The Beatles Anthology

At 11 years old, my biggest interests were horses, painting and drawing horses, reading books about horses and avoiding homework. Then, one November Sunday night, I wanted to watch tv and there was nothing on but The Beatles Anthology, I was too lazy to turn the set off. AND IT'S A GOOD THING I DIDN'T!!! At the end of two hours, I was off to bed singing "Love Me Do" and begging to watch the second installment the night it came on. It was heartbreak when I missed the 3rd and final installment on Thanksgiving night but by Christmas, I was 12 years old and the proud owner of my first boombox and my first CD ever: The Beatles Anthology 1.That was 9 years ago and I'm even crazier about The Beatles than I was then. I've even converted my best friends and my latest boyfriend into Beatles fans! It was also interesting to see my parents watching the local news the next night and seeing literally HUNDREDS of teenagers lined up outside the music stores in the Mall to buy Beatles albums!Oh, and don't get me wrong, I still love my horses (I'm training them now) and am pursuing an art career in college, I still love to read (I have several books about The Beatles) and am now trying to write a novel; but my love of The Beatles has never faded. The airing of The Beatles Anthology unleashed a second tide of Beatlemania that has yet to fade. In fact, they are still among the Top Ten searches on ebay. The Beatles also ignited my love of 60's and 70's music and culture and I am now among the hundreds of 20-somethings on my campus who are the latest of worshippers at the altars of the likes of: Jimmy Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin and the solo career of John Lennon. We can now find common ground with the Baby Boomer/Old Hippy Professors on our campus and, even our parents!Ah, but back to my story. In my 13th year, The Beatles Anthology aired AGAIN, proof of its undying popularity. This time, I was prepared, and had enough VHS tape to record all three nights, sans commercials. My allowance, sadly, was not large enough to purchase the whole set of VHS tapes and my parents deemed them too expensive for a present. So, I continued to watch my home recordings as they faded more and more from continual use. Then, (hallelujah!) the DVDs were released! I was finally able to see the Anthology in its entirety, and for a much better price than the $130 out-of-publication VHS tapes.This set is NOT a letdown! And, it has the added bonus of extra material (the video for "Real Love", behind the scenes production, etc.) that the VHS tapes didn't have. The story of how The Beatles came to be is a real inspiration for me. I love the tale of how they all came to know each other and it was very interesting to learn of their backgrounds, the music that influenced each of them, how they got their name (like the Crickets, but Beat, like Beat Music) and the truly HORRIBLE living and traveling conditions they had to endure (broken windshield while traveling down a highway in the middle of winter in leather clothes, the horrible accommodations when they first arrived in Hamburg, and other stories). Their climb to success was long, hard and at times, disgruntling. But by the time John was 24, they were in America and loved all over the world!The Beatles had 27 Number One Hits in the space of SIX years! That is UNPRESIDENTED! Plus, they occupied the top FIVE spots of the Hits chart all at once, a record that had never happened before or since. Even when the Anthology aired, for weeks before, ABC broadcasting was advertising their station as "A Beatle C", even the local news anchors were being interviewed about who their favorite Beatle was. And, in the Friday Night programs called TGIF, their regular theme songs were replaced with BEATLES songs! I mean, no one band must be bigger, more famous or more loved to deserve all that hype! And I must say, I believe in that statement.The Beatles have influenced my artwork (just hearing their music brings all kinds of WONDERFUL abstract images into my head), like John Lennon always did, I now dream in Technicolor, and also like him, I don't need drugs to do it! He stated that it was always like that for him, he didn't know any other way to dream and at that point, he hadn't ever touched drugs. And despite their drug use, you have to respect The Beatles, they never used while they were recording (except once by accident) so even their was always done sober. AND, they give me hope that I WILL be able to make it with my own brand of art, the key is to NEVER give up on what you love to do, NO MATTER *WHAT* ANYONE TELLS YOU! (ex. John's Aunt Mimi: "You'll never make a living playing a guitar, John.")But, honestly, this is a GREAT set, The Beatles are a fantastic, original and NEVER-outdated band. They were the Four Horsemen of the 60's, they changed and influenced that decade in too many ways to name, they influenced the course of ALL genres of music forever, and they were always on the cutting edge of ingenuity, creativity and originality. Their sound was so NEW and Different from anything ever heard before, OR since! And because of that, their music will always remain TIMELESS and in a class ALL its own.

Reminds me of why I fell in love with them!!!!!

This was a Christmas present for my daughter. She had this many years ago and it got lost in the move to her new home. She was very happy and watched it right away. Thank you.

Item received as ordered

This should be unlimited stars!!! I saw this on TV many years ago (around 1992 or 1993) and loved it. I am a forever Beatles fan, saw them in person in Seattle in 1966 (didn't hear them because of all the screaming) and have all of their albums and CDs. I also have this set on VHS but that doesn't do me much good because as we all know, VHS is the old way and the tapes wear out or break. I received this collection last week and have already watched all but one DVD. It took me back to simpler days when I was a lovestruck preteen and early teenager with the biggest crush on George Harrison! I'm going to admit this here, I still have a crush on him, even after all these years :-) Hard to believe he's been gone almost 15 years and John since 1980. This set is very comprehensive, there is footage of their concerts, press and news footage, Ed Sullivan shows, rehearsing, singing, personal insights, comic moments, etc. I could go on and on, but this set has it all for any Beatles fan. You will learn things you never knew about them, laugh with them over things you've already seen, enjoy their music, Paul singing Hey Jude was a big highlight as are all their other songs. They bicker a little bit, George quits, comes back, Ringo quits and comes back, etc. On and on, it's just a great ride through history, as they start with simple songs with just 3 guitars and one set of drums, to Rubber Soul when George introduced the sitar, to Revolver and more complex songs, to Sgt. Pepper's with a full complement or orchestral instruments. They become more socially conscious, grow up before your eyes, and when the final concert happens on the rooftop, you know what's next (the breakup) and you don't want it to happen. At least I didn't. There was never a band like them before and there will never be another band like them. They were the greatest, Lennon and McCartney were geniuses at songwriting and deciding which song fit which Beatle, George comes into his own as a songwriter and he was he best guitar player, Ringo is just happy and smiling and he gets his songs which are simple but he's on key and he seems like he's the most fun of the four. There is a segment of him in Hard Day's Night where he's walking along the beach, makes contact with a young boy, and he explains how he's so hungover from the night before he can hardly handle it! Hilarious! I highly recommend this to any Beatles fan who wants a trip down memory lane with all the quips and info you'll love! Beatles Forever!

I originally bought the Anthology set in 1995 when it was first released, but I got it on VHS. In the ensuing years the VHS has gone the way of the horse and buggy and I have long wanted to replace it with a set on DVD. I have now completed that mission.This is a great Anthology, covering all the years from 1958 until their eventual break-up in early 1970, using in person interviews and John Lennon voice overs, telling their story as best they can remember it, often with amusing anecdotes. It was also a nice piece of history to see the surviving "Threetles" completing two Lennon compositions, telling their stories and reminiscing about the old days.And a tip of the hat to CCGoodwill for their customer service, great pricing and fast shipping. The set I received is as good as new, missing only the plastic shrink wrap covering the slipcase. The discs, cases and inserts were in near perfect condition and I could not be more pleased with this purchase.