Anthology 3

Apple Records released Anthology 3 on October 28, 1996. It completed the Anthology series, which began with Anthology 1 on November 20 of the previous year.

Anthology 3 covers the final period of the Beatles' time together, from just after their return from India in early 1968 to the very end. Because of the confusing situation that ensued with the unsuccessful "Get Back" sessions in January of 1969, followed by the release of Abbey Road in the fall, and Phil Spector's re-working of Let It Be!, this compilation is filled with alternative versions, out-takes, demos and other interesting archival material. The opening disc starts with work for The Beatles, that is, The White Album. Unlike the first two releases in the series, each of which began with a posthumous recreation of a Lennon song by the three remaining Beatles, this record commences with A Beginning. The third Lennon tape, which was a candidate to lead of the album, could not be reproduced well enough to permit a new recording. A Beginning is a short George Martin arrangement for orchestra that was supposed to lead off The White Album, but was ultimately omitted.

The two-CD set of Anthology 3 contains 50 different tracks and runs for a prodigious 2 hours and thirty-five minutes plus. Disc 1 contains a number of demos made at Harrison's home in Kinfauns, mostly recorded after the group had returned from India, where Lennon in particular had been especially productive. Most of these songs appeared on the later studio albums, but in considerably different form. On disc two a number of tracks come from recordings made at the "rooftop" concert on January 31, 1969, the capstone (or tombstone) of the "Get Back" sessions.