Disco de The Beatles: “Free as a Bird [US Single]”

As others has pointed out, the 3 volumed Beatles Anthology sets didn't include all they could have (particularly the 1st 2 volumes). Since there are 3 tracks not on any of the Anthology CD's, this is worth collecting (it's too bad this and the Real Love CD were discontinued in the USA).

The "new" Beatles song actually evolved from a 1977 John Lennon demo and the other 3 added their musical contributions onto it. There is a demo of "I Saw Her Standing There" (the entire 9th take). There are 2 takes of "This Boy," which feature John and Paul giggling during vocal snafu's! Finally, there is the complete musical version of the Beatles' "Christmas Time (Is Here Again)," taken from their 1967 Christmas record (with individual Christmas greetings from Paul, John, George and Ringo from the previous year). George Martin plays "Auld Lang Syne" on the organ as John recites a Christmas poem.

Included on the cover is John Lennon's unique artwork.

Highly recommended for the great track CHRISTMAS TIME IS HERE AGAIN. Christmas never rocked that way before. It was a song recorded for fan clubs and sent to the fans around Christmas time. It's very rare to hear the Fab Four sing about Christmas.

A little joke by John at the end of the song!!!!

You just have to hear these recordings done by The Beatles as a few are done a little differently and sound great. "THIS BOY" is hilarious, as our boy Lennon was always apt to miss his lines and here's the proof, a little humour not heard on other "straight" recordings.

The cover is interesting and worth having, as it was said to have been a drawing by John for his best friend and original QUARREYMEN member, Pete Shotten. The Quarreymen was John's first band, and, as of February 2007, still plays today.

The real nice piece is a number originally recorded, probably 1/2 dinking around, by John and later given to the remaining Beatles at the time, George,Ringo, and Paul, who recorded it in 1994 and placed it on The Beatles Anthology series #1.

I have a hard time listening to "Free As a Bird" as I can't help thinking about what George said in the Anthology CD: It felt weird for the three of them to be working on John's song and he wasn't there. He stated that he felt like John was in another room.

Besides that, the melody and the finished product in general just gets a Beatlemaniac to thinking about what John would have thought of major events that have happened since his murder (not the least of which were the Reagan years).

This import CD single, as everyone knows by now, includes alternate versions of "I Saw Her Standing There" and "This Boy," and the short version of "Christmas Time (Is Here Again)" (minus the mini-skits that was released to their fan club).

It amazes me, someone born years after the end of the original Beatlemania, that the Boys' music endures and that this single, released 25 years after their public breakup, went to Number One. - Donna Di Giacomo

The Fab 3 managed to enhance John's basic track without destroying its simplicity, its delicacy, or its beauty. The song is one of the most ethereal, mystical, spiritual, soul-grabbing, life-yearning songs ever to be born. It must be, to make me use words like mystical and soul and spiritual; me being the total heathen that I am. One of the best Beatle songs of all.