''Past Masters'' is a two-disc
compilation album
A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...
set by the English rock band
the Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
. It was originally released as two separate volumes on 7 March 1988, as part of the first issue of the band's catalogue on
compact disc
The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. It employs the Compact Disc Digital Audio (CD-DA) standard and was capable of hol ...
.
The album contains all songs released commercially by the band that were not available on the Beatles' 12 original UK albums or the US ''
Magical Mystery Tour''
LP.
It was compiled by Beatles historian
Mark Lewisohn
Mark Lewisohn (born 16 June 1958) is an English historian and biographer. Since the 1980s, he has written many reference books about the Beatles and has worked for EMI, MPL Communications and Apple Corps. , who also wrote the liner notes. 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.
Although ''Past Masters'' is not a studio album and is instead a compilation, it is considered to be the Beatles' 14th (and final) major release. This occurred when the Beatles' core catalog was standardized in 1987, followed by the official re-releases in 2009.
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. Both volumes were also released as a double cassette bundle on 7 March 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 (The Original Studio Recordings)'' box set.
This release includes
stereo
Stereophonic sound, commonly shortened to stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configurat ...
mixes of both "
From Me to You
"From Me to You" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released in April 1963 as their third single. It was written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. The song was the Beatles' first number 1 hit on what became the UK Singles ...
" and "
Thank You Girl", whereas the original 1988 issue contained the two tracks in
mono. Mark Lewisohn's name was removed from this reissue. ''
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
Lennon–McCartney is the songwriting partnership between the English musicians John Lennon (1940–1980) and Paul McCartney (born 1942) of the Beatles. It is widely considered one of the greatest, best known and most successful musical collabo ...
, except where noted. Tracks are in stereo, except where noted.
''Past Masters, Volume One''
Contains recordings originally released between 1962 and 1965:
*Eleven tracks from British singles (including B-sides)
*Both tracks from the German single
"Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand" / "Sie Liebt Dich"
*All four tracks from the ''
Long Tall Sally'' EP
*The US-only track "
Bad Boy", from the album ''
Beatles VI'' (although the song was also on the 1966 ''
A Collection of Beatles Oldies'' album released by
Parlophone
Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 1923 as the Parloph ...
)
''Past Masters, Volume Two''
Contains recordings originally released between 1965 and 1970:
*Fourteen tracks from British singles (including B-sides)
*The "
Wildlife
Wildlife refers to domestication, undomesticated animals and uncultivated plant species which can exist in their natural habitat, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wilderness, wild in an area without being species, introdu ...
" version of "
Across the Universe
"Across the Universe" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. It was written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The song first appeared on the 1969 various artists' charity compilation album ''No One's Gonna Change Our W ...
" from the charity album ''
No One's Gonna Change Our World
''No One's Gonna Change Our World'' is a charity album released in the United Kingdom on 12 December 1969 for the benefit of the World Wildlife Fund.
The compilation, assembled by comedian Spike Milligan, includes two tracks from Milligan and on ...
''
''Past Masters, Volumes One & Two'' (the double LP release)
Charts and certifications
''Past Masters: Volume 1''
Charts
Certifications
''Past Masters: Volume 2''
Charts
Certifications
''Past Masters''
Charts
Certifications
See also
*
Outline of the Beatles
*
The Beatles timeline
References
{{Authority control
1988 compilation albums
Albums produced by George Martin
Albums recorded at Trident Studios
Apple Records compilation albums
B-side compilation albums
The Beatles compilation albums
Capitol Records compilation albums
Compilation album series
Compilation albums published posthumously
German-language compilation albums
1980s German-language albums
Parlophone compilation albums
Albums recorded at Apple Studios