When
the Beatles’ eight-part Anthology series was first released in the
1990s, it was a mind-blowing experience for young Beatles fans like me. For
years, my dad had regaled us kids with his tale of sneaking into a Beatles
concert in Memphis in 1966. And every year on my birthday, my mom recounted the
story of my early-morning birth, and how my dad sang “Here Comes The Sun” in
the delivery room as the sun came up. She gave me her original Abbey Road
LP when I turned 11. Suffice it to say, I was obsessed with the Beatles from a
young age. But I hadn’t been around when the Beatles were together — John was
killed before I was even born. So all of the band’s performances and music
releases were relegated to the past, and I was never a part of it. When the Anthology
series was announced, I couldn’t believe that I would be hearing new Beatles
songs on the day they were released. The documentary series, which aired on
ABC, was in some ways just as groundbreaking as the Beatles’ music had been.
While most music
documentaries of the day featured an outside narrator and talking heads
offering retrospective soundbites, the Anthology series featured the
Beatles themselves at various points in their lives and careers, telling their
own story with a candor and sincerity that rose above the temptation to smooth
over the complexities and contradictions in their personal and professional
relationships. It invited new generations of viewers and listeners into the
Beatles fandom, much as Peter Jackson’s Get Back docuseries did when it
was released in 2021. (See our article Peter Jackson’s Beatles Documentary Used Artificial
Intelligence To Perform Restoration Magic.) I think it’s fair to say that the
very existence of the Peter Jackson series is a direct result of what the
Beatles describe as a “creative and commercial afterlife” that began with the
original Anthology series and albums in the 1990s. Now in 2025, the Anthology
returns in what Disney+ calls “its ultimate form,”
for a comprehensive global release “on screen, on record, and in print.” A
newly-restored and remastered version of the 8-part documentary series will be
streaming exclusively on Disney+ beginning November 26th, along with a
brand-new 9th episode. There will also be new music releases and an anniversary
edition of the Beatles Anthology hardbound
book.
The
original eight episodes, which many fans won’t have seen since they aired
toward the end of 1995, followed the lives of the Fab Four, starting from their
early days in Liverpool and the Hamburg night clubs where they developed their
live act and performance chops. Viewers can re-live (or learn about for the
first time) the fever of Beatlemania
and the group’s historic arrival in the USA in 1964. From the famous
performances on The Ed Sullivan Show to the band’s position at the
forefront of 1960s counterculture and spiritual exploration in India, the Anthology
uses the Beatles’ music as the thread to tie the sometimes wandering
narratives together. We’re told that the completely new ninth episode includes
never-before-seen, behind-the-scenes footage of Paul, George, and Ringo as they
came together in 1994 and 1995 to work on the original Anthology. At the
time, the three remaining Beatles reflected on their shared experiences in this
unseen footage. Restoration of the original episodes and this new footage was
overseen by Apple Corps’ production team, working with Peter Jackson’s Wingnut
Films & Park Road Post teams. They collaborated with Giles Martin, who has
created new audio mixes for most of the music featured in the docuseries.
These
new mixes (alongside some remastered original mixes) have resulted in a new
version of The Beatles Anthology music collections, now expanded to four volumes, and
presented on your choice of vinyl, CD, or digital files. Slated for release on
November 21st, The Anthology Collection includes everything from the
1990s version originally curated by Sir George Martin, now remixed and/or remastered by his
son, Giles Martin. There
are three double albums of rare material that brings to musical life the story told
in the documentary. The music offers “an enthralling insight into the early
development of songs that became… recorded masterpieces that resonate just as
loudly today as they did when they were first recorded,” according to the press
release announcing the albums. And of course, the new version includes an
important new element: Anthology 4. This entirely new part of the
musical story was curated by Giles Martin, and includes 13 previously-unreleased
demos and session recordings, alongside other rare Beatles recordings. It also
includes new mixes of The Beatles’ hit singles: the GRAMMY-winning “Free As A
Bird” and “Real Love,” which were first released to coincide with the original
1990s Anthology. Their original producer, Jeff Lynne, came back to give
the recordings new life by using “de-mixed” John Lennon
vocals. (This process of de-mixing uses
artificial intelligence, which allowed Lynne to separate Lennon’s original
vocal track from other sounds present on the recording, allowing for higher
audio quality on the final mix. AI was not used to re-create or
otherwise simulate Lennon’s voice.) The new mixes of “Free As
A Bird” and “Real
Love” are placed alongside the band’s most recent UK No. 1 hit single, the
GRAMMY-winning song “Now And Then,” which was released in 2023. (See our
article Now
And Then: The Last Beatles Song.) All three of these songs were
created using home demos that John recorded in the 1970s. Later, Paul, George,
and Ringo added vocal and instrumental parts to complete the songs. In the case
of “Now
And Then,” John’s rudimentary
demo had been declared unusable when the remaining Beatles gathered in the
1990s to work on the original Anthology. At the time, the AI-driven
de-mixing process had not yet been invented, and the recording was just too
noisy. It was Paul McCartney who decided to try again more recently, inspired
by the technology used to restore the Get Back docuseries. Peter Jackson
and his team came through, resulting in the final “new” Beatles song. The
original “Free As A Bird” music video has also been beautifully restored.
In
total, the new Anthology albums
include a staggering 191 tracks. These will be released on November 21st by
Apple Corps Ltd./Capitol/UMG in deluxe
box sets of 12 180-gram vinyl LPs, or 8 CDs. The music will also be available
for digital purchase and streaming. The box sets include the original sleeve
notes for the first three parts of the Anthology from the 1990s. The new
Anthology 4 includes 26 tracks that have never previously been released,
with track notes written by Kevin Howlett and an introduction compiled from
1996 interviews recorded with Derek Taylor, a close friend and adviser of the Beatles.
Finally,
the the 25th Anniversary Edition of The Beatles Anthology book was released on October 14th by Apple Corps Ltd. and Chronicle Books. The book
includes the Beatles’ stories in their own words, plus memories and impressions
from their closest colleagues, including Neil Aspinall, George Martin, Derek
Taylor, and others. The 368-page book includes more than 1,300 photos,
documents, artworks, and other bits of memorabilia that are priceless to the band’s
passionate fans. I have no doubt that there will be some cynics out there who
say that this new Anthology is just a cash grab. “You’d think that
people would’ve had enough of the Beatles,” they might say. But I look around
me and I see it isn’t so.
For real fans, and perhaps for a generation of new ones, the new Beatles
Anthology is another exciting chapter in the band’s enduring legacy.
More
information: The Beatles Anthology
Music
streaming: https://thebeatles.lnk.to/AnthologyWe