Would Beatles Anthology expanded sell ?

Ok bear with me for a minute, & imagine the following.

4-5 years from now ( hypothetically ) when The Beatles core albums ( from 65 on ) have been released in deluxe set, multi disc form. Similar to the upcoming White album 50, or last year's Sgt Pepper's 50th.

They then decide ( Apple/Beatles ) to re-release the 3 volumes of Anthology, in deluxe form. Will it work ? And Sell Sell Sell !

Now in this ( hypothetical ) future release, a lot of additional Beatles outtakes, have been released on the deluxe sets in recent years.

But we saw quickly with Sgt Pepper 50 in 2017 & White album 50 in 2018, That Apple was continuing to withhold longtime, coveted outtakes. Carnival of light, a reworked Sour Milk Sea, a possible 3rd 1990s reunion song, the legendary 27 minute Helter Skelter & so forth.

Beatle watchers ( hypothetically ) began to suspect a possible Anthology 4. But one problem, was Anthology went in nearly total chronological order. Anthology 4 would by neccesity break that pattern, possibly confusing, or losing some would be fans. They could always create a new marketing strategy, for a nonsequential, album of outtakes.

Or, ( hypothetically ) they could re-issue The Beatles Anthology series Vol 1-3 in a deluxe & expanded form, instead of 3 double albums, they could expand it 3 triple CDs or downloads, or 3 quadruple CDs

This is where you guys come in. Would some type of expanded Anthology sell ? Is the best way to do it, expanding the original release, much as Sgt Pepper 2017 & White album 2018 are doing, or is there a better way to do it ?

Some people have suggested an expanded Past Masters set as a better way ( I disagree with that one ). Or just an out of sequence volume 4.

Which leads to the next question ? How much Outtake material do they available ?

There wouldn't be 20-30 "new" songs, previously unknown to the public, like Anthology. There might be 5-10, the 3rd reunion song, Carnival of light, Sour Milk Sea, but not a whole bunch like Anthology.

So the bulk of new material would have to be mostly Alternate takes, a lot of the choice alternates were used on the Sgt Pepper, White Album & Abbey Road - Let it Be & Revolver boxes ( hypothetically )

So how many discs ( cash registers ) can they fill ? How much material have they got ? What's the best way to do it ?

And, can they do it all ? Will they ? ( Hypothetically )

Expanded Anthology ?
New Anthology 4 ?
New Past Masters ?

What's the best or most likely way do it ?

 

Using this forum as a measure, I can't see the demand or market for any more Beatles product

 

OH NO MY REPLY is trapped inside the yellow box !

 

I’d like an Anthology 4, but it’d never happen, and I think there’s practically no demand for it.

 

If Apple do carry on and produce super deluxe editions of the rest of the albums over the next few years I don't think there would be any need for further (or expanded) Anthologies. I still play the existing Anthologies regularly - love em all.

 

The fact that Zeppelin are releasing digital only archive material.....don't you think this will be the way forward for more bands including The Beatles.

 

Nope.

 

Well regardless of format, download, CD, Blu Ray or other, what packaging or choice of material, that's available, would make it sell.

 

The reissue of Anthology series with additional material (Carnival of light, Helter Skelter 27, session outtakes...) in the next few years is as sure as the sun will rise tomorrow!

Also, for BR video edition, they will add even more extras than the dvd - starting with George and Paul's home movies while recording Free as a bird, previously unreleased interview footage and so on...

 

Would Beatles Anthology expanded sell ?




YES

 

I hope that by 2026 all relevant outtakes from the Beatles have found their proper place (attached to the corresponding album) and Anthology is no longer necessary and is replaced by an "Early Beatles" box containing the home recordings, the Decca Sessions and the Hamburg live recordings.

 

What would the corresponding album or solution be, for Free As A Bird, Real Love & any other reunion songs, that eventually saw official release ??

You didn't mention Past Masters, what's left ?

 

With all the Beatles' fanatics? Yes it would. Easily.

 

A past masters box could be a nice place for the reunion songs.

 

Sell?

YES!!!!

 

Yeah ok, so would you put it together ?

 

Personally I think that a "De-expanded* Anthology" would be best / sell most.
Remove all the superfluous instrumental backing tracks, etc, and release a more concise / interesting 3 disc version...


* de-spanded? de-shrunk? de-reduced?

 

I would buy it. They remastered all three volumes of Anthology back in 2011, but only for iTunes.
They should put them into CDs including more rarities. That would be 6 CDs of the standard Anthology CDs and some extra music on 2 or 4 discs, making it up to 10 CDs in total.
Adding a nice book for a dedicated box set. And gimme the documentary series in HD!!

 

Haven’t the 50th anniversary reissues made them redundant?

 

I wouldn't want to see an "expanded" reissue of the current 6 CDs in the 3 Anthology sets.
I would welcome a release of more unreleased material, but not material that has been previously released on the expanded CD album sets or compilations (eg. the long "Helter", and I think there are some tracks on the US Rarities album that are not on CD).

Another option would be to take a leaf from Dylan's reissue book, and release all the takes from particular albums, demonstrating the musical progression of each song in the studio.

 

What I would prefer over any Anthologies would be a whole new separate series of outtakes and alternates. Volumes 1, 2, 3, etc. Starting with the earliest years (62-63) and then moving upward to 1970. I think the three Anthology releases had their day, and they were basically just an audio soundtrack to the 1995 Video Documentary. I would like to see the Beatles sessions more in the vein of what's been done with the Bob Dylan Bootleg Series.

 

Anthology?
I'd buy it if it was expanded.
Compile tracks /hypothesis?

 

If a 76 year old Paul McCartney's album can be a US No. 1, and last year's Sgt Pepper remix can get to US No. 3/UK No, 1 then yeah, it's pretty clear that Beatles related product if promoted properly will still sell in droves. I'm certain the new 'Imagine' and 'White Album' Deluxe's will sell very well too.

Of course, nothing would sell quite as much as anything featuring a new version of the long hoped for 'Now & Then', even if it was just Paul working on it. (But ideally it would include a Ringo drum track and a George overdub from the vaults.) Hell, they could get a new No. 1 single out of that if done right!

 

Yes & No. Certainly a big multi disc set of most or all 12 studio albums would make it more redundant. But only 2 of 12 albums have been given the deluxe treatment.

Even then, the 2 deluxe albums don't have the Hey Jude/Revolution single, Carnival Of Light, The Long Helter Skelter, & tons of other stuff. Etcetera, Sour Milk Sea, Revolution 20, Only A Northern Song, the list goes on & on.

Further the Anthology outtakes set, has some, but not a whole lot of overlap with Sgt Pepper 50 & White album 50.

So yeah I'm not really defining the answer, or deliberately letting my bias & preference show.

All I know is, I have an interest in general terms of Beatles studio outtakes, & of specific outtakes I've read about over the years, & I'd like an opportunity to hear & own a copy of some of them. Even after White 50, Sgt Pepper 50 & Anthology 1-2-&-3, many ( most ) of these tracks remain unreleased.

The question I tried to pose really is, is there a market for it, would more Anthology, or some other release vehicle work better ? If so what.

There's some unreleased tracks I'd like a chance to hear, whether it's Dylan style session releases, deluxe Beatles White 50 style, or Anthology, Past Masters, or some other style, I don't really know, or care that much

I'd just be happy if they found a suitable way & did it. At my age, the pace is too slow, until last year & this year.

 

If it says "Beatles", it will sell.