Rarities (1980 The Beatles album)

Rarities is a compilation album released by Capitol Records featuring a selection of songs by The Beatles. The album was inspired by an earlier compilation of the same name which was released as part of The Beatles Collection box set. Most of the tracks on The Beatles Collection album called Rarities were already available on American Beatles LPs. As a result, Capitol assembled an album of Beatles tracks which were considered rare in America. They include tracks not previously issued on a Capitol or Apple LP and alternative versions of several well-known songs which were also not readily available in the U.S. The gatefold of the album cover features the original controversial "butcher" cover photo of the Yesterday...and Today album.

Though the Capitol Rarities album was geared toward the American market, it was also issued in several other countries, including Australia, Canada, France, Japan and New Zealand. The Rarities album has not been released on compact disc, though most of the tracks are now available on other Beatles CDs,^[2] especially the Beatles' 2009 mono and stereo box sets.

Track listing

All songs written by Lennon–McCartney except where noted.

Side one

1. "Love Me Do"
   • Mono, original UK single on Parlophone 45-R4949 with Ringo Starr on drums and no tambourine; now available on Past Masters
2. "Misery"
   • Stereo, previously issued on Vee-Jay LP Introducing... The Beatles; available on Please Please Me
3. "There's a Place"
   • Stereo, previously issued on Vee Jay LP Introducing... The Beatles; available on Please Please Me
4. "Sie Liebt Dich"
   • Stereo, previously released only as a mono single in the US on Swan Records; now available on Past Masters
5. "And I Love Her"
   • Stereo, alternate version with six-bar ending; originally issued in Germany; not available on CD
6. "Help!"
   • Mono, with different vocals than the stereo LP; available on The Beatles in Mono
7. "I'm Only Sleeping"
   • Stereo, final UK Revolver mix (an early mix was released in the US)
8. "I Am the Walrus"
   • Stereo, new mix compiled from US single and UK album mixes: six-bar intro and extra beats before the "Yellow matter custard" verse; not available on CD

Side two

1. "Penny Lane"
   • Stereo, new version compiled from the German true stereo version with the US promotional mono version's extra piccolo trumpet solo added onto the ending; not available on CD
2. "Helter Skelter"
   • Mono, ends at first fadeout without Ringo Starr's "blisters" outburst (first pressings of the album erroneously attribute the statement to John Lennon)[1]; available on The Beatles in Mono
3. "Don't Pass Me By" (Starkey)
   • Mono, sped-up version with different violin in places; available on The Beatles in Mono
4. "The Inner Light" (Harrison)
   • Mono, previously released as the B-side of "Lady Madonna"; now available on Mono Masters
5. "Across the Universe"
   • Stereo, original version from No One's Gonna Change Our World, a British compilation album made for the World Wildlife Fund; now available on Past Masters
6. "You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)"
   • Mono, previously released as the B-side of "Let It Be"; now available on Past Masters
7. "Sgt. Pepper Inner Groove"
   • Stereo, a piece that ended the original British release of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band but was not included on the American version of the album. It consists of a few seconds of 15 kilohertz tone (similar to a dog whistle) followed by two seconds of laughter and noise on the runout groove. The tone is not included on this album but the laughter and noise are featured just before the actual runout groove. It has since been restored, including the high-pitch tone, for all worldwide CD and cassette versions of Sgt. Pepper.

References