The Beatles: Anthology Collection (2025 Edition) 8CD

What's in the Box: Four Volumes, 191 Tracks

The Beatles' Anthology Collection was released by Apple on November 21, 2025, for the 30th anniversary of the Anthology project. It contains all four volumes, the original Anthology 1 (1995), Anthology 2 (1996) and Anthology 3 (1996), remastered by Giles Martin, plus the new Anthology 4, for a total of 191 tracks. It comes as a 180-gram 12LP box and an 8CD box, with digital and streaming versions too.

The 12LP box holds four 3LP albums in triple gatefold sleeves inside a slipcase, plus four photo art cards in a uniquely numbered envelope. The 8CD box holds four 2CD albums in gatefold digisleeves with booklets. Volumes one to three keep Mark Lewisohn's original sleeve notes. Anthology 4 has new track notes by Kevin Howlett and an introduction compiled from 1996 interviews with Derek Taylor, the Beatles' close friend and former press officer.

US list prices were $374.99 for the 12LP and $120.99 for the 8CD. Anthology 4 was first announced as part of the box only; after fan objections it was also issued on its own as a 2CD (with a 48-page booklet) and a 3LP, so you do not have to buy the full box to get it.

Some history explains the expectations. Anthology 1 arrived in November 1995 alongside the television documentary series, carrying 'Free as a Bird', the first new Beatles single in a quarter of a century, built by Paul, George and Ringo with Jeff Lynne around one of John's home demos. Anthology 2 followed in March 1996 with 'Real Love', and Anthology 3 closed the series in October 1996. For many fans, those six discs were the first official look inside the Beatles' tape archive, and they set the pattern for every outtake-heavy reissue since.

Anthology 4: What's New, and Why Fans Are Divided

Anthology 4 runs 36 tracks and just under two hours (118:44). Thirteen are previously unreleased; the other 23 had already been issued, 17 of them drawn from the super deluxe editions of five album reissues. Five preview tracks came out ahead of release: 'Free as a Bird' (the new mix) on August 21, 2025, 'Helter Skelter' (second version, take 17) on September 18, 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps' (third version, take 27) on October 3, 'I've Just Seen a Face' (take 3) on October 24 and 'In My Life' (take 1) on November 15.

The biggest talking points are the new Jeff Lynne mixes of 'Free as a Bird' and 'Real Love', made with the same machine-learning audio restoration used on 'Now and Then' in 2023 to pull John's vocal cleanly off his demos. 'Now and Then' is on the album too. Many critics felt the new 'Free as a Bird' was an improvement. 'Real Love' fared worse: fans and critics objected to the handling of John's vocal, the removal of George's guitar phrases in the choruses, and a running time cut from 3:54 to 3:34.

The wider criticism is that Anthology 4, unlike the first three volumes, is mostly familiar material. Longtime fans had hoped for long-rumoured tapes such as 'Carnival of Light', the 1967 avant-garde piece Paul has spoken about for years, or the full take 20 of 'Revolution'. None of those appear. Reviews were split accordingly: Mojo gave it five stars and Rolling Stone four and a half, while Classic Rock and The Telegraph gave it two.

Sound and Mastering: The Remastered Anthology 1 to 3

The quiet success of the box is the remastering of the original three volumes. The 1990s Anthology albums were compiled by George Martin and were a revelation at the time, but their sound has dated. Giles Martin's 2025 remasters are brighter and clearer; AllMusic's Tim Sendra rated the box three and a half stars but called the added brightness and clarity a welcome upgrade.

On vinyl, the 12LP box puts all four volumes on 180-gram records, and Anthology 4 includes 26 tracks never previously released on vinyl. If your turntable setup is modest, the 8CD box gives you the same remasters for about a third of the price. If you are shopping for a deck, our guide to the best turntables for Beatles fans can help.

For McCartney listeners, the remastering pays off most on the early material. The Quarrymen's 'In Spite of All the Danger' and the Hamburg and Decca audition recordings on Anthology 1 were always the roughest-sounding part of the series, and they have the most to gain from a cleaner transfer.

Packaging and Extras

The packaging is more compact than the original triple-album releases of 1995 and 1996. The four photo art cards in a numbered envelope are a collector's touch for the vinyl box, and keeping Mark Lewisohn's original notes preserves the feel of the 1990s releases.

What is missing is a big book. Compared with the 100-page books in the Revolver and Abbey Road super deluxe boxes, the Anthology Collection is light on new writing and images. Kevin Howlett's Anthology 4 notes are informative, and the Derek Taylor introduction is a poignant link to the original project, but a hardback of session photographs and tape-box scans would have made the 12LP box far easier to recommend at its price.

The release was coordinated with the remastered and expanded Anthology documentary series, which began streaming on Disney+ on November 26, 2025. For more on the films, see our roundup of the best Beatles documentaries.

Which Format Should You Buy?

If you do not own the original Anthology albums, the 8CD box is the best buy: all four volumes, remastered, in a compact package. The 12LP box, at more than three times the price, is for dedicated vinyl collectors and is hard to justify on value alone.

If you already own Anthology 1 to 3 on CD and mainly want the new material, buy the standalone Anthology 4 on 2CD or 3LP, or simply stream it. The remastering of the first three volumes is an improvement, but it is not a reason on its own to replace discs you already have.

For how the Anthology Collection compares with the other big Beatles boxes, see our roundup of the best Beatles box sets.

Who It's For

The Anthology Collection is for fans who never owned the original Anthology albums, or who want them in improved sound, and for completists who want every volume in matching packaging. For those listeners, the 8CD box is a strong buy.

It is less compelling for collectors who own the originals and the recent super deluxe boxes, since 17 of Anthology 4's tracks will already be on their shelves. For them, the 13 unreleased tracks and the new 'Free as a Bird' mix are the draw, and those can be had far more cheaply through the standalone release or streaming.

For McCartney fans specifically, the set is a reminder of how much of the Beatles' working process ran through Paul. From the Quarrymen-era recordings on Anthology 1 to the White Album and Abbey Road outtakes on Anthology 3, you can hear him pushing arrangements, counting in takes and trying ideas that did not survive to the finished records. That thread alone makes the remastered volumes worth revisiting, even if Anthology 4 does not add as much to it as fans had hoped.