The Beatles’ music has been repackaged in countless different ways since the band called it quits in 1970. With only about seven years or so of official recordings from which to choose, the folks putting those releases together have been quite inventive.
But in terms of utility, no Beatles compilation can stand up to the Past Masters releases that first appeared in 1988. Those two collections made sure that every Beatle fan could easily become a completist.
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Singles Vs. Albums
It’s difficult to imagine it now that we live in an era where music is instantly at our fingertips as long as you have the right subscription. But there was a time when getting your hands on physical copies of the official Beatles catalog in its entirety was quite a difficult task.
What was the issue? Well, there was a long-held belief in the 60s that singles and albums should be separate entities. In general (although not a hard and fast rule), The Beatles released singles that didn’t appear on their LPs. As a result, you had to either buy those singles or seek them out on some compilation if you wanted a physical copy.
The hitch with that was that most compilations tended to focus on the big hit singles, a la “Hey Jude” or “I Want To Hold Your Hand”. But what about the little-heard B-sides like “Yes It Is”? And what of rarities like the first version of “Across The Universe”, only released originally on a benefit album? Past Masters came to the rescue.
Unheralded Tracks Unearthed
In 1987, The Beatles catalog was released on CD for the first time. The group followed the UK versions of their albums in these releases, not the American counterparts, which were often quite different. They made an exception for Magical Mystery Tour, which mimicked the American version with all the killer 1967 singles included alongside the movie songs.
A year later, Past Masters filled in all the gaps. The CDs were split chronologically, with the starting point of the second disc being the double A-side single “Day Tripper” and “We Can Work It Out” from late 1965.
Some of the oddities were off the beaten path. That included German-language versions of “She Loves You” and “I Want To Hold Your Hand” on the first disc. In addition, all four tracks from the Long Tall Sally EP, released in 1964, appear on the collection as well.
Having It All
What did this mean? Well, if you purchased every one of the original album CDs, plus the two Past Masters discs, you could have every song ever officially released by the Fab Four. Basically, it became one-stop shopping for their catalog for the first time since the group called it a day.
In 1995, The Beatles released the Anthology discs, which went beyond the official releases into the vaults. Considering the endless possibilities for releases in that vein, it’s doubtful we’ll ever get anything like Past Masters again to tie all that up in a nice bow.
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