The Beatles Years

One strongly suspects that the existence of this five-CD box, in tandem with a handful of other packages of this type, was largely responsible for getting Paul McCartney (and others) to take a serious look at what was in EMI's vaults, resulting in the release of the Beatles' Anthology series. In 1993, however, this was the only game in town: 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…

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.