Past Masters · Volumes One & Two
Past Masters gathers the Beatles' recordings that never appeared on their twelve original UK albums or the US Magical Mystery Tour LP. It first came out on 7 March 1988 as two separate volumes, part of the band's first catalogue issue on compact disc. Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn compiled it and wrote the liner notes.
Most of the set is made up of single A-sides and B-sides, including single versions of songs that surfaced in different form on the albums. You also get the whole of the UK-only Long Tall Sally EP, two German-language tracks, a song recorded for the American market and a track from a charity compilation. Although it is a compilation rather than a studio record, it is counted as the band's 14th and final major release once the core catalogue was standardised, which makes it the place to hear the singles-era Beatles that the albums leave out.
Past Masters · Volumes One & Two: tracklist and credits
33 tracks · 1:33:31Tracklist
- Disc 1
- 1Love Me DoJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney2:24
- 2From Me to YouJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney1:58
- 3Thank You GirlJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney2:04
- 4She Loves YouJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney2:21
- 5I’ll Get YouJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney2:06
- 6I Want to Hold Your HandJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney2:27
- 7This BoyJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney2:16
- 8Komm, gib mir deine HandJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney2:27
- 9Sie liebt dichJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney2:20
- 10Long Tall SallyBlackwell, Johnson, Richard2:03
- 11I Call Your NameJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney2:09
- 12Slow DownLarry Williams2:56
- 13MatchboxCarl Perkins1:59
- 14I Feel FineJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney2:20
- 15She’s a WomanJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney3:03
- 16Bad BoyLarry Williams2:21
- 17Yes It IsJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney2:43
- 18I’m DownJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney2:32
- Disc 2
- 1Day TripperJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney2:50
- 2We Can Work It OutJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney2:16
- 3Paperback WriterJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney2:19
- 4RainJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney3:02
- 5Lady MadonnaJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney2:18
- 6The Inner LightGeorge Harrison2:37
- 7Hey JudeJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney7:08
- 8RevolutionJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney3:25
- 9Get BackJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney3:15
- 10Don’t Let Me DownJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney3:35
- 11The Ballad of John and YokoJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney3:00
- 12Old Brown ShoeGeorge Harrison3:18
- 13Across the UniverseJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney3:49
- 14Let It BeJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney3:51
- 15You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)John Lennon and Paul McCartney4:19
- Produced by
- George Martin, George Harrison, Chris Thomas, Geoff Emerick
- Recorded at
- Abbey Road Studios: Studio 2, Studios Pathé-Marconi EMI, Abbey Road Studios: Studio 3, Abbey Road Studios: Studio 1, EMI Recording Studios, Trident Studios, Apple Studios, Pathé Marconi, Paris
- Recorded
- 4 September 1962 – 4 January 1970
- Mixed by
- George Martin, Norman Smith
- Mixed at
- Abbey Road Studios: Studio 2, Abbey Road Studios: Studio 1, Abbey Road Studios: Room 65, Abbey Road Studios: Studio 3, Abbey Road Studios
- Engineered by
- Norman Smith, Geoff Emerick, Peter Bown, Ken Scott, Jerry Boys, Malcolm Davies, John Barratt, Jeff Jarratt, Barry Sheffield, Glyn Johns
- Label
- Parlophone
- Length
- 1:33:31
Line-up
- George Harrison · handclaps, electric guitar, background vocals, lead vocals, vocals, tambourine, organ, tambura, vibraphone, guitar
- John Lennon · handclaps, harmonica, background vocals, electric guitar, lead vocals, acoustic guitar, Hammond organ, organ, harmonium, tambourine, vocals, percussion, piano, bass guitar, maracas, guitar
- Paul McCartney · handclaps, electric bass guitar, lead vocals, background vocals, vocals, piano, electric piano, drums (drum set), electric guitar, maracas
- Ringo Starr · drums (drum set), handclaps, cowbell, lead vocals, shakers, tambourine, bongos, background vocals, bass drum, maracas
- George Martin · upright piano, piano, electronic organ · guest
- Bill Jackman · baritone saxophone · guest
- Harry Klein · baritone saxophone · guest
- Bill Povey · tenor saxophone · guest
- Ronnie Scott · tenor saxophone · guest
- Indril Bhattacharya · sitar · guest
- Rijram Desad · harmonium, tabla, dholak · guest
- Pandit Shankar Ghosh · sitar · guest
- Hanuman Jadev · shehnai · guest
- Sharad Jadev · shehnai · guest
- S.R. Kenkari · flute · guest
- Aashish Khan · sarod · guest
- Mahapurush Misra · tabla, pakhawaj · guest
- Chandra Shakher · surbahar · guest
- Shambu-Das · sitar · guest
- Shivkumar Sharma · santoor · guest
- Vinayak Vora · shehnai · guest
- Nicky Hopkins · electric piano · guest
- Billy Preston · electric piano, organ · guest
- Linda McCartney · background vocals · guest
- Brian Jones · alto saxophone · guest
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Argentina · 1991 | Gold |
| Australia · 2009 | Gold |
| United Kingdom · 2013 | Gold |
| United States · 1997 | Platinum |
| Argentina · 1991 | Gold |
| Australia · 2009 | Gold |
| United Kingdom · 2013 | Gold |
| United States · 1997 | Platinum |
| Canada · 2010 | Gold |
| United Kingdom · 2023 | Silver |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
Released the same week
Also released on 7 March
Every year →More from The Beatles
Full discography →The best of 1988
All of 1988 →More on Parlophone
The label →Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz + wikidata
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 7 March 1988 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 7 March 1988 | |
| Wikidata | 7 March 1988 | |
| UK / Europe release | 7 March 1988 | earliest UK or European date |
9 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 March 1988 | XE | Parlophone | 077779113514 | original |
| 27 January 1993 | JP | EMI‐Odeon | 4988006676978 | other |
| 2009 | XW | Parlophone | other | |
| 9 September 2009 | US | Apple Records | 5099924380720 | remaster |
| 9 September 2009 | XE | Apple Records | 5099924380720 | remaster |
| 2012 | XE | Apple Records | 5099969943515 | remaster |
| 2015 | FR | Apple Records | other | |
| 24 December 2015 | XW | EMI Catalogue | 00602547756718 | other |
| 11 December 2019 | XW | UMC | 00602567725268 | other |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · native: native 3000x3000
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 3000×3000 | native: native 3000x3000 |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |