The Beatles released twelve original albums, twelve EPs (mainly consisting of material also available on their albums), one double EP, and twenty-two singles (mainly featuring original music not found on their albums) in eight years (1962-1970) in their native United Kingdom. Their international discography is complicated, however, due to sometimes different versions of their albums released in other countries, particularly in their early years on Capitol Records in the United States. In addition, most of their releases are available in both mono and stereo mixes.

Historical background

The first ten (of twelve) Beatles albums were released in both mono and stereo mixes. Since mono record players were the most common at the time, producer George Martin and the Beatles gave more time and attention to preparing mono mixes of their recordings, particularly for their early records. Therefore, the mono versions are considered by many to be the "official" versions, as opposed to the stereo releases (In fact, when the Beatles discography was released on compact disc (CD) in the 1980s, the mono mixes of the first four albums, rather than the stereo mixes, were used). The last two albums, Abbey Road and Let It Be, were originally mixed and released in stereo only.

The Beatles UK discography was released on CD in the late 1980s. However, the sound of the digital transfers of the current discs, produced by George Martin in 1987 and 1988 using the best equipment available during the early days of the format, no longer meet standards achievable using current techniques. The sound on the remastered catalogues of Bob Dylan, the Beach Boys, and the Rolling Stones, among other heavyweights from the 1960s, have been greatly enhanced using technological developments that have occurred since Martin's initial digital mastering, and as of 2008, similar work for the Beatles is long overdue.

Olivia Harrison recently stated that the Beatles songs and albums had been remastered, and were in the final production stage. However, Harrison did state that she feels these may not be released until the end of 2008, possibly due to changes that may need to be made. ^[1]

Official canon

This section lists the canon of material currently sanctioned by the Beatles as part of their official catalogue^[2]. After the band's breakup, EMI, who controlled the Beatles material, "explored a range of repackaging schemes to exploit their Beatles catalogue"^[3], without input from the Beatles themselves. It was not until "an agreement reached with EMI/Capitol in 1989... gave the Beatles control of future use of all their EMI recordings. This meant that any shoddy repackaging ideas... could now be nipped in the bud by Apple"^[4]. The canon of official Beatles releases include the following albums, EPs, and singles.

Studio albums

The official canon of Beatles studio albums consists of the original albums as released in their native UK from 1962 to 1970. The single exception is Magical Mystery Tour, which was released as a double EP in the UK and a longer LP in the United States.

Compilation albums

• A Collection of Beatles Oldies Parlophone Records (1966-12-09) #7 (Considered official at time of release, but has since been deleted from catalogue)
• 1962–1966 (the "Red Album") Apple Records #3(1973-04-19) (Re-released in Sep 1993 and hit UK number 3)
• 1967–1970 (the "Blue Album") Apple Records #2(1973-04-19) (Re-released in Sep 1993 and hit UK number 4)
• Magical Mystery Tour Parlophone Records (1976-11-19) [sic] (Official UK issue of the American album using the Capitol masters, except for "Penny Lane," "Baby You're a Rich Man," and "All You Need is Love," which were the German mixes released on the Hör Zu! label in 1971. It became part of the official catalogue with its release on CD with every track in true-stereo. As an American import, the album peaked at #31 in 1968. Continued sales of the album as an import led to this release.)
• Past Masters, Volume One Parlophone Records (1988-03-07) (singles from 1962-1965 and other songs that were left off earlier albums) #49
• Past Masters, Volume Two Parlophone Records (1988-03-07) (singles from 1965-1970 and other songs that were left off later albums) #46

(Past Masters as a 2-LP set was issued by Parlophone Records on 1988-11-10)

• Live at the BBC Apple Records (1994-11-30) (Contains 69 songs The Beatles recorded for various BBC radio shows that never were recorded for Parlophone/Capitol/EMI. #1
• Anthology 1 Apple Records (1995-11-21) (Containing early performances, live shows, demos, out-takes in the period 1958 to 1964 and the first "new" Beatles song since the band broke up in 1970) #2
• Anthology 2 Apple Records (1996-03-18) (Containing unreleased tracks, live shows, demos, and out-takes from 1965 to 1968 and the second "new" Beatles song since the band broke up in 1970) #1
• Anthology 3 Apple Records (1996-10-28) (Containing unreleased tracks, demos, and out-takes in the period 1968 to 1970) #4
• Yellow Submarine Songtrack Apple Records (1999-09-13) #8
• The Beatles 1 Apple Records (2000-11-13) (A collection of The Beatles' #1 hits on the Billboard [U.S.] and Record Retailer [UK] charts, including both sides of their double-A sided singles if both hit the top slot. The collection has 27 songs in it.) #1
• Let It Be… Naked Apple Records (2003-11-17) (Remastered and remixed cut from the original sessions, devoid of arrangements by "re-producer" Phil Spector. The first copies released shipped with a 21-minute Fly on the Wall bonus disc.) #7
• The Capitol Albums, Volume 1, Capitol Records (2004-11-16) #35 U.S. (Box set compilation comprising The Beatles' 1964 American Capitol Records releases)
• The Capitol Albums, Volume 2, Capitol Records (2006-04-11) #46 U.S. (Box set compilation comprising The Beatles' 1965 American Capitol Records releases)
• Love Apple Records (2006-11-20) #3 (A soundtrack to the Cirque du Soleil production Love, featuring remastered and remixed versions of the Beatles' songs by Sir George Martin and his son Giles Martin)

EPs

With two exceptions (Long Tall Sally and Magical Mystery Tour ), the Beatles EPs featured songs also available on Beatles albums, rather than original material. The original material from the Long Tall Sally EP can now be found on the Past Masters, Volume One CD, and the Magical Mystery Tour EP material can be found on the Magical Mystery Tour CD.

• Twist and Shout (1963-07-12)
• The Beatles' Hits (1963-09-06)
• The Beatles (No. 1) (1963-11-01)
• All My Loving (1964-02-07)
• Long Tall Sally (1964-06-19) The first Beatles EP to feature otherwise unavailable material, including the Lennon-McCartney original "I Call Your Name".
• Extracts from the Film A Hard Day's Night (1964-11-04)
• Extracts from the Album A Hard Day's Night (1964-11-06)
• Beatles for Sale (1965-04-06)
• Beatles for Sale (No. 2) (1965-06-04)
• The Beatles' Million Sellers (1965-12-06)
• Yesterday (1966-03-04)
• Nowhere Man (1966-07-08)
• Magical Mystery Tour (1967-12-08); #2 (in the UK singles chart topped by "Hello, Goodbye"). The second Beatles EP to feature otherwise unavailable material. In the U.S., this was released as a longer LP with additional songs not found on this release. It is the U.S. LP version that is now considered official.

Singles

The UK Singles Chart is compiled solely from sales figures; airplay statistics are not used. For this reason the chart positions for the UK Singles are indicated per disc, not per song. Pos column indicates the peak position in the charts.

UK non-canon releases

This list reflects the various albums, EPs, and singles released in the UK which are not considered a part of the official Beatles catalogue^who?. Most of these were released by record companies apart from the consent of the Beatles.

Compilations

• The Beatles' First Polydor Records (1967-08-04) (British issue of the 1964 German LP)
• Rock 'n' Roll Music Parlophone Records (1976-06-10) #11
• The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl Parlophone Records (1977-05-06) (Live performances from 1964-08-23 and 1965-08-30 at the Hollywood Bowl) #1
• Love Songs Parlophone Records (1977-11-19) #7
• The Beatles Collection Parlophone Records (1977-11-02) (A 14-record box set containing all of The Beatles' original Parlophone/Apple LPs along with Rarities)
• Rarities Parlophone Records (1978-12-02) (Although not made explicit on the sleeve, this album consisted of every Parlophone and Apple Beatles B-side and EP track which had not been included on their UK studio albums, or on the 1973 "Red" and "Blue" Albums. It included 2 songs in German ("Sie Liebt Dich" and "Komm Gib Mir Deine Hand"), a song recorded for an American album and an alternative version of "Across The Universe") #71
• Hey Jude Parlophone Records (1979-05-11) (Official UK issue of American album)
• The Beatles' Ballads Parlophone Records (1980-10-13) (compilation) #17
• The Beatles Box Parlophone Records/World Records (1980-11-03) (This is an 8-record compilation which was available by mail order only)
• Reel Music Parlophone Records (1982-03-29) (compilation of tracks from The Beatles' films) Did not chart
• The Beatles Mono Collection Parlophone/Apple (1982-10-??) (box set - 10 chronological mono Beatle albums from Please Please Me to Yellow Submarine excluding A Collection of Beatles Oldies. Intended for export, originally in a red box similar to The Beatles Collection, reissued later in black)
• 20 Greatest Hits Parlophone Records (1982-10-18) #10

EPs

• The Beatles EP Collection, Parlophone (1981-12-07) (15-disc 7" EP set, featuring all 13 Beatles British EPs, with both mono and stereo editions of Magical Mystery Tour plus an EP of 4 stereo mixes, new to the UK, of "The Inner Light", "Baby You're a Rich Man", "She's a Woman" and "This Boy", housed in a blue flip-top box similar to The Beatles Collection. The set was issued on CD in a black box for the first time in the UK on (1992-05-26 with releases in the U.S. and Japan in the following month)
• The Beatles (1981-12-07) (a rarities' EP featuring "The Inner Light", "Baby You're a Rich Man", "She's a Woman" and "This Boy")

Singles

U.S. discography

U.S. albums

The first seven Beatles albums appeared in different versions in the U.S., where Capitol Records mixed UK album tracks with UK single tracks to create different albums altogether, with different titles, track listings, and often different audio mixes. The first eight of these records have been released on CD as The Capitol Albums, Volume 1 (2004) and The Capitol Albums, Volume 2 (2006). The Capitol release of Rubber Soul is preferred by some over its UK counterpart, due to its more folky flavour^{citation needed}; it was this version of the album that greatly influenced the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson, who "answered" it by releasing Pet Sounds in 1966^{citation needed}. Upon the release of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in 1967, the Beatles albums had the same track listing in both the U.S. and the UK (The only exception to this is Magical Mystery Tour, which was released as a double EP in the UK, and a longer LP in the U.S.).

U.S. compilations and other releases

• The Beatles' Story, Capitol TBO 2222 (Mono)/STBO 2222 (Stereo (1964-11-23) #7 (12/19/1964+) (1/2/1965-)
• Hey Jude, Apple/Capitol SW 385 (1970-02-26) #2(4) (3/21/1970)
• In the Beginning (Circa 1960), Polydor Records 24-4504 (1970-05-04) #117
• 1962–1966 (the "Red Album"), Apple SKBO-3403 (1973-04-02) #3 (4/21/1973)
• 1967–1970 (the "Blue Album"), Apple SKBO-3404 (1973-04-02) #1(1) (4/21/1973)
• Rock 'n' Roll Music, Capitol Records (1976-06-07) #2(2) (6/26/1976)
• Live! at the Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany; 1962, Lingasong (May 2, 1977) #111
• The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl, Capitol Records (1977-05-04) #2(2) (5/21/1977)
• Love Songs, Capitol Records (1977-10-21) #24 (11/19/1977)
• The Beatles Collection, Capitol Records (1979-12-01) (Unlike the British release, the American issue was a limited edition with only 3000 copies made. The British release which was not a limited edition became a popular import for the U.S. market as a result.)
• Rarities, Capitol SHAL-12060 (1980-03-24) #21 (4/19/1980)
• Rock 'n' Roll Music Vol. 1, Music For Pleasure (1980-10-27)
• Rock 'n' Roll Music Vol. 2, Music For Pleasure (1980-10-27)
• Reel Music, Capitol Records (1982-03-22) #19 (4/10/1982)
• 20 Greatest Hits, Capitol Records (1982-10-11) #50
• Please Please Me, Parlophone/Capitol Records (1987-02-26)
• With the Beatles, Parlophone/Capitol Records (1987-02-26)
• A Hard Day's Night (British version), Parlophone/Capitol Records (1987-02-26)
• Beatles for Sale, Parlophone/Capitol Records (1987-02-26)
• Help! (British version), Parlophone/Capitol Records (1987-04-30)
• Rubber Soul (British version), Parlophone/Capitol Records (1987-04-30)
• Revolver (British version), Parlophone/Capitol Records (1987-04-30)

(The above 1987 CD releases mark the first official releases for The Beatles' early British albums in the U.S.)

• Past Masters, Volume One, Parlophone/Capitol Records (1988-03-07) #149
• Past Masters, Volume Two, Parlophone/Capitol Records (1988-03-07) #121

(Past Masters as a 2-LP set was issued by Capitol Records on 1988-10-24)

• The Beatles Box Set Parlophone/Capitol Records (1988-11-15)
• Live at the BBC, Capitol Records (1994-12-06) #3 (12/24/1994+) (1/8/1995-)
• Anthology 1, Capitol Records (1995-11-21) #1 (12/9/1995+) (1/13/1996-)
• Anthology 2, Capitol Records (1996-03-19) #1 (4/20/1996)
• Anthology 3, Capitol Records (1996-10-29) #1 (11/23/1996+) (1/3/1997-)
• Yellow Submarine Songtrack, Capitol Records (1999-09-14) #15 (10/2/1999)
• The Beatles 1, Capitol Records (2000-11-14) #1 (12/2/2000+) (1/6/2001-)
• Let It Be… Naked, Capitol Records (2003-11-18) #5 (12/13/2003+) (1/17/2004-)
• The Capitol Albums, Volume 1, Capitol Records (2004-11-16) #35 (12/4/2004+) (1/1/2005-)
• The Capitol Albums, Volume 2, Capitol Records (2006-04-11) #46
• Love, Capitol Records (2006-11-21) #4 (12/16/2006+) (1/20/2007-)

U.S. EPs

• Souvenir of Their Visit to America (Vee Jay Records) (1964-03-23)
• Four by the Beatles (1964-05-11)
• 4-by the Beatles (1965-02-01)
• Baby It's You (1995-03-23) (Maxi-CD single)
• Free as a Bird (1995-12-12) (Maxi-CD single)
• Real Love (1996-03-05) (Maxi-CD single)

U.S. singles

The Billboard Hot 100 chart in the U.S. is compiled from sales and airplay statistics, so the individual songs on any given disc can be charted separately.