Album · Compilation · 30 years old this year
Anthology 2
Anthology 2 is the second volume in The Beatles Anthology series, issued by Apple Records on 18 March 1996 alongside the televised special of the same name. It gathers rarities, outtakes and live performances from the Help! sessions in 1965 through to the weeks just before the band left for India in February 1968.
It opens with "Real Love", one of the two recordings that brought the Beatles back together for the first time since they split. From there, the album follows the group through their most adventurous studio years, giving you a look at songs taking shape before they became the versions you know. Like its predecessor, it topped the Billboard 200 and has been certified 4× Platinum by the RIAA. It is a good place to start if you like hearing how the records were made.
Anthology 2: tracklist, credits and charts
45 tracks · 2:07:55Tracklist
- Disc 1
- 1Real LoveJohn Lennon3:54
- 2Yes It IsJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney1:50
- 3I’m DownJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney2:53
- 4You’ve Got to Hide Your Love AwayJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney2:45
- 5If You’ve Got TroubleJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney2:48
- 6That Means a LotJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney2:27
- 7YesterdayJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney2:34
- 8It’s Only LoveJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney1:59
- 9I Feel FineJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney2:16
- 10Ticket to RideJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney2:45
- 11YesterdayJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney2:43
- 12Help!John Lennon and Paul McCartney2:55
- 13Everybody’s Trying to Be My BabyRex Griffin and Carl Perkins2:45
- 14Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)John Lennon and Paul McCartney1:59
- 15I’m Looking Through YouJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney2:54
- 1612‐Bar OriginalHarrison, Lennon, McCartney, Starr2:55
- 17Tomorrow Never KnowsJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney3:14
- 18Got to Get You Into My LifeJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney2:54
- 19And Your Bird Can SingJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney2:13
- 20TaxmanGeorge Harrison2:32
- 21Eleanor Rigby (strings only)John Lennon and Paul McCartney2:06
- 22I’m Only Sleeping (rehearsal)John Lennon and Paul McCartney0:41
- 23I’m Only Sleeping (take 1)John Lennon and Paul McCartney2:59
- 24Rock and Roll MusicChuck Berry1:39
- 25She’s a WomanJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney2:55
- Disc 2
- 1Strawberry Fields Forever (demo sequence)John Lennon and Paul McCartney1:42
- 2Strawberry Fields Forever (take 1)John Lennon and Paul McCartney2:35
- 3Strawberry Fields Forever (take 7 & edit piece)John Lennon and Paul McCartney4:14
- 4Penny LaneJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney3:13
- 5A Day in the LifeJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney5:05
- 6Good Morning Good MorningJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney2:40
- 7Only a Northern SongGeorge Harrison2:44
- 8Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! (takes 1 and 2)John Lennon and Paul McCartney1:05
- 9Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! (take 7)John Lennon and Paul McCartney2:34
- 10Lucy in the Sky With DiamondsJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney3:06
- 11Within You Without You (instrumental)George Harrison5:27
- 12Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (reprise)John Lennon and Paul McCartney1:27
- 13You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)John Lennon and Paul McCartney5:43
- 14I Am the WalrusJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney4:02
- 15The Fool on the Hill (demo)John Lennon and Paul McCartney2:48
- 16Your Mother Should KnowJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney3:02
- 17The Fool on the Hill (take 4)John Lennon and Paul McCartney3:45
- 18Hello, GoodbyeJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney3:18
- 19Lady MadonnaJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney2:22
- 20Across the UniverseJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney3:28
- Produced by
- George Harrison, John Lennon, Jeff Lynne, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, George Martin, Geoff Emerick, Chris Thomas
- Recorded at
- The Dakota, Hog Hill Mill, Abbey Road Studios: Studio 2, ABC Theatre, Shea Stadium, Abbey Road Studios: Studio 3, Abbey Road Studios, 日本武道館, Abbey Road Studios: Studio 1
- Recorded
- 16 February 1965 – 30 April 1969; & February 1995
- Engineered by
- Geoff Emerick, Jon Jacobs, Norman Smith, Jeff Jarratt, Ken Scott
- Labels
- Apple Records, Apple (CDP 7243 8 34448 2), Capitol
- Length
- 2:07:55
Line-up
- John Lennon · drum machine, piano, lead vocals, acoustic guitar, guitar, 12 string guitar, electric guitar, background vocals, congas, tambourine, glockenspiel, maracas, electric piano, bongos, organ
- George Harrison · percussion, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, background vocals, guitar, classical guitar, vocals, lead vocals, sitar, tambura, 12 string guitar, mellotron, maracas, organ, tambourine, vibraphone
- Jeff Lynne · guitar, background vocals · guest
- Paul McCartney · percussion, synthesizer, bass guitar, double bass, acoustic guitar, background vocals, lead vocals, electric guitar, grand piano, vocals, guitar, mellotron, harmonium, piano, trumpet, organ, tambourine, recorder
- Ringo Starr · percussion, drums (drum set), background vocals, lead vocals, snare drum, cymbal, harmonium, tambourine, tubular bells, congas, bongos, maracas
- George Martin · harmonium, piano · guest
- Tony Gilbert · violin · guest
- Jurgen Hess · violin · guest
- Norman Jones · cello · guest
- Sidney Sax · violin · guest
- John Sharpe · violin · guest
- Stephen Shingles · viola · guest
- Derek Simpson · cello · guest
- John Underwood · viola · guest
- Leon Calvert · trumpet · guest
- Freddy Clayton · trumpet · guest
- Manny Winters · flute · guest
- Ray Swinfield · flute · guest
- Dennis Walton · flute · guest
- Duncan Campbell · trumpet · guest
- Frank Clarke · double bass · guest
- Bert Courtley · trumpet · guest
- Dick Morgan · cor anglais, oboe · guest
- Mike Winfield · cor anglais, oboe · guest
- David Mason · piccolo trumpet, trumpet · guest
- Michael Barnes · tuba · guest
- Lionel Bentley · violin · guest
- Bill Monro · violin · guest
- Raymond Brown · trombone · guest
- Jack Brymer · clarinet · guest
- Alan Civil · French horn · guest
- Alan Dalziel · cello · guest
- Henry Datyner · violin · guest
- Bernard Davis · viola · guest
- Gwynne Edwards · viola · guest
- Tristan Fry · percussion · guest
- Francisco Gabarro · cello · guest
- Hans Geiger · violin · guest
- Erich Gruhberg · violin · guest
- Harold Jackson · trumpet · guest
- Granville Jones · violin · guest
- Roger Lord · oboe · guest
- Cyril MacArthur · double bass · guest
- John Marston · harp · guest
- David McCallum · violin · guest
- John Meek · viola · guest
- Monty Montgomery · trumpet · guest
- Alex Nifosi · cello · guest
- Gordon Pearce · double bass · guest
- Ray Premru · trombone · guest
- David Sanderman · flute · guest
- Neill Sanders · French horn · guest
- Ernest Scott · violin · guest
- Clifford Seville · flute · guest
- Basil Tschaikov · clarinet · guest
- Denis Vigay · cello · guest
- Alfred Waters · bassoon · guest
- Donald Weekes · violin · guest
- Mal Evans · spoken vocals · guest
- Neil Aspinall · tambura · guest
- Amiya Dasgupta · tabla · guest
- Amrit Gajjar · dilruba · guest
- Anna Joshi · dilruba · guest
- Buddhadev Kansara · tambura · guest
- Peter Beavan · cello · guest
- Ralph Elman · violin · guest
- Allen Ford · cello · guest
- Julian Gaillard · violin · guest
- Jack Greene · violin · guest
- Erich Gruenberg · violin · guest
- Reginald Kilbey · cello · guest
- Alan Loveday · violin · guest
- Jack Rothstein · violin · guest
- Paul Scherman · violin · guest
- David Wolfsthal · violin · guest
- Brian Jones · saxophone · guest
- Harry Klein · baritone saxophone · guest
- Ronnie Scott · tenor saxophone · guest
Singles
- “Real Love” · 4 March 1996
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1996 | 1 |
| US Billboard 200 · 1996 | 1 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1996 | 2 |
| Scottish Albums · 1996 | 2 |
| Swedish Albums · 1996 | 2 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1996 | 3 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 1996 | 3 |
| New Zealand Albums · 1996 | 3 |
| Dutch Albums · 1996 | 4 |
| European Albums (Top 100) · 1996 | 4 |
All 20 charts
| German Albums · 1996 | 4 |
| Swiss Albums · 1996 | 4 |
| Finnish Albums · 1996 | 5 |
| Norwegian Albums · 1996 | 5 |
| Belgian Albums (Wallonia) · 1996 | 7 |
| Hungarian Albums · 1996 | 7 |
| Belgian Albums (Flanders) · 1996 | 8 |
| Austrian Albums · 1996 | 9 |
| Italian Albums (FIMI) · 1996 | 13 |
| French Albums · 1996 | 22 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Argentina | Gold |
| Australia · 1996 | Gold |
| Belgium · 1996 | Gold |
| Canada | 4× Platinum |
| France · 1996 | Gold |
| Japan · 1996 | Platinum |
| United Kingdom | Platinum |
| United States | 4× Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
72.2
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
677
ListenBrainz listeners
75k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
25k
Deezer fans (all editions)
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Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz; also seen: 1996-03-02 (wikidata)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 18 March 1996 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 18 March 1996 | |
| Wikidata | 2 March 1996 | |
| US release | 18 March 1996 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 18 March 1996 | earliest UK or European date |
8 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | AU | Apple Records | 724383444823 | other |
| 18 March 1996 | US | Apple Records | 724383444816 | original |
| 18 March 1996 | GB | Apple Records | 724383444823 | original |
| 18 March 1996 | CA | Apple Records | 724383444823 | original |
| 19 March 1996 | US | Apple Records | 724383444823 | other |
| January 2014 | US | Apple Records | 5099902964959 | other |
| 4 April 2016 | XE | EMI Catalogue | 602547851291 | remaster |
| 29 August 2025 | XW | Universal Music Recordings | 00602478806025 | remaster |
Cover art sources
itunes · native: native 3000x3000
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| itunes ✓ | 3000×3000 | native: native 3000x3000 |
| coverartarchive | 1280×1280 | upscaled |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |