A few bits of history...and what might have been

On a chilly night in December of 1980,the question of "Will the Beatles ever get back together?" was drowned out by the sound of gunfire that erupted,killing John Lennon.Fifteen years later,Beatles fans got the closest thing they were ever going to get....The Beatles Anthology.This single set features the newly recorded "Real Love".A re-mastering of an unrecorded John Lennon piece featuring new vocals and instrumentation by Paul,George,and Ringo.The song is a beautiful,and haunting,mastepiece that touches every soul.Beatle fan or not.The disc also features three classic Beatles tunes not on the anthology.In a way,that's like the way the band used to do things.Release songs strictly as singles and not put them on the albums(Like "I wanna hold your hand","I feel fine",and "Hey,Jude")."Baby's in black" is taken from a concert(Now we have the technology to drown out the screams).While "Here,There,and Everywhere" is a early take,"Yellow submarine" proves to be the real gem.It features a narrative opening by Ringo and increased sound effects through out.This is a must have for Beatlemaniacs.

Excellent single

In 1995 and 1996, The Beatles Anthology set was released. This was a six disc set (three volumes of two discs), and it featured a plethora of rare tracks. Among the tracks on the sets were two old John Lennon demos which the remaining members of the band got together to finish - Free as a Bird and Real Love. Read on for my review of the former single.

The title track here is John Lennon as you knew and loved him. It's just a shame this little rarity didn't surface earlier! But, the surviving band members' new touches to the song make it nothing short of excellent. In my opinion, this song is superior to Free as a Bird, the other "newly finished" John Lennon demo. Furthermore, the single includes some rare B-Sides! First and foremost, you get early demos of the classics Yellow Submarine and Here There and Everywhere. You even get an excellent live version of the underrated masterpiece Baby's in Black, recorded at the Hollywood Bowl!

The Free as a Bird and Real Love singles have been discontinued in America, but if you're a Beatle maniac, I recommend hunting them down, as the rare tracks make them a worthwhile purchase.

Great Song

In 1995, the Beatles began working on their "Anthology" project, and I believe this CD serves as a good preview to the set. You get the newly recorded song, "Real Love," and outtakes plus a live version of "Baby's in Black" from the 1965 Hollywood Bowl concert (which, I might add, was not released on the 1977 Hollywood Bowl record, so it is truly unreleased.) I now own this single on CD and vinyl, just because I love the Beatles. "Real Love" is one of John's best songs ever.

What can i do?

This is the second single released from the Beatles Anthology. "Real Love" is a pretty good song, but of course it's not as good as the classic Beatles songs. This song is available on Anthology 2, so the real attraction here is the three otherwise unavailable "b-sides". "Baby's in Black" is a live recording from the Hollywood Bowl. "Yellow Submarine" is a remix of the master take, featuring an unused intro and the sound effects featured more prominently (i.e. louder). "Here, There and Everywhere" is Take 7, with the harmonies from Take 13 superimposed near the end. These aren't essential Beatles recordings, but they are fun to hear if you are a fan of the group.