Past Masters

by The Beatles

Overview

When Capitol decided to release the original British editions of the Beatles' albums instead of the bastardized American versions, they were left with a bit of a quandary. Since the Beatles had an enormous number of non-LP singles, some of their greatest hits -- from "I Want to Hold Your Hand" through "Hey Jude" -- would not be included on disc if Capitol simply served up straight reissues. They had two options: they could add the singles as bonus tracks to the appropriate CDs, or they could release a compilation of all the non-LP tracks. It should come as no surprise that they chose the latter. Over its first half, Past Masters captures the exuberance of Beatlemania while confirming the band's talents as popcraftsmen ("This Boy," "Yes It Is") and proving that they could rock really, really hard ("I Feel Fine," "She's a Woman," the peerless "I'm Down"). From 1965 on, the 15 non-LP tracks released in the last five years of the band's career (not counting the singles that were released on Magical Mystery Tour) may not be as thematically consistent, but they hit greater highs with a greater frequency. Indeed, some of the greatest singles in pop history are here: "Day Tripper," "We Can Work It Out," "Paperback Writer," "Rain," "Lady Madonna," "Hey Jude," "Revolution," "Don't Let Me Down," and "The Ballad of John and Yoko." In the middle of all this, single versions of "Get Back" and "Let It Be" appear (the former is stiffer than the LP version, the latter is better than its counterpart), along with the alternate (and superior) "Across the Universe" and the silly yet strangely irresistible "You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)." Apart from a few cuts that are merely rarities, this is a near-perfect compilation that captures the energy and spirit of the Beatles' entire career. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	07/08/2016
Label:	SUPER D INDEPENDENT DIST.
UPC:	4988005794390
Rank:	108909

Album Credits

Performance Credits

The Beatles   Primary Artist
Billy Preston   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Featured Artist
Nicky Hopkins   Guest Artist
Brian Jones   Guest Artist,Saxophone
George Harrison   Guitar,Vocals
Ringo Starr   Drums,Vocals
John Lennon   Guitar,Vocals,Harmonica
Paul McCartney   Guitar (Bass),Vocals,Piano

Technical Credits

Larry Williams   Composer
Enotris Johnson   Composer
Geoff Emerick   Engineer
George Harrison   Composer
Jeff Jarratt   Engineer
John Lennon   Composer
Phil McDonald   Engineer
Camillo Felgen   Translation
George Martin   Producer
Sean Magee   Remastering
Ken Scott   Engineer
Barry Sheffield   Engineer
Carl Perkins   Composer
John Lee Hooker   Composer
Peter Bown   Engineer
Martin Benge   Engineer
Guy Massey   Remastering
Glyn Johns   Engineer
Richard Penniman   Composer
Kevin Howlett   Liner Notes
Wendy Day   Project Manager
Drew Lorimer   Design
Alan Rouse   Project Coordinator
Gavin O'Neill   Photo Retouching
Norman Smith   Engineer
Robert "Bumps" Blackwell   Composer
Steve Rooke   Remastering
Aaron Bremner   Photo Editing,Photo Research
Paul McCartney   Composer
Paul Hicks   Remastering