Anthology 2

Anthology 2
Compilation album by The Beatles
Released	18 March 1996
Recorded	16 February 1965 – 6 February 1968; c. 1979 & February 1995
Genre	Rock, pop
Length	127:54
Label	Apple (CDP 7243 8 34448 2), Capitol
Producer	George Martin, Jeff Lynne, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr ("Real Love")
The Beatles chronology
Anthology 1 (1995) Anthology 2 (1996) Anthology 3 (1996)
Singles from Anthology 2
"Real Love" Released: 4 March 1996

Anthology 2 is a compilation album by the Beatles, released on 18 March 1996 by Apple Records as part of The Beatles Anthology series. It features rarities, outtakes and live performances from the 1965 sessions for Help! to the sessions just prior to their trip to India in February 1968. It is the second in a trilogy of albums with Anthology 1 and Anthology 3, all of which tie in with the televised special The Beatles Anthology. The opening track is "Real Love", the second of the two recordings that reunited the Beatles for the first time since the band's break-up. Like its predecessor, the album topped the Billboard 200 album chart and has been certified 4× Platinum by the RIAA.

The Anthology albums were remastered and made available digitally on the iTunes Store on 14 June 2011, individually and as part of the Anthology Box Set.

Content

"Real Love", as with "Free as a Bird", is based on a demo made by John Lennon and given to Paul McCartney by Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono. The three surviving Beatles (McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr) added guitars, bass, drums, percussion and backing vocals, but unlike with the previous song, did not re-work the lyrics or music. "Real Love" remained solely credited to Lennon, becoming the only Beatles song to have Lennon by himself in the writing credit.

Disc one contains three unreleased compositions, one being an instrumental entitled "12-Bar Original", recorded for Rubber Soul but subsequently unused. Two other songs recorded for Help!, "If You've Got Trouble" and "That Means a Lot", were abandoned and never returned to again by the band. The former was originally slated to be the usual vocal spot for Ringo Starr on Help!, and the latter was eventually given to singer P.J. Proby. The version of "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby" from the group's famed August 1965 show at Shea Stadium but left out of the documentary about the show appears for the first time.

Disc two contains work-in-progress versions of tracks from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Magical Mystery Tour. The take of "Strawberry Fields Forever" that made up the first minute of the released record appears in its entirety on track three. Also included are three songs that were started during this period – "Only a Northern Song", "You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)" and "Across the Universe" – but would not see release until years later, in 1969 and 1970.

One track that remains officially unreleased from this time, "Carnival of Light", was vetoed off this set by Harrison.^[1]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Robert Christgau	[3]
Entertainment Weekly	B[4]
Guitarist	[5]
The Independent	(mixed)[6]
Melody Maker	"Recommended"[7]
MusicHound	3/5[8]
NME	10/10[7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[9]
Wall of Sound	92/100[10]

Like its predecessor, Anthology 2 sold well. In the United States, it debuted at number one, selling 442,000 copies its first week. The next week, it fell to number two, selling 201,000 copies, being replaced by Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill. The album spent two more weeks on the top 10, at number four then number eight, remaining on the Billboard 200 for 22 consecutive weeks and then re-entering the charts twice, marking a number 96 reach during the Christmas season of 1996. In all, the album spent 37 weeks on the charts (eight more than Anthology 1) and sold 1,707,000 copies. In the United Kingdom, the success was similar. The first Anthology album had debuted at number two when it was released in November 1995, but its successor reached number one, where it remained for one week. The album spent a total of 13 weeks on the UK Album Chart.

Track listing

CD release

All songs written by Lennon–McCartney and in stereo, except where noted.

Disc one

1. "Real Love" (John Lennon) – 3:54
   • Lennon demo recorded at The Dakota, Manhattan, New York City, New York, July 1979; Beatles version recorded February 1995
2. "Yes It Is" (Takes 2 & 14) – 1:50
   • Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, England, 16 February 1965
3. "I'm Down" (Take 1) – 2:53
   • Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, England, 14 June 1965
4. "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" (Takes 1, 2 & 5) (Mono) – 2:45
5. "If You've Got Trouble" (Take 1) – 2:48
   • Tracks 4-5 recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, England, 18 February 1965
6. "That Means a Lot" (Take 1) – 2:27
   • Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, England, 20 February 1965
7. "Yesterday" (Take 1) – 2:34
   • Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, England, 14 June 1965
8. "It's Only Love" (Takes 2 & 3) (Mono) – 1:59
   • Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, England, 15 June 1965
9. "I Feel Fine" (Mono) – 2:16
10. "Ticket to Ride" (Mono) – 2:45
11. "Yesterday" (Mono) – 2:43
12. "Help!" (Mono) – 2:55
    • Tracks 9-12 recorded live at ABC Theatre, Blackpool, Lancashire, England, 1 August 1965 for the Blackpool Night Out television broadcast
13. "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby" (Carl Perkins) (Mono) – 2:45
    • Recorded live at Shea Stadium, New York City, New York, 15 August 1965
14. "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" (Take 1) – 1:59
    • Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, England, 12 October 1965
15. "I'm Looking Through You" (Take 1) – 2:54
    • Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, England, 24 October 1965
16. "12-Bar Original" (Edited Take 2) (Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Richard Starkey) – 2:55
    • Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, England, 4 November 1965
17. "Tomorrow Never Knows" (Take 1) – 3:14
    • Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, England, 6 April 1966
18. "Got to Get You into My Life" (Take 5) (Mono) – 2:54
    • Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, England, 7 April 1966
19. "And Your Bird Can Sing" (Take 2) – 2:13
    • Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, England, 20 April 1966
20. "Taxman" (Take 11) (Harrison) – 2:32
    • Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, England, 21 April 1966
21. "Eleanor Rigby" (Take 14) – 2:06
    • Backing string section without vocals; recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, England, 28 April 1966
22. "I'm Only Sleeping" (Rehearsal) (Mono) – 0:41
23. "I'm Only Sleeping" (Take 1) (Mono) – 2:59
    • Tracks 22-23 recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, England, 29 April 1966
24. "Rock and Roll Music" (Chuck Berry) (Mono) – 1:39
25. "She's a Woman" (Mono) – 2:55
    • Tracks 24-25 recorded live at Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan, 30 June 1966

Disc two

1. "Strawberry Fields Forever" (Demo sequence) (Mono) – 1:42
   • Lennon demo recorded at Kenwood, Weybridge, Surrey, England, November 1966
2. "Strawberry Fields Forever" (Take 1) – 2:35
   • Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, England, 24 November 1966
3. "Strawberry Fields Forever" (Take 7 and edit piece) (Mono) – 4:14
   • Full take of song used for intro and first verse - recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, England, 29 November and 9 December 1966
4. "Penny Lane" (Take 9 horn overdub) – 3:13
   • Composite of takes recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, England, 29 December 1966 – 17 January 1967
5. "A Day in the Life" (Takes 1, 2, 6 & orchestra) – 5:05
   • Basic track of master version without "psychedelic" overdubs - composite of takes recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, England, 19–20 January and 10 February 1967
6. "Good Morning Good Morning" (Take 8) – 2:40
   • Composite of takes recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, England, 8 & 16 February 1967
7. "Only a Northern Song" (Takes 3 & 12) (Harrison) – 2:44
   • Composite of takes recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, England, 13–14 February and 20 April 1967
8. "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" (Takes 1 & 2) – 1:05
9. "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" (Take 7 & effects tape) – 2:34
   • Tracks 8-9 composite of takes recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, England, 17 & 20 February 1967
10. "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" (Takes 6, 7 & 8) – 3:06
    • Composite of takes recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, England, 1–2 March 1967
11. "Within You Without You" (Harrison) – 5:27
    • Instrumental backing track; composite of takes recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, England, 15 March–3 April 1967
12. "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)" (Take 5) (Mono) – 1:27
    • Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, England, 1 April 1967
13. "You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)" – 5:43
    • Composite of takes recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, England, 17 May 1967 – 30 April 1969
14. "I Am the Walrus" (Take 16) – 4:02
    • Basic track of master version without "psychedelic" overdubs - recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, England, 5 September 1967
15. "The Fool on the Hill" (Mono) – 2:48
    • McCartney demo recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, England, 6 September 1967
16. "Your Mother Should Know" (Take 27) – 3:02
    • Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, England, 16 September 1967
17. "The Fool on the Hill" (Take 4) – 3:45
    • Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, England, 25 September 1967
18. "Hello, Goodbye" (Take 16 and overdubs) – 3:18
    • Composite of takes recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, England, 2 & 19 October 1967
19. "Lady Madonna" (Takes 3 & 4) – 2:22
    • Composite of takes recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, England, 3 & 6 February 1968
20. "Across the Universe" (Take 2) – 3:29
    • Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, England, 4 February 1968

Vinyl release

Side one "Real Love" "Yes It Is" "I'm Down" (Take 1) "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" (Takes 1-2 & 5) "If You've Got Trouble" (Take 1) "That Means a Lot" (Take 1) "Yesterday" (Take 1) "It's Only Love" (Takes 2-3) Side two "I Feel Fine" "Ticket to Ride" "Yesterday" "Help!" "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby" "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" (Take 1) "I'm Looking Through You" (Take 1) "12-Bar Original" (Edited Take 2)

Side three "Tomorrow Never Knows" (Take 1) "Got to Get You into My Life" (Take 5) "And Your Bird Can Sing" (Take 2) "Taxman" (Take 11) "Eleanor Rigby" (Take 14) "I'm Only Sleeping" (Rehearsal) "I'm Only Sleeping" (Take 1) "Rock and Roll Music" "She's a Woman Side four "Strawberry Fields Forever" (Demo sequence) "Strawberry Fields Forever" (Take 1) "Strawberry Fields Forever" (Take 7 and edit piece) "Penny Lane" (Take 9 horn overdub) "A Day in the Life" (Takes 1, 2, 6 & orchestra) "Good Morning Good Morning" (Take 8) "Only a Northern Song" (Takes 3 & 12)

Side five "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" (Takes 1 & 2) "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" (Take 7 & effects tape) "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" (Takes 6, 7 & 8) "Within You Without You" "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)" (Take 5) "You Know My Name (Look Up the Number) Side six "I Am the Walrus" (Take 16) "The Fool on the Hill" "Your Mother Should Know" "The Fool on the Hill" (Take 4) "Hello, Goodbye" (Take 16 and overdubs) "Lady Madonna" (Takes 3 & 4) "Across the Universe" (Take 2)

Cassette release

Side one "Real Love" "Yes It Is" "I'm Down" (Take 1) "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" (Takes 1, 2 & 5) "If You've Got Trouble" (Take 1) "That Means a Lot" (Take 1) "Yesterday" (Take 1) "It's Only Love" (Takes 2 & 3) "I Feel Fine" "Ticket to Ride" "Yesterday" "Help!" Side two "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby" "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" (Take 1) "I'm Looking Through You" (Take 1) "12-Bar Original" (Edited Take 2) "Tomorrow Never Knows" (Take 1) "Got to Get You into My Life" (Take 5) "And Your Bird Can Sing" (Take 2) "Taxman" (Take 11) "Eleanor Rigby" (Take 14) "I'm Only Sleeping" (Rehearsal) "I'm Only Sleeping" (Take 1) "Rock and Roll Music" "She's a Woman"

Side three "Strawberry Fields Forever" (Demo sequence) "Strawberry Fields Forever" (Take 1) "Strawberry Fields Forever" (Take 7 & Edit piece) "Penny Lane" (Take 9 horn overdub) "A Day in the Life" (Takes 1, 2, 6 with orchestra) "Good Morning Good Morning" (Take 8) "Only a Northern Song" (Takes 3 & 12) "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" (Takes 1 & 2) "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" (Take 7 & effects tape) "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" (Takes 6, 7 & 8) "Within You Without You" Side four "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)" (Take 5) "You Know My Name (Look Up the Number) "I Am the Walrus" (Take 16) "The Fool on the Hill" "Your Mother Should Know" "The Fool on the Hill" (Take 4) "Hello, Goodbye" (Take 16 and overdubs) "Lady Madonna" (Takes 3 & 4) "Across the Universe" (Take 2)

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/Sales
Canada (Music Canada)[11]	4× Platinum	400,000^^
France (SNEP)[12]	Gold	109,900[13]
Japan (RIAJ)[14]	Platinum	266,000[15]
United Kingdom (BPI)[16]	Platinum	300,000^^
United States (RIAA)[17]	4× Platinum	2,000,000^^
^^shipments figures based on certification alone

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1996) Position Australian ARIA Album Chart[18] 2 Austrian Albums Chart[19] 9 Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders) [20] 8 Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[21] 7 Canadian RPM Albums Chart[22] 3 Dutch Albums Chart[23] 4 Finnish Albums Chart[24] 5 French SNEP Albums Chart[25] 2 German Media Control Albums Chart[26] 4 Italian Albums Chart[27] 16 Japanese Oricon Albums Chart[28] 3 New Zealand Albums Chart[29] 3 Norwegian Albums Chart[30] 5 Swedish Albums Chart[31] 2 Swiss Albums Chart[32] 4 UK Albums Chart[33] 1 US Billboard 200[34] 1

Year-end charts Chart (1996) Position Canadian Albums Chart[35] 34 Italian Albums Chart[27] 107 Japanese Albums Chart[36] 95 US Billboard 200[37] 39

Release history

Country	Date	Label	Format	Catalogue
United Kingdom	1996-03-18	Apple, EMI	Triple vinyl LP	PCSP728 / 72438 34448 1 6
			Double CD	CDPCSP728 / 7243 8 34448 2 3
			Cassette	TCPCSP728
United States	1996-03-19	Apple, Capitol, EMI	Triple vinyl LP	CDP 7243 8 34448 1 6
			Double CD	CDP 7243 8 34448 2 3

Notes

1. Carnival of Light - The Beatles Bible
2. Unterberger, Richie. "Review: Anthology 2 - The Beatles". Macrovision Corporation. Retrieved 12 August 2009.
3. Christgau, Robert. "Review: Anthology 2 (Capitol/Apple, 1995)". Retrieved 12 August 2009.
4. Browne, David (22 March 1996). "Review: Anthology 2 (1996)". Time Inc. Retrieved 12 August 2009.
5. Hudson, Jeffrey. "Review: The Beatles, Anthology 2 (Parlophone CDPCSP 728)". Guitarist. Music Maker Publications (June 1996): 157.
6. Barber, Nicholas (17 March 1996). "Review: Beatles: Anthology 2 (Parlophone, two CDs/three LPs/two tapes)". Independent News & Media. Retrieved 12 August 2009.
7. "The Beatles – Anthology 2 CD Album" > "Product Reviews". CD Universe/Muze. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
8. Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds) (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide (2nd edn). Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. p. 88. ISBN 1-57859-061-2.
9. "The Beatles: Album Guide". rollingstone.com. Archived from the original on 20 September 2011. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
10. Schwager, Jeff. "Wall of Sound Review: The Beatles Anthology 2". Wall of Sound. Archived from the original on 5 April 2001. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
11. "Canadian album certifications – The Beatles – Anthology 2". Music Canada. Retrieved 15 September 2013.
12. "French album certifications – The Beatles – Anthology 2" (in French). InfoDisc. Select THE BEATLES and click OK
13. "Les Albums Or". infodisc.fr. SNEP. Retrieved 31 August 2011.
14. "RIAJ > The Record > May 1996 > Certified Awards (March 1996)" (PDF). Recording Industry Association of Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved 25 December 2013.
15. Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
16. "British album certifications – The Beatles – Anthology 2". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 15 September 2013. Enter Anthology 2 in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
17. "American album certifications – Beatles, The – Anthology 2". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 15 September 2013. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
18. "australian-charts.com The Beatles - Anthology 2" (ASP). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
19. "austriancharts.at The Beatles - Anthology 2" (ASP). Hung Medien (in German). Retrieved 7 January 2014.
20. "ultratop.be The Beatles - Anthology 2" (ASP). Hung Medien (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
21. "ultratop.be The Beatles - Anthology 2" (ASP). Hung Medien (in French). Ultratop. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
22. "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 63, No. 8" (PHP). RPM. 8 April 1996. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
23. "dutchcharts.nl The Beatles - Anthology 2" (ASP). dutchcharts.nl. MegaCharts. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
24. "finnishcharts.com The Beatles - Anthology 3" (ASP). Retrieved 2 February 2010.
25. "InfoDisc : Tous les Albums classés par Artiste > Choisir Un Artiste Dans la Liste" (in French). infodisc.fr. Archived from the original on 7 November 2011. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
26. "Album Search: The Beatles - Anthology 2" (in German). Media Control. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
27. "Hit Parade Italia - Gli album più venduti del 1996" (in Italian). hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
28. "ザ・ビートルズ・アンソロジー2／ザ・ビートルズ-リリース-ORICON STYLE-ミュージック" [Highest position and charting weeks of Anthology 2 by The Beatles]. oricon.co.jp (in Japanese). Oricon Style. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
29. "charts.org.nz The Beatles - Anthology 2" (ASP). Hung Medien. Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
30. "norwegiancharts.com The Beatles - Anthology 3" (ASP). Retrieved 18 December 2013.
31. "swedishcharts.com The Beatles - Anthology 2" (ASP) (in Swedish). Retrieved 1 January 2014.
32. "The Beatles - Anthology 2 - hitparade.ch" (ASP). Hung Medien (in German). Swiss Music Charts. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
33. "The Beatles > Artists > Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
34. "allmusic ((( Anthology 2 > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". allmusic.com. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
35. "RPM Year End Top 100 Albums". RPM. 16 December 1996. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
36. "1995年 アルバム年間TOP100" [Oricon Year-end Albums Chart of 1995] (in Japanese). Retrieved 1 January 2014.
37. "Billboard.BIZ - Year-end Charts - Billboard 200 - 1996". billboard.biz. Retrieved 18 September 2011.