Now And Then, again

The fourth in The Beatles' Anthology series came with baggage until Apple relented.

- GRAHAM REID

Anyone following the remastering and reissue of The Beatles' catalogue - all those box sets with outtakes, studio chatter, different takes and so on - knows their Apple Corp company jealously controls the flow of information and releases.

While Beatles obsessives yearn for an expanded version of a remastered Rubber Soul - their pivotal 1965 album where they ceased to be mop-top pop stars - this year's Apple/Beatles release was to come bundled with a remastered reissue of the Anthology series, the groundbreaking, career-spanning double-CD sets of obscurities, rehearsals, rarities and different takes.

The first volume arrived in 1995, along with the single Free as a Bird, created around the late John Lennon's home recording and embellished by the remaining "Threetles".

But the announcement of this reissue caused outrage: there would be a fourth volume of previously unreleased demos and studio recordings, however, it wouldn't be available separately.