Mae,” 1968’s “Why Don’t We Do It in the Road?,” and “Wild Honey Pie” from 1968. 1970’s “Dig It” from the band’s final album, Let It Be, secured the number one spot on the list. Collider reported that “Dig It” was an empty song, not worthy of Let It Be.

In a 2018 interview on The Howard Stern Show, Paul McCartney discussed The Beatles breaking up after recording Let It Be and 1969’s Abbey Road. According to McCartney, his late bandmate, John Lennon, decided to leave the band.

“There was a meeting where John said, ‘Hey guys I’m leaving the group,'” said McCartney during the interview.

McCartney suggested that he and Lennon didn’t have the best relationship following the band’s breakup. He explained that they were both releasing songs “about each other.” “Like weaponizing songs,” said McCartney.

He said, however, that he and Lennon mended their friendship before his 1980 death.

“We got over it, luckily. I feel very blessed that we got over it. Because if we hadn’t, and then John goes and gets killed, I don’t know how I would have dealt with that. I was very lucky because we sort of got back together. It was beautiful. I would ring him and go see him in New York,” said McCartney in the 2018 interview.

In addition, McCartney said that he and his Beatles bandmates, which also included Ringo Starr and the late George Harrison, never came together again after the band’s split.

Source:parade.com/Nicole Moore