Anthology 2

Anthology 2 is a compilation album by The Beatles, released on Apple Records in March of 1996. It is the second of a three-volume collection, all of which tie-in with the televised special The Beatles Anthology, and contains "Real Love," the second of the two recordings that reunited the Beatles by means of magnetic tape. Like its predecessor it topped the Billboard 200 album chart, and has been certified 2× Platinum by the RIAA.

Content
Anthology 2 features outtakes, rarities, and alternative performances from the 1965 sessions for Help! to sessions just prior to their trip to India in February of 1968. It starts off with the second new Beatles track, "Real Love," as with "Free As A Bird" again based on a demo made by John Lennon and given to Paul McCartney by Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono. The three surviving Beatles added guitars, bass, drums, percussion, and backing vocals, but unlike with the previous song did not re-work either lyric or music, "Real Love" remaining solely credited to Lennon.

Disc one contains three unreleased compositions, one being an instrumental entitled "12-Bar Original" recorded for Rubber Soul but subsequently unused. Two other songs recorded for Help!, "If You've Got Trouble" and "That Means a Lot," were abandoned and never returned to again by the band. The former was originally slated to be the usual vocal spot for Ringo Starr on Help!, and the latter was eventually given to singer P.J. Proby. The version of "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby" from the group's famed August of 1965 show at Shea Stadium but left off the documentary appears here for the first time. "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" and "I'm Looking Through You" appear in early versions before they were remade in the forms known from their release on Rubber Soul.

Disc two contains work-in-progress versions of tracks from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Magical Mystery Tour. "Your Mother Should Know" also appears in an early version different from the known release, and tracks one and 15 are demo recordings respectively by Lennon and McCartney. The take of "Strawberry Fields Forever" that made up the first minute of the released record appears in its entirety on track three. Although recorded or started during this period, "Only a Northern Song," "You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)," and "Across the Universe" would not see release until years later, in 1969 and 1970.

One track that remains officially unreleased from this time, "Carnival of Light," was vetoed off this set by George Harrison.

Reception
Like its predecessor, Anthology 1, Anthology 2 sold well. In the United States, it debuted at #1, selling 442,000 copies the first week. The next week, it fell to #2, selling 201,000 copies, being replaced by Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill. The album spent two more weeks on the Top 10, at #4 and then #8, remaining for 22 consecutive weeks on the Billboard 200 and then re-entering the charts twice, marking a #96 reach during the Christmas season of 1996. In all, the album spent 37 weeks on the charts (eight more than Anthology 1) and sold 1,707,000 copies. In the United Kingdom, the success was similar. Anthology 1 debuted at #2 album when released in 1995; but its successor reached #1, where it remained for one week. The album spent a total of 13 weeks on the UK Album Chart.

Track listing
All songs written by Lennon/McCartney and in stereo except where noted.

Disc one

 * 1) "Real Love" (Lennon) – 3:54
 * 2) * Lennon demo recorded at The Dakota, 1979; Beatles version recorded February, 1995
 * 3) "Yes It Is" (takes 2 & 14) – 1:50
 * 4) * Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, February 16, 1965
 * 5) "I'm Down" (take 1) – 2:53
 * 6) * Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, June 14, 1965
 * 7) "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" (takes 1, 2 & 5) [mono] – 2:45
 * 8) "If You've Got Trouble" (take 1) – 2:48
 * 9) * Tracks 4-5 recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, February 18, 1965
 * 10) "That Means a Lot" (take 1) – 2:27
 * 11) * Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, February 20, 1965
 * 12) "Yesterday" (take 1) – 2:34
 * 13) * Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, June 14, 1965
 * 14) "It's Only Love" (takes 2 & 3) [mono] – 1:59
 * 15) * Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, June 15, 1965
 * 16) "I Feel Fine" [mono] – 2:16
 * 17) "Ticket to Ride" [mono] – 2:45
 * 18) "Yesterday" [mono] – 2:43
 * 19) "Help!" [mono] – 2:55
 * 20) * Tracks 9-12 recorded live at ABC Theatre, Blackpool, on August 1, 1965 for Blackpool Night Out television broadcast 
 * 21) "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby" (Carl Perkins) [mono] – 2:45
 * 22) * Recorded live at Shea Stadium, Queens, New York, August 15, 1965
 * 23) "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" (take 1) – 1:59
 * 24) * Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, October 12, 1965
 * 25) "I'm Looking Through You" (take 1) – 2:54
 * 26) * Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, October 24, 1965
 * 27) "12-Bar Original" (edited take 2) (Lennon/McCartney/Harrison/Starkey) – 2:55
 * 28) * Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, November 4, 1965
 * 29) "Tomorrow Never Knows" (take 1) – 3:14
 * 30) * Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, April 6, 1966
 * 31) "Got to Get You Into My Life" (take 5) [mono] – 2:54
 * 32) * Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, April 7, 1966
 * 33) "And Your Bird Can Sing" (take 2) – 2:13
 * 34) * Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, April 20, 1966
 * 35) "Taxman" (take 11) (Harrison) – 2:32
 * 36) * Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, April 21, 1966
 * 37) "Eleanor Rigby" (take 14) – 2:06
 * 38) * Backing string section without vocals; recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, April 28, 1966
 * 39) "I'm Only Sleeping" (Rehearsal) [mono] – 0:41
 * 40) "I'm Only Sleeping" (take 1) [mono] – 2:59
 * 41) * Tracks 22-23 recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, April 29, 1966
 * 42) "Rock and Roll Music" (Chuck Berry) [mono] – 1:39
 * 43) "She's A Woman" [mono] – 2:55
 * 44) * Tracks 24-25 recorded live at Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, June 30, 1966

Disc two

 * 1) "Strawberry Fields Forever" (demo sequence) [mono] – 1:42
 * 2) * Lennon demo recorded at 'Kenwood', Weybridge, November 1966
 * 3) "Strawberry Fields Forever" (take 1) – 2:35
 * 4) * Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, November 24, 1966
 * 5) "Strawberry Fields Forever" (take 7 & edit piece) [mono] – 4:14
 * 6) * Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, November 24 and December 9, 1966
 * 7) "Penny Lane" (take 9 horn overdub) – 3:13
 * 8) * Composite of takes recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, December 29, 1966 through January 17, 1967
 * 9) "A Day in the Life" (takes 1, 2, 6 & orchestra) – 5:05
 * 10) * Composite of takes recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, January 19 & 20, and February 10, 1967
 * 11) "Good Morning Good Morning" (take 8) – 2:40
 * 12) * Composite of takes recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, February 8 & 16, 1967
 * 13) "Only a Northern Song" (takes 3 & 12) (Harrison) – 2:44
 * 14) * Composite of takes recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, February 13 & 14, and April 20, 1967
 * 15) "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" (takes 1 & 2) – 1:05
 * 16) "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" (take 7 & effects tape) – 2:34
 * 17) * Tracks 8-9 composite of takes recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, February 17 & 20, 1967
 * 18) "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" (takes 6, 7 & 8) – 3:06
 * 19) * Composite of takes recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, March 1 & 2, 1967
 * 20) "Within You Without You" (Harrison) – 5:27
 * 21) * Instrumental backing track; composite of takes recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, March 15 through April 3, 1967
 * 22) "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)" (take 5) [mono] – 1:27
 * 23) * Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, April 1, 1967
 * 24) "You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)" – 5:43
 * 25) * Composite of takes recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, May 17 through April 30, 1969
 * 26) "I Am the Walrus" (take 16) – 4:02
 * 27) * Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, September 3, 1967
 * 28) "The Fool on the Hill" [mono] – 2:48
 * 29) * McCartney demo recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, September 6, 1967
 * 30) "Your Mother Should Know" (take 27) – 3:02
 * 31) * Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, September 16, 1967
 * 32) "The Fool on the Hill" (take 4) – 3:45
 * 33) * Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, September 25, 1967
 * 34) "Hello, Goodbye" (take 16 and overdubs) – 3:18
 * 35) * Composite of takes recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, October 2 & 19, 1967
 * 36) "Lady Madonna" (takes 3 & 4) – 2:22
 * 37) * Composite of takes recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, February 3 & 6, 1968
 * 38) "Across the Universe" (take 2) – 3:29
 * 39) * Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, February 4, 1968