Length 93:29 Artist The Beatles Label EMI-Odeon | Release date 7 March 1988 | |
Released 7 March 1988 (1988-03-07) Recorded 4 September 1962 – 4 January 1970 Studio Language English, German ("Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand" / "Sie Liebt Dich") Similar The Beatles albums, Rock music albums | ||
Past Masters is a two-disc compilation album set by the Beatles, released in 1988 as part of the first issue of the band's entire catalogue on compact disc. Compiled by the noted Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn, this collection of many of the band's biggest hits as well as rarities includes every song released commercially by the band that was not available on the Beatles’ 12 original UK albums or the Magical Mystery Tour LP.
Contents
- Release history
- Track listings
- Past Masters Volume One
- Past Masters Volume Two
- Mono Masters
- Songs
- References
The majority of the Past Masters set consists of A- and B-sides from the band's singles, including single versions of songs that appeared in a different form on the band's albums. Also included are the full contents of the UK-only Long Tall Sally EP, two German-language tracks, a song recorded for the American market and a track released on a charity compilation album.
Release history
Past Masters was originally issued as two separate CDs Past Masters, Volume One and Past Masters, Volume Two, on 7 March 1988. The two volumes were included in The Beatles Box Set. A double LP set, titled Past Masters, Volumes One & Two (also titled simply Past Masters), was subsequently released in the US on 24 October 1988 and in the UK on 10 November 1988.
The double set was re-released on CD, titled simply Past Masters, on 9 September 2009, as part of the remastering of the original Beatles catalogue, and was included in The Beatles stereo box set. This release includes stereo mixes of both "From Me to You" and "Thank You Girl", whereas the original 1988 issue contained the two tracks in mono. The The Beatles in Mono box set, released at the same time, includes the album Mono Masters, which contains a similar track list of dedicated mono mixes.
A remastered-for-vinyl version of the Past Masters double LP set was released on 12 November 2012.
Track listings
The dates provided are the dates when the tracks were originally released, not recorded.
All songs written and composed by Lennon–McCartney, except where noted. Tracks are in stereo, except where noted.
Past Masters, Volume One
Contains recordings originally released between 1962 and 1965:
Past Masters, Volume Two
Contains recordings originally released between 1965 and 1970:
Mono Masters
The all-mono compilation was included as part of The Beatles in Mono box set. The premise of this box set was to compile only Beatles material that was released or prepared for release with a dedicated mono mix (the set excludes later material mixed and issued only in stereo, and material whose mono version was simply created as an equal mix of the two channels of the stereo version). As a result, the track listing for Mono Masters differs from Past Masters on the second half of disc two, omitting three songs that never had a true mono mix ("Old Brown Shoe", "The Ballad of John and Yoko" and "Let It Be"), and adding five songs which had previously unreleased true mono mixes. "Only a Northern Song", "All Together Now", "Hey Bulldog", "It's All Too Much" and "Across the Universe" were prepared in March 1969 for release as a 7" mono Yellow Submarine EP, but due to mixed reception of the full album, the project was scrapped, though the EP had been mastered. Subsequently, the tracks were only released in stereo (and in an electronically produced mono mix-down, or "fold-down", of the stereo mix), while the true mono mixes remained unreleased. "Get Back" (with B-side "Don't Let Me Down") was the final Beatles single mixed for mono format. It was released in the UK in mono, although the US release was in stereo. Thus, the songs that were originally released on stereo singles in the UK are omitted on this release.
Songs
1Love Me Do2:24
2From Me to You1:58
3Thank You Girl2:03