Worldwide, the British rock band the Beatles released 12 studio albums (17 in the US), 5 live albums, 51 compilation albums, 36 extended plays (EPs), and 17 box sets. In their native United Kingdom, during their active existence as a band, they released 12 studio albums (including 1 double album), 1 compilation album, and 13 EPs (including 1 double EP). The early albums released from 1962 to March 1968 were originally on Parlophone, and their albums from August 1968 to 1970 were on their subsidiary label Apple. Their output also includes vault items, remixed mash-ups and anniversary box-sets.
The Beatles are the biggest selling band of all time, selling over 500 million records.[1] With the first CD releases of their albums in 1987 and 1988, the Beatles' core catalogue was harmonised worldwide to encompass their 12 original UK studio albums, the 1967 US Magical Mystery Tour album and the newly assembled Past Masters: Volumes One and Two compilation albums consisting of all the studio recordings released during 1962 to 1970 that are not present on the UK studio albums or Magical Mystery Tour (mainly non-album singles, B-sides and EP tracks). When the core catalogue was reissued in remastered editions in 2009, the two volumes of Past Masters were combined into one double album. Since then, other past releases have been reissued in digital formats and on vinyl. The catalogue is currently distributed by Universal Music Enterprises' Calderstone Productions. This core catalogue contains all 217 tracks[a] intended for commercial release, either as album tracks, EP tracks, or singles, that were put out by the Beatles from 1962 to 1970.[2][3]
The Beatles' international discography is more complicated due to different versions of their albums sometimes being released in other countries, particularly during their early years on Capitol Recordsin North America. Prior to 1967, it was common practice for British releases to be reconfigured for the American market. The first seven British Beatles albums were converted into ten LPs for the American market, adding material from singles and the UK EPs; the band were unhappy with these reconfigurations. With the exception of Magical Mystery Tour, studio releases from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in 1967 forward were uniform in both the UK and the US. The band's first eight albums were released on Parlophone. From 1968, in both the UK and the US, starting with the single "Hey Jude" and the album The Beatles (better known as "the White Album"), new releases appeared on the Beatles' own Apple record label, although Parlophone and Capitol catalogue numbers continued to be used for contractual reasons.
The Beatles' discography was originally released on the vinyl format, with full-length long plays (LPs), shorter EPs and singles. Over the years, the collection has also been released on cassette, 8-track, compact disc (CD), on a USB flash drive in MP3 and 24-bit FLAC format, and on digital media streaming services. The Beatles' UK discography was first released on CD in 1987 and 1988. Between 1962 and 1968, the Beatles released their songs in both mono and stereo versions.[4] The band's catalogue was remastered in both mono and stereo in 2009.[5][6]
Albums
Original UK studio albums
Notes
- ^Release dates are per The Complete Beatles Chronicle by Mark Lewisohn, unless otherwise noted.
- ^With the Beatles was released in Canada as Beatlemania! With the Beatles and in France as Les Beatles.
- ^The album also contains scores by George Martin and His Orchestra.
Original US studio albums
Notes
- ^Release dates are per The Complete Beatles Chronicle by Mark Lewisohn, unless otherwise noted.
- ^Lewisohn indicates the album may have also been released on 22 July 1963.
- ^ abcdThe original US release featured a different track listing to the UK release.
- ^ abThe album also contains songs by George Martin and His Orchestra.
- ^Magical Mystery Tour as an album was created by Capitol for US release; it originally peaked at number 31 in the United Kingdom as an import of the United States issue. Parlophone instead issued a double EP. Parlophone eventually issued the album in the UK on 19 November 1976. It did not chart in Australia until October 1974.
- ^The album also contains scores by George Martin and His Orchestra.
Standardised studio albums
Since the first release of their music on CD during 1987–1988, the Beatles' studio albums have been standardised worldwide to the following albums:[32]
Live albums
Notes
Compilation albums
Notes
- ^The Beatles vs the Four Seasons was a repackaging of Introducing... The Beatles and Golden Hits of the Four Seasons.
- ^ abPast Masters was initially released as two separate CDs on 7 March 1988, with a two-LP vinyl set combining both volumes following on 24 October 1988 in the US and 10 November 1988 in the UK. The combined set was released on CD on 9 September 2009.
- ^The album also contains a song by George Martin and His Orchestra.
- ^Originally released as part of the 2009 The Beatles in Mono box set. Released separately as 2 CDs or 3 LPs on 9-9-2014 in the UK and the following day in the US.
Mash-up albums
Box sets
Notes
Extended plays
Flexi discs
Main article: The Beatles' Christmas records
The Beatles released seven consecutive Christmas records on flexi disc for members of their UK and US fan clubs, from 1963 to 1969, ranging in length between 3:58 and 7:48. These short collections had a mix of spoken and musical messages for their official fan clubs.
See also
Notes
- ^The musicologist Alan W. Pollack identifies 219 tracks for his Notes on... series, counting 212 tracks along with six additional tracks that he did not separately identify because they were merely alternate versions of other songs (such as variations between the single version and the album version of the same track). Pollack also includes the song fragment "Can You Take Me Back", found in the transition between "Cry Baby Cry" and "Revolution 9" on the White Album, which is often not counted by other catalogs of Beatles songs. Other notable catalogs of Beatles songs, such as Ian MacDonald's Revolution in the Head, differ from this list as well.
References
- ^Duran, Anagricel (14 May 2024). "Ringo Starr says The Beatles would have made far fewer records had it not been for "workaholic" Paul McCartney". NME. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
- ^Pannell, David J. (Spring–Autumn 2023). "Quantitative analysis of the evolution of the Beatles' releases for EMI, 1962–1970". Journal of Beatles Studies. 2 (1/2): 65–90. doi:10.3828/jbs.2023.5. ISSN 2754-7019.
- ^Tillekens, Ger (December 1999). "The official Beatles' canon". Soundscapes.info. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
- ^Boilen, Bob (8 September 2009). "Mono Or Stereo: Which Beatles Box Is Better?". NPR. Archived from the original on 26 October 2019. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
- ^Eccleston, Danny (9 September 2009). "Beatles Remasters Reviewed". Mojo. Archived from the original on 7 October 2009. Retrieved 13 October 2009.
- ^Roberts, Randall (9 September 2014). "Review: Is 'The Beatles in Mono' necessary? Yes and no". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 28 July 2018. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
- ^ abcRoach, Martin, ed. (2009). The Virgin Book of British Hit Albums. London: Virgin Books. p. 48. ISBN .
- ^ abcdef"Beatles". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
- ^ abcdefg Peak chart positions for releases in Australia:
- "Discography The Beatles". australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
- Kent, David (2005). Australian Chart Book (1940–1969). Turramurra: Australian Chart Book. ISBN .
- ^ abPeak chart positions for studio albums in Canada:
- The Beatles: "Top 50 Albums". RPM. Vol. 10, no. 16. 16 December 1968. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 9 October 2009.
- Yellow Submarine: "Top 50 Albums". RPM. Vol. 11, no. 13. 17 March 1969. Archived from the original on 11 October 2012. Retrieved 9 October 2009.
- Abbey Road: "LP Chart". RPM. Vol. 12, no. 11. 1 November 1969. Archived from the original on 13 May 2014. Retrieved 9 October 2009.
- Hey Jude (a.k.a. The Beatles Again):
- Let It Be: "RPM 100 Albums". RPM. Vol. 13, no. 22. 18 July 1970. Archived from the original