Back in the mid ’90s when The Beatles Anthology CDs were released there were many young music fans who were first getting into The Beatles through these collections of Beatles outtakes and alternate versions of their classic songs. I do not recommend this. The Beatles Anthology is a great collection for those who are already huge fans of their official releases but I think they are a pretty awful introduction to The Beatles for new listeners.

My favorite of the three Beatles Anthology sets is #3. Why? Mostly because many of the versions on this set most differ from the original versions. I don’t get as much interest out of hearing a slightly different version of their songs like we mostly get in Anthology 2. And Anthology 1 is really only for real Beatles freaks that have to have everything they recorded or for those that genuinely prefer their earlier straight ahead pop songs. It’s very unfortunate that many people in the mid ’90s were first introduced to The Beatles through Anthology 1. It’s hard to imagine a worse way to be introduced to The Beatles music.

20 Reasons Why I Love The Beatles Anthology 3

1. “Happiness Is A Warm Gun” in a drastically different version. “Oh shit, wrong chord” kills me every time.
2. “Helter Skelter” in slow motion. While I think they made the right decision in going with the fast version that is on The White Album, I think this slow motion version is in some ways more intense and sort of spooky. I would have liked to hear them go in this direction on a few more songs.
3. Groovy acoustic demo versions of “Mean Mr. Mustard,” “Polythene Pam,” & “Glass Onion.”
4. “Junk” & “Teddy Boy.” I like these versions better than the ones later found on McCartney’s debut solo album. “Junk” in particular is a lovely sad little song. “Teddy Boy” isn’t one of McCartney’s best songs but it sounds better here. Most importantly these are new songs to someone who has just heard The Beatles official recordings.
5. “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da.” This version may be better than the one on The White Album. It has a different sound that’s very groovalicious and I like Lennon’s crazy intro and outro screams. “Yes sir, take one united jumbo band.” At least I think that’s what he says. The one thing I do miss is the “ring,” “hand,” and “foot” backing vocals from the White Album version.
6. “Cry Baby Cry” is one of my favorite songs from The White Album and while I won’t say this version is better, it is interesting and I love the deep bass gurgles. Gurgles? Yes.
7. “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” acoustic. A completely different take from the heavy rock version found on The White Album. I don’t think it’s “better” but I do like to hear such a different take on the song, it’s far more interesting than just hearing a different studio take with one instrument louder.
8. “Hey Jude.” I love the “When I was a robber…” intro. Plus I like that not all of the nah-nah-nah is included. Sometimes it’s nice just to hear the first part of the song. This is a great version of the song.
9. “Not Guilty.” This is another song that is brand new to those who have just heard the Beatles official recordings. While it’s not one of the greatest songs (there’s a reason it was left off The White Album) is a pretty cool song with some cool guitar bits.
10. “Rocky Raccoon.” I like this sort of half-assed sounding version. I think it fits the song well.
11. “What’s The New Mary Jane.” Possibly the weirdest song The Beatles ever recorded (including “Revolution #9.”) This is another track that is brand new to the Anthology as it was never included on any Beatles album. I love this track. “He grooving such cookie spaghetti.”
12. “Step Inside Love/Los Paranoias.” Good times.
13. “Why Don’t We Do It In The Road.” Completely different version than the one on The White Album. I love hearing McCartney’s crazy vocals on this one.
14. “She Came In Through The Bathroom” in slow motion. Another totally different version of a song from the official Beatles version. The one on Abbey Road is great and I think that version works better within the context of the album, but this version is really cool too.
15. “The Long And Winding Road” without strings. It’s still a pretty sappy song but it does have a bit more weight without the over the top strings.
16. “All Things Must Pass” may be my favorite thing about the entire Anthology series. I love this song and I think it’s far superior in this stripped down version than the overproduced way it sounds on George Harrison’s solo album by the same name.
17. “Something” acoustic.
18. “Come Together” with Lennon’s raspy vocals. I love how dirty this version sounds. The effect is somewhat ruined though by Lennon losing his voice about 1:50 in.
19. “Come And Get It” is not a really great song but I still like hearing The Beatles version of this song McCartney gave to Badfinger.
20. “Because.” It sounds pretty amazing with no instrumentation.

The Beatles Anthology: 3 - Beatles (The) (CD 1996) US $50.99 End Date: Thursday Feb-09-2012 3:48:02 PST Add to watch list