Beatles Another Tracks

At one level, one would have to be a collector, an Anglophile, or a 1960s pop culture enthusiast to consider this 14-CD set a good deal. In the U.K., the EP ("extended play" single), which contains more tracks than an ordinary single and fewer than an album, has always been a far more popular format than it is in the U.S. During their heyday, the Beatles regularly released EPs in Great Britain, a total of 13 of them, in fact, between June 1963 and December of 1967, and they're all assembled in this box, complete with original art and sleeves in miniature…

Released in 1994, “Artifacts II” is the sequel to the ground-breaking Beatles rarities compilation issued the previous year by Italian bootleggers. Like its predecessor, “Artifacts II” is a sweeping 5-CD compilation of newly unearthed Beatles rarities presented in chronological order. It features outtakes, live concert tracks, demos, overdub sessions, and rehearsals covering the group's known recordings from 1960 through 1969 – it's essentially a best-of the rest of the Beatles' unauthorized output, from what were then the best-known sources of every track represented. The "Artifacts" box sets were clearly the prototype for the authorized collection of Beatles outtakes (“The Beatles Anthology”) issued by EMI in 1995. The official Beatles vault releases have made much of what is found on the “Artifacts” boxes obsolete, however, there are some tracks found on the bootleg box sets that don’t appear on “Anthology,” making it a worthwhile addition to any Beatles collection. This is the second 5 CD box set in the series.

Dr. Ebbetts specializes in releasing digital remasterings from long-deleted and hard-to-obtain vinyl records, particularly issues from the audiophile Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs (MFSL) label. Although the Ebbetts catalogue has many artists, it is most known for Beatles CDs transferred from the best quality MFSL releases, US releases and mono vinyl sources. While lables like Millenium, BEAT, Mirror Spock and Fabulous Sound Labs (FSL) also issue 'needle drops' of Beatles vinyl, Dr. Ebbetts is regarded by many audiophiles as being the highest quality. For those interested in the technical, one source close to the Dr says that Ebbetts says that he uses no noise reduction and that there's no magic formula…just a good ear and patience.

Considering that Help! functions as the Beatles' fifth album and as the soundtrack to their second film – while filming, they continued to release non-LP singles on a regular basis – it's not entirely surprising that it still has some of the weariness of Beatles for Sale.

Released in 1993, “Artifacts” is an epic 5-CD compilation of newly unearthed Beatles rarities presented in chronological order. 124 choice outtakes, live concert tracks, demos, overdub sessions, and rehearsals covering the group's known recordings from 1958 through 1970 – it's essentially a best-of the Beatles' unauthorized output, from what were then the best-known sources of every track represented. The box also comes with a fully illustrated and annotated 24-page booklet providing information (where known) about each song and each performance. It was unlike any bootleg presentation seen before it. "Artifacts" and its sequel (another 5 CDs worth of material released in 1994) were clearly the prototype for the authorized collection of Beatles outtakes (“The Beatles Anthology”) issued by EMI in 1995. The official Beatles vault releases have made much of what is found on the “Artifacts” boxes obsolete, however, there are some tracks found on the bootleg box sets that don’t appear on “Anthology,” making it a worthwhile addition to any Beatles collection. This is the first 5 CD box set in the series with complete booklet and packaging scans at 600 d.p.i.