It's interesting reading other reviews of this album. I get the impression that some people expected more of it than they got. This album is in fact an archeological dig into the Beatles' other unreleased recorded works and a retracing of their early history. It's not a "Hits" compilation..Go to "1", "1962-66" & "1967-70" if you want that. Instead, what we find here are early demos, live recordings, a failed Audition with Decca (who have probably kicked themselves up the butt every day since January 1 '62), alternate takes, works in progress, unreleased finished recordings and television & radio performances. For a huge fan like myself, this is a treasure trove especially listening to the development of the lads as musicians and performers through the years 1958-1964 which is the period covered in this volume. Yeah the early, scratchily recorded stuff may sound like crap in parts but, putting things in perspective, these guys were 16-18 year olds cutting their teeth on Elvis, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Buddy Holly, Carl Perkins etc. How many of these types of bands sounded great at their first rehearsals especially recorded on such primitive equipment? I think any fan disppointment can be waived here! Besides they are a pointer to what was to follow, particularly with the inclusion and first release of "In Spite Of All The Danger", the first original Beatles song to be recorded.
The alternate versions really are worth a listen. The acapella intro to "Eight Days A Week" I think is possibly better than the released verison. "Leave My Kitten Alone" could have been a "Beatles For Sale" track. "One After 909" is really interesting in comparison to the released '69 version. The development of songs is the important thing here. There is also the dispelling of myths that the Beatles weren't that good playing live in concert... the Swedish TV performances are quite energetic especially when they could hear themselves play in the early days of Beatlemania. The TV segment with England's briiliant and much loved comedy duo, Morecambe And Wise, is a joy to listen to and even better if you watch it on the DVD. The Beatles hold their own here comedically with 2 very seasoned veterans and the results are really quite funny.
Here was a hungry young band of 4 working class guys clawing their way to the top, doing what they loved doing. The screaming girls alone only serve as a reminder of what those times and their music meant to a lot of us growing up with the Beatles.
The release of "Free As A Bird" was much anticipated and it represents the first time that George is given equal lead vocal time on a Beatle track with John And Paul. The track is I think quite strong though it did take a couple of listens to get used to the sound quality. But it's typical Beatles fare that picks up where "Abbey Road" left off. I get chills every time I hear George's slide guitar kick in and it's beautifully tied in with very "Beatlish" 3-part harmonies.
Overall this is not the place to start if you're a young person just getting into the Beatles. The album is really quite enjoyable when you take it for what it's meant to be...a great insight into the Beatles at work.

"Free as a Bird" is a pleasant reunion between John and the 3 surviving Beatles (I agree with one of the reviewers below who said we're lucky to have that). The song was allegedly written about the freedom Lennon felt after his deportation threats and "Lost Weekend".

On with the rest of the album. It features interviews with John, Paul, and Brian Epstein. We have possibly the 1st Quarreymen recording: a 1958 scratchy recording of "That'll Be The Day" and an original "In Spite of All the Danger". There are more demos of this sort-"You'll Be Mine" and the instrumental "Cayenne". We have Tony Sheridan's fair sounding vocals on "My Bonnie" before the Beatles take over (with Pete Best, the original drummer) on "Ain't She Sweet" and "Cry for a Shadow". George sings lead on "3 Cool Cats" and Paul sings lead on "Besame Mucho". Also included is a flat-tempoed Pete Best on "Love Me Do" before Ringo replaces Best on "How Do You Do It" (I prefer theirs better than Gerry and the Pacemakers'). An early (and superior) version of "One After 909" finds its way. There's a more raucous demo of "Can't Buy Me Love" and the Beatles experimenting with harmonies on "8 Days..", with an electric 12-string on "And I Love Her", and with tempos on "I'll Be Back". Great songs you never heard from the Beatles (until now) include "You Know What to Do" (George's 2nd song) and "Leave My Kitten Alone". And the Beatles really did sound well live, as witnessed by the 1963 recordings (most humorous is "Moonlight Bay" with Morecambre and Wise!)

Also recommended is the CD single which includes demos of "This Boy", "I Saw Her Standing There", and the 1967 "Christmas Time (Is Here Again)".

This is the most historical of the 3 Anthologies!

The ANTHOLOGY series is definitely not for the casual fan. But for any true Beatles fan who grew up in the Sixties awaiting each new release, this first volume in the series presents a treasure trove of musical memorabilia from the Fab Four's genesis as the Quarry Men through 1964, when they spearheaded the British Invasion and forever changed popular music.

Disc 1 begins with the much ballyhooed "new" recording "Free As a Bird." It is a stunning track performed by Paul, George and Ringo recorded in 1994 using a 1977 John Lennon demo. Since the remaining tracks date from 1958 to 1964, this track seems out of place on ANTHOLOGY 1, but the advance hype of this song didn't allow for its delayed inclusion on ANTHOLOGY 3.

What makes this first volume special is the historical importance of many of these tracks. While the sound quality is marginal on some of these recordings, where else will you find anything by the pre-Beatles group the Quarry Men or any Beatles tracks with Stu Sutcliffe on bass or Pete Best on drums?

Most of the rarities are on Disc-1. Here are the previously unreleased highlights:

"That'll Be the Day" / "In Spite of All the Danger": A 1958 recording by the Quarry Men. [Note: The latter track was written by McCartney-Harrison.]

"Hallelujah, I Love Her So" / "You'll Be Mine" / "Cayenne": Home tapes featuring the only known recordings with Stu Sutcliffe on bass.

"Searchin'" / "Three Cool Cats" / "The Shiek of Araby" / "Like Dreamers Do" / Hello Little Girl": Five songs from their 1962 Decca audition. Pete Best is on drums. The latter two tracks were Lennon-McCartney originals that they never recorded after securing a contract with EMI.

"Besame Mucho" / "Love Me Do": From their initial 1962 EMI session produced by George Martin. Both tracks feature Pete Best on drums.

"How Do You Do It": Brought to the group by George Martin to be used for their first single. The session features Ringo on drums. The song was eventually scrapped in favor of "Love Me Do." [Note: But labelmates Gerry & The Pacemakers would have a hit with it.]

"One After 909": A 1963 attempt at a song that would not resurface until 1970's LET IT BE.

"Lend Me Your Comb": A 1963 BBC recording that was not included on 1994's LIVE AT THE BBC.

Disc-2 contains fewer unreleased rarities:

"Moonlight Bay": a comedic number performed in 1963 on "The Morecambe and Wise Show." The boys ham it up with the show's comedy duo.

"All My Loving": The live performance from the Beatles' historic first appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show" in 1964.

"Shout": A 1964 live performance of the Isley Brothers' song that never made onto another Beatles' recording.

"You Know What To Do": A demo of a George Harrison original from 1964. The song was never completed.

"Leave My Kitten Alone": Recorded for inclusion on BEATLES FOR SALE, Lennon provides the vocal on this cover of a Little Willie John number.

Technically, all of the tracks on this collection are previously unreleased; but the above tracks represent mostly songs that were never released in any form until the release of ANTHOLOGY 1. The rest of the tracks are either live recordings or alternate takes. None of these songs are presented in their original released studio versions. So if you're looking for the recordings you remember, you'll be disappointed. But if you're looking for a glimpse at the formation of the most popular band in pop music history, this is a must-have release. ESSENTIAL

There is one thing to be said about the Anthology series - if you haven't bought The Beatles before, DO NOT BUY THESE CDs. Not yet, anyway. This series is complementary to an existing collection of Beatles albums. The main reason for buying these CDs is to compare these outtakes and alternate versions with the ones that appeared on their original albums. This particular volume is probably the best as it contains the original Quarrymen single (In Spite Of All the Danger) and a killer version of Love Me Do (the master tape of which went missing for more than 30 years). I'm not too impressed by Free As A Bird and Real Love which could only be a poor attempt to recapture past glories - you can't have The Beatles without Lennon alive. To sum up, these albums are a must for any Beatles collection.

Now we know. The Beatles left very little of interest in the "vault". But considering their constraints, touring constantly, filming movies, releasing two albums and four singles (approximately thirty-four songs) a year, this really shouldn't surprise us. In any case, this record is really, really scrounging. Consider buying it only if you already own all fifteen real Beatles CD's and the BBC live CD. Even then consider hard. For Beatle historians it is interesting to hear Pete Best's drumming and Stu Sutcliff's bass (although you can just barely and very briefly hear Stu Sutcliff's bass) and the smattering of previously unreleased prototypical Beatles originals--all very poorly recorded. The best of these--by far--is John Lennon's very first song "Hello, Little Girl." The rest is redundant live performance (made redundant by the BBC CD at least) and redundant and inferior outtakes of Beatles songs. There is one decent previously unreleased recording of a Beatles non-original, "Leave My Kitten Alone", but this is John Lennon singing a twelve-bar blues rock and roll number in exactly the same manner he sings various twelve-bar blues rock and roll numbers on real Beatles releases. The aggregate effect of this record, I think, is to tarnish the Beatles's image, and I can't bring myself to approve of that. (If I weren't a Beatles nut, however, I'd give this one star, not two. The extra star is sentiment only.)

Recommended: PENTATONIC SCALES FOR THE JAZZ-ROCK KEYBOARDIST by Jeff Burns.