Anthology 4

Anthology 4 is a compilation album featuring both previously released and unreleased material by the English rock band The Beatles, issued by Apple Records on 21 November 2025. Part of the multimedia retrospective series The Beatles Anthology, it was conceived as an expansion of the series' 30th-anniversary remastered re-issue. Similarly to the three original volumes—Anthology 1 (1995), Anthology 2 (1996), and Anthology 3 (1996)—Anthology 4 features outtakes from the Beatles recording sessions between 1963 and 1969.

Notably, Anthology 4 introduces new remixes of "Free as a Bird" (1995) and "Real Love" (1996), with machine-learning-assisted audio restoration technology used to extract John Lennon's vocals from his demos, as it was utilised on "Now and Then" (2023), also featured on the album.

The physical edition was originally planned to be exclusive to Anthology Collection, a box set featuring all four volumes, but after fan backlash, it was released as a standalone 2-CD/3-LP release as well.

Background

On 19 August, both the Beatles' website and social media pages teased the album. The teasers featured the numbers 1 to 4, with the website cycling through the numbers, and the Instagram post being a slideshow, filling the numbers with the covers of previous Anthology albums.

On 21 August, the album and box set was officially announced. It was released on 26 November alongside the Disney+ three-episode premiere of the remastered and expanded documentary series The Beatles Anthology.

Content

The album contains 13 previously unreleased tracks, alongside 23 tracks that had been previously released. It also contains new mixes of "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love", utilising machine-assisted learning audio restoration technology to extract Lennon's vocals, the same technique used for "Now and Then", which also features on the album. Both songs were remixed by Jeff Lynne.

Reception

Following the album announcement, Anthology 4 was widely criticised as, unlike the other Anthology albums, it mostly consists of previously released material, instead of previously unreleased content, such as McCartney's 1967 avant-garde piece "Carnival of Light". The album also does not contain any highly requested outtakes, such as "Revolution" take 20 or "Helter Skelter" take 3, which fans were hoping for. The album was also initially criticised for its only physical option for pre-order being to buy an expensive box set containing all four volumes. The album was eventually given a standalone option.

"Free as a Bird"'s 2025 mix was considered by many critics to be an improvement over the original, though the vocals were seen as a matter of contention, with some praising its far clearer sound and others believing it lost the charm of the original track. "Real Love", on the other hand, received negative reviews from fans and critics due to the mixing of Lennon's vocals, the removal of Harrison's guitar phrases during the choruses and its length being shortened from 3:54 to 3:34.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Lennon–McCartney, except where noted.

Charts

Notes