{"id":2169301,"date":"2025-11-20T22:11:17","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T22:11:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2169301"},"modified":"2025-11-20T22:11:17","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T22:11:17","slug":"the-best-songs-from-the-beatles-anthology-4-reviewed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/the-best-songs-from-the-beatles-anthology-4-reviewed\/","title":{"rendered":"The Best Songs From The Beatles Anthology 4 Reviewed"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Bringing their Anthology series up to date in what is billed as \u201cit\u2019s ultimate form\u201d, The Beatles finally release the fourth and possibly final deep dive of out-takes, curios and aborted versions of songs from throughout their career.\u00a0Anthology 4<\/em>\u2019s 36 tracks include new mixes of Real Love, Free As A Bird and \u201clast Beatles track\u201d Now And Then that boost John Lennon<\/a>\u2019s vocals from ghostly cypher to a fuller sounding performance, but most people will concentrate on the other 33.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Running from the second take of I Saw Her Standing There on 11 February 1963 to the isolated and outrageously gorgeous strings recorded for the Abbey Road album\u2019s Something on 15 August 1969, the album follows an alternative history of the band. Not everything is previously unheard: Take 26 of Strawberry Fields Forever, for instance, was included on the \u201csuper deluxe\u201d 2017 edition of\u00a0Sgt Pepper<\/a><\/em>, while other tracks are being reclaimed from long-available bootlegs. Although some legendary recordings, however, remain unreleased – the avant garde Carnival Of Light and the 27-minute jam version of Helter Skelter in particular –\u00a0Anthology 4<\/em>\u00a0really does seem to be the final word in The Beatles\u2019 story without reaching the barrel bottom.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

The album is released as an 8CD, 12LP boxset with Anthologies 1-3, along with an updated edition of the book and a re-release of the Anthology TV documentary, featuring a new final episode, on Disney Plus. You can read MOJO\u2019s review of the new episode\u00a0HERE<\/a><\/strong>. In the meantime, here\u2019s our pick of the best tracks unearthed from the vaults for\u00a0Anthology 4<\/em>\u2026<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

This Boy (Takes 12 And 13)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Recorded: EMI Studios, London, October 17, 1963<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Originally the B-side of The Beatles\u2019 breakthrough US single I Want To Hold Your Hand, both tracks were recorded the same day using the newly installed four-track desk at EMI Studio (now Abbey Road). Neither song appeared on the band\u2019s then-nearly completed second UK album\u00a0With The Beatles<\/em>, but in the US Capitol Records chose to include them on its initial LP release, Meet The Beatles!<\/em>.Written by Lennon as an attempt to emulate Smokey Robinson, it was mostly a vehicle for his three-part close harmonies with McCartney and Harrison. These two takes both begin with those harmonies locked in tight, but break down as they trip over switching between \u201cThis boy\u201d and \u201cThat boy\u201d, confusing themselves to the point on Take 13 of mistakenly singing \u201cThas boy\u201d before collapsing into giggles.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Tell Me Why (Takes 4 and 5)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Recorded: EMI Studios, London, February 27, 1964<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Recorded in eight quick takes just a few days before filming began for A Hard Day\u2019s Night – it appears at the end of the film, opening a medley with If I Fell and I Should Have Known Better – Tell Me Why has always been loose and spirited. As the tape starts rolling for Take 4, McCartney and Lennon are caught in prickly discussion about how to sing the harmonies. Take 4 breaks down after just a few seconds as their vocals quickly go out of tune, but they immediately crack into Take 5, a much more raw, joyous and slightly quicker tempo version than the one on the album. Lennon\u2019s crackling voice is high and bright in the mix, as is Starr\u2019s backbeat masterclass: his drumming seldom swung freer than it does here.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

I’ve Just Seen A Face (Take 3)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Recorded: EMI Studios, London, 14 June 1965<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

The country influence on The Beatles is often overlooked, but nothing came as close to them emulating their beloved Everly Brothers as I\u2019ve Just Seen A Face, written about McCartney\u2019s then-girlfriend Jane Asher. Like many of the tracks on\u00a0Anthology 4<\/em>, I\u2019ve Just Seen A Face is more spirited than the eventual released version, and with Starr\u2019s swishing train track shuffle, Harrison on 12-string, Lennon strumming so hard he breaks a string, this freewheeling take is almost a campfire thrash. The first song recorded on the final day of the\u00a0Help!<\/em>\u00a0LP sessions – I\u2019m Down (the b-side of the Help! single) and Yesterday were recorded the same day – it didn\u2019t appear in the US until it was added as the opening track of\u00a0Rubber Soul<\/em>.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

In My Life (Take 1)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Recorded: EMI Studios, London, 18 October 1965<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

The song Lennon considered his \u201cfirst major piece of work\u201d is remarkably fully formed on its first studio take. Stripped of the bright three-part harmonies that spark the version on\u00a0Rubber Soul<\/em>\u00a0(there is a McCartney harmony deep in the background), Lennon\u2019s vocal becomes even more wistful and nostalgic, sounding truly affectionate despite him already chewing through the odd mid-Atlantic burr retained for the finished version. Missing, too, is the baroque, Bach-like piano bridge written and played by George Martin, recorded at half speed then sped up for the overdub to sound like a harpsichord. For once, the song is all the better for the absence of Martin\u2019s contribution.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Something (Take 39 – Instrumental – Strings Only)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Recorded: EMI Studios, London, 15 August 1969<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Classically trained musician George Martin doesn\u2019t always get the recognition he deserves for the orchestral arrangements that he could seemingly knock out at will. It began of course with his suggestion to McCartney that they use strings on Yesterday, but few of his orchestral contributions were as beautiful as for Harrison\u2019s Something, which even Lennon was once happy to acknowledge as possibly the best song on Abbey Road. Played by a 21-piece ensemble that included 12 violins, it\u2019s so epic it required two of the eight studio tracks available at the time. McCartney called the finished track, \u201cThe best song George has ever written\u201d, a comment that could be applied to either Harrison or Martin.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> The Beatles Most Groundbreaking Songs Ranked!<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.mojo4music.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bringing their Anthology series up to date in what is billed as \u201cit\u2019s ultimate form\u201d, The Beatles finally release the fourth and possibly final deep dive of out-takes, curios and aborted versions of songs from throughout their career.\u00a0Anthology 4\u2019s 36 tracks include new mixes of Real Love, Free As A Bird and \u201clast Beatles track\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2169302,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25179],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2169301","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/The-Best-Songs-From-The-Beatles-Anthology-4-Reviewed.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2169301","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2169301"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2169301\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2169303,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2169301\/revisions\/2169303"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2169302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2169301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2169301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2169301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}