1962–1966

• 1. A Bootleg and Its Answer

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  The 1962-1966 compilation, known to its buyers as the Red Album, appeared in 1973 alongside its counterpart 1967-1970. Together they were Apple Records' answer to a problem. A bootleg collection called Alpha Omega had been selling Beatles music on television the year before. The two official albums were created to push it aside. In the United Kingdom, the Red Album peaked at number 3 on the albums chart. American buyers purchased 1,215,338 vinyl copies by the 31st of December, 1973. The man who set the project in motion was Allen Klein, then serving as Apple Records manager. He was dismissed from that position shortly after. Before he left, he made decisions that shaped everything about what listeners would hear, and what they would not.

• 2. The Only Collection

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  Print advertising for both official double albums declared them "the only collection of the Beatles." Klein had made a decisive creative decision: the Red Album would include only songs the Beatles themselves had written. The group had genuine early success with cover versions. "Twist and Shout" in particular had been among their most recognized recordings. Yet the 1973 release contained none of them. George Harrison's compositions from the era were also absent. Songs such as "Taxman" did not appear. The record as released in 1973 consisted entirely of Lennon-McCartney originals. The commercial reach of both double LPs proved influential beyond the Beatles' own catalogue. Capitol Records drew from the template when it compiled the Beach Boys' 1960s recordings, releasing the 1974 album Endless Summer.

• 3. The Stairwell Photograph

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  Angus McBean captured the cover image during a 1963 session for Please Please Me, the Beatles' debut LP. He positioned himself above the four musicians as they looked up from a stairwell inside EMI House, EMI's London headquarters in Manchester Square. That building was demolished in 1995. A photograph from the same session appeared on the 1963 EP The Beatles (No. 1). Six years later, in 1969, the Beatles asked McBean to recreate the shot. One of those 1969 photographs had originally been intended for the planned Get Back album. When that project reached release in 1970 as Let It Be, the image was not used. A different 1969 photograph, paired with an unused image from the 1963 session, became the cover of both the Red Album and its Blue companion. Tom Wilkes designed the album cover. The inner gatefold photograph, shared by both double LPs, comes from a session known as the "Mad Day Out." It was held in London on Sunday the 28th of July, 1968, and has been attributed to both Stephen Goldblatt and Don McCullin.

• 4. Two Countries, Two Records

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  The version of "Help!" on the American edition of 1962-1966 includes an instrumental introduction styled after James Bond film music. The British edition does not. That intro had appeared previously on the American Help! soundtrack LP. American buyers also heard a different mix of "I Feel Fine": the mono take from Beatles '65, treated with additional reverb. British buyers received the stereo "whispering intro" mix instead. The liner notes diverged as well. US editions mapped each track to its Capitol Records release. UK editions referenced the original British albums.

  The first compact disc edition arrived on the 20th of September, 1993. EMI released it on two discs despite the material fitting onto one. The stated reason was to match the format of the companion 1967-1970 set. Five songs made their stereo CD debut with this release. They were "All My Loving," "Can't Buy Me Love," "A Hard Day's Night," "And I Love Her," and "Eight Days a Week." The first four tracks on the disc were in mono.

  In 2014, the album appeared on 180-gram vinyl, prepared from the original 1973 UK compilation master. The fake stereo mixes of "Love Me Do" and "She Loves You" were replaced by true mono versions. A note on the Side 1 label stated that "Please Please Me" and "From Me To You" were also in mono. In fact, both tracks were the stereo versions.

• 5. What Was Always There

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  The expanded 2023 edition of 1962-1966 was released on the 10th of November, 2023. A press conference was held at the Dolby Screening Room in New York City on the 27th of September. Twelve tracks were added to the set. George Harrison's "Taxman" was among them. Cover versions including "Twist and Shout" and "Roll Over Beethoven" were added as well, along with further tracks from Revolver. Thirty of the 38 songs received entirely new stereo mixes. The remaining eight used mixes from the 2022 Revolver: Special Edition. The album was also offered in Dolby Atmos surround sound. On the vinyl edition, the first two LPs retained the original 1973 track order; the additional tracks appeared on a third LP.

  Giles Martin mixed the new versions. He said of the work: "I never thought it would happen." In an interview, he elaborated: "Technically, on the early tracks, it's completely mind-blowing to me how we made them sound. I didn't think it was possible for us to do that to the early tracks." Of Ringo Starr's drumming on those early recordings, Martin said: "The power of Ringo's drumming, for example, on those early tracks, it's been unearthed. But the playing is just really good. That's joy."

  Rolling Stone called the original Red and Blue albums "eight of the most-perfect album sides ever devised." The same publication said the bonus material "fix the holes in the originals." It noted that the tracks "have never thundered like this before." The Sunday Times Magazine called the new mixes "extraordinary." On the Red Album specifically, they said the tracks sounded "so fresh it could be by some up-and-coming garage rock band." Salon.com said the tracks "came roaring to life with previously unrealised dimensions."

  On the 3rd of November, 2023, a new version of "Love Me Do" was released alongside the Beatles track "Now and Then." The version featured Ringo Starr on drums. It had originally appeared only on the first pressings of the 1962 UK single.