Paul McCartney weighs in with first-take renditions of “I’m Down” and “Yesterday,” which are remarkable for their jarring stylistic divergences from the final versions. This is almost The Beatles Unplugged, and the revelations are gratifying. The majority of Anthology 2 consists of early takes that reveal the foundations beneath the Beatles’ studio constructions. The other was still going through the motions of playing for screaming throngs. One was pushing rock’s boundaries with experimental sound collages and increasingly sophisticated pop. The Beatles’ growing preference for the creative hothouse of the recording studio coupled with the demands of pop fame meant that by 1966, the Beatles were essentially two bands. But statistics don’t do the story justice.
From February ’65 to February ’68, the Beatles recorded six EPs (including the double EP Magical Mystery Tour) and four albums. The remaining 44 cuts document what is arguably the most creative 36 months for one band in rock history. It answers the question: What if Lynne had produced Double Fantasy with some really famous sidemen sitting in? But who asked? More than mere standards, the songs of the Beatles’ are among this divisive century’s rarest achievements: a lasting body of work that crosses cultural and generational boundaries.Īnthology 2 opens with yet another faux Fab Four reunion cut, “Real Love.” With a sprightlier melody and a less self-conscious attitude than “Free as a Bird,” this once-quaint 1979 John Lennon demo has been fluffed up into ’90s pop meringue by the surviving Beatles and their new producer, Jeff Lynne. Bach to Chuck Berry, from Ravi Shankar to Karlheinz Stockhausen. The essence of the Beatles’ legacy is the deceptive ease with which the band assimilated musical influences from J.S. Which isn’t to say that the songs themselves are boring - far from it. It’s easy to forget that underneath the hype of the Beatles Anthology merchandising campaign lies nothing less mundane than a collection of songs.
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