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The Beatles released twelve albums in seven years. Their discography is complicated because of different U.S. and UK releases, particularly in their early years at Capitol.
Historical background
The first four Beatles vinyl albums differ based on their location of release. Those released in the U.S. were of lower sound quality and had some of their songs omitted. Additionally, even though the first four Beatles albums were originally released as both monaural and stereo recordings in the United Kingdom, stereo record players were quite rare in the UK at the time. Naturally, then, George Martin and the Beatles spent more time on the mono mixes. Many early songs were later remastered by Capitol Records for the U.S. as artificial stereo with bass on one side and treble on the other side, with lots of added echo. However, this was only done when the stereo mix of the song was not available or did not exist, as in the case of She Loves You. The Capitol release of Rubber Soul, however, has gained a lot of fans in the years since the release of the British albums on CD. The additions of "I've Just Seen a Face" and "It's Only Love" from "Help!" and the omission of "Drive My Car," "Nowhere Man," "What Goes On," and "If I Needed Someone" gives the album a different, folky flavour.
When it came time to release the Beatles' catalogue on CD, the decision was made to use the original British versions of the albums, since those were the "the way the Beatles originally intended them to be". The initial releases of the first four CDs were of the original mono mixes. In 2004, Capitol Records released the first four American albums on CD as a box set and they represent the current (as of 2006) official stereo versions. No official stereo mix of the first four British albums had been released on compact disc, but there were plenty of "official looking" bootleg CDs in circulation that include the U.S. stereo mixes and even bear the "Apple" logo. Martin and the Beatles started to spend more time on stereo mixes by 1965. However, many fans believe that the mono versions of Revolver, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and the White Album are superior to the stereo mixes.
The sound of the digital transfers of the current discs, produced by George Martin in 1987 and 1988 using the best equipment available during the early days of the format, no longer meet standards achievable using current techniques in Direct Stream Digital, HDCD, and others. The sound on the remastered catalogues of Bob Dylan, the Beach Boys, and the Rolling Stones, among other heavyweights from the 1960s, have been greatly enhanced utilising technological developments that have occured since Martin's initial digital mastering, and as of 2007, similar work for the Beatles is long overdue.
However, many Beatles enthusiasts feel that the current EMI CD releases of the albums do not do them justice for different reasons. Since the music was mastered to be played on vinyl, the cutting and playback of which is widely believed to add 'warmth' to the recording, the current CDs are not able to compensate for the different medium. Given how important the sound quality of these albums was not only to the Beatles and George Martin, but also from a historical point of view, many purists still listen to Beatles albums only on vinyl.
It was reported in January and February of 2007 that the entire UK catalogue had been remastered, and would be re-released in the first half of the year to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band on June 1, 2007. The aforementioned album will also be released in a box set with both stereo and mono mixes, as well as possibly a 5.1 surround mix. These releases may also be offered on iTunes, marking the first time the Beatles' music will be available online.
In the UK
This is a listing of the official studio albums released in the UK by the Beatles (not including compilations and the like).
"Pepperland" (Instrumental) "Sea of Time" (Instrumental) "Sea of Holes" (Instrumental) "Sea of Monsters" (Instrumental) "March of the Meanies" (Instrumental) "Pepperland Laid Waste" (Instrumental) "Yellow Submarine in Pepperland" (Instrumental)
1962-1966 (the "Red Album") Apple Records #3(1973-04-19) (Re-released in Sep 1993 and hit UK number 3)
1967-1970 (the "Blue Album") Apple Records #2(1973-04-19) (Re-released in Sep 1993 and hit UK number 4)
Note: Two double compilation albums, featuring as covers an alternate shot of the photograph originally taken for Please Please Me and a 1969 re-creation (originally for Get Back, which evolved into Let It Be) based upon that photograph.
Magical Mystery Tour Parlophone Records (1976-11-19) (Official UK issue of the American album using the Capitol masters, except for "Penny Lane," "Baby You're a Rich Man," and "All You Need is Love," which were the German mixes released on the Hör Zu! label in 1971. It became part of the official catalogue with its release on CD with every track in true-stereo. As an American import, the album peaked at #31 in 1968. Continued sales of the album as an import led to this release.)
Note: The reason for the Past Masters compilations are so that every song The Beatles released in 1962-1970 could be on a CD. They include singles and B-sides, two songs sung in German, the contents of an EP released in 1964 that had four additional songs, the "single" versions of the songs "Get Back" and "Let It Be", and a version of "Across the Universe" that had bird-like sound effects. Past Masters was also issued as a 2-LP set on 1988-11-10.
The Beatles Box Set Apple/Parlophone Records (1988-12-05) (contains the official Apple/Parlophone Beatle catalogue on CD including the two Past Masters volumes along with a soft cover book by Mark Lewisohn describing every track in this collection which is contained in a roll top wooden box)
Live at the BBC Apple Records (1994-11-30) (Contains 69 songs The Beatles recorded for various BBC radio shows that never were recorded for Parlophone/Capitol/EMI. #1
Anthology 1 Apple Records (1995-11-21) (Containing early performances, live shows, demos, out-takes in the period 1958 to 1964 and the first "new" Beatles song since the band broke up in 1970) #2
Anthology 2 Apple Records (1996-03-18) (Containing unreleased tracks, live shows, demos, and out-takes from 1965 to 1968) #1
Anthology 3 Apple Records (1996-10-28) (Containing unreleased tracks, demos, and out-takes in the period 1968 to 1970) #4
The Beatles 1 Apple Records (2000-11-13) (A collection of The Beatles' #1 hits on the Billboard and Record Retailer charts, including both sides of their double-A sided singles if both hit the top slot. The collection has 27 songs in it.) #1
Let It Be… Naked Apple Records (2003-11-17) (Remastered and remixed cut from the original sessions, devoid of arrangements by "re-producer" Phil Spector. The first copies released shipped with a 21-minute Fly on the Wall bonus disc.) #7
The Capitol Albums, Volume 1 Apple/Capitol/Parlophone Records (2004-11-15) (A re-issuing of the first four Beatles albums that Capitol released in the U.S. Both versions, mono and stereo)
The Capitol Albums, Volume 2 Apple/Capitol/Parlophone Records (2006-04-11) (A re-issuing of The Beatles albums that Capitol released in the U.S. in 1965. Both versions, mono and stereo)
Love Apple Records (2006-11-20) #3 (A soundtrack to the Cirque du Soleil production Love, featuring remastered and remixed versions of the Beatles' songs by Sir George Martin and his son Giles Martin)
The Beatles also recorded annual Christmas records for their fan club members. From 1963 to 1969 these were released as 7" flexidiscs on LYN. In 1970 the 7 previous records were put onto a 12" vinyl record. These remain largely unavailable today, with the exception of one track, "Christmas Time Is Here Again", which was edited and released on the Free As a Bird CD single in 1994:
The division of Capitol Records in Canada released three uniquely Canadian albums and 9 singles in 1963 and 1964 before aligning with the American division and releasing the same albums as in the U.S. Unlike the U.S., Capitol of Canada said yes to the Beatles from day one, as many British artists had obtained hit records in Canada previously, unlike in the U.S. The first Canadian release was "Love Me Do" (72076) on 1963-02-04.
This is a listing of the official studio albums released in Canada by the Beatles (not including compilations and the like).
After this album, Capitol of Canada synchronised its catalogue production with the US market, beginning with United Artists' A Hard Day's Night and concluding with Apple's Hey Jude. Notably, though the albums "Something New" and "The Beatles' Story" were only produced in mono when originally released. American albums such as Meet the Beatles!, The Beatles' Second Album and The Early Beatles did not see release in Canada until 1967. The 1967 issuing of the American back catalogue was of the following LP's:
Released as a box set, identical to the UK release.
Compilation in Canada
All post-Beatles albums were released exactly the same in Canada as in the U.S., with the one exception of The Beatles' Ballads LP, which was given the catalogue number SL 9612.
In the U.S.
In the United States, as noted above, the Beatles albums were rearranged, retitled and remixed. Some of the U.S. releases were nearly identical to their UK counterparts, often only varying by one or two songs. Most releases contained songs that were also found on other records, which made things difficult for the American Beatles fan trying to purchase the band's entire catalogue. By 1967, all U.S. releases matched the UK releases exactly. Some of the U.S. releases included:
"On Stage With the Beatles" "How Beatlemania Began" "Beatlemania in Action" "Man Behind the Beatles – Brian Epstein" "John Lennon" "Who's a Millionaire?"
"Beatles Will Be Beatles" "Man Behind the Music – George Martin" "George Harrison"
"A Hard Day's Night – Their First Movie" "Paul McCartney" "Sneaky Haircuts and More About Paul"
"The Beatles Look at Life" "'Victims' of Beatlemania" "Beatle Medley" "Ringo Starr" "Liverpool and All the World!"
Track listing is identical to the UK release. It should be noted, though, that the two seconds of gibberish placed on the concentric groove of the UK release was left off the U.S. release.
The Beatles Collection, Capitol Records (1979-12-01) (Unlike the British release, the American issue was a limited edition with only 3,000 copies made. The British release which was not a limited edition became a popular import for the U.S. market as a result.)
During the years that the Beatles were together and recording, album tracks were not customarily released as singles, and vice versa. Instead, EMI would release album tracks as EPs, long singles with two songs per side. With two exceptions, the EPs feature songs also available on Beatles albums, rather than original material.
Magical Mystery Tour (1967-12-08); #2 (in the UK singles chart topped by "Hello, Goodbye"). The second Beatles EP to feature otherwise unavailable material. This record consisted of the original songs recorded by the Beatles for the "Magical Mystery Tour" film.
The UK Singles Chart is compiled solely from sales figures; airplay statistics are not used. For this reason the chart positions for the UK Singles are indicated per disc, not per song. Pos column indicates the peak position in the charts.
22-disc 7" singles set, featuring the complete Beatles EMI singles catalogue, with new picture sleeves for many of the discs. The set was first issued on CD in the UK 1992-11-02, and in the U.S. 1992-11-09. The set was first packaged in Japan using a longbox housing the complete set of 3" CD singles in December 1989.
The Billboard Hot 100 chart in the U.S. is compiled from sales and airplay statistics, so the individual songs on any given disc can be charted separately.
