Looking for some last-minute gift ideas? Let Clash assist you. The December issue typically highlights some sought-after presents along with the final releases of the year. This round features some guaranteed hits and a few delightful surprises. Enjoy!
Freshly Pressed:
No Christmas market would be complete without a premium item from The Beatles. This time, it’s a large 12LP box called ‘Anthology Collection’. Three decades after the buzz surrounding the multi-media archival project’s release, the documentary series is now enhanced for Disney +, the coffee table book is back in stores, and the collection of compilations has been expanded with a somewhat controversial fourth volume to complete this set. On a positive note, it includes previously unreleased outtakes and live clips, alongside 2025 remixes of the two Threetles singles, ‘Free As A Bird’ and ‘Real Love’, as well as the 2023 release ‘Now And Then’, which finally finishes the Lennon song that was meant for ‘Anthology 3’ but was left unfinished at the time. The disappointment comes from only thirteen of the thirty-six tracks being entirely new, with the rest having appeared in various deluxe reissues over the years.
Many might find it interesting that Giles Martin has revisited the audio of the three volumes from the Nineties, utilizing the MAL software employed in the ‘Get Back’ films and more recent Beatles reissues. The result is a cleaner sound on the original mix of ‘Free As A Bird’, and the difference is clear on side one, disc one of ‘Anthology 1’, where the early live recordings have significantly less intrusive tape hiss. Although some purists may not agree with these changes, it undeniably enhances the listening experience. As someone who was enamored with these titles on CD back then and has since enjoyed them on vinyl, I noticed a brittle sound in the original releases that seems absent in these new versions.
Of course, when considering any outtakes and demos project, listeners must evaluate how often they might listen to them and which format suits them best. Therefore, a £300 investment for a dozen slabs of vinyl featuring varying audio quality might seem excessive, especially when the CD version costs less than a third of that. Nonetheless, The Beatles seem fit for vinyl, and the presentation is outstanding. The sturdy tri-fold sleeves remain, and a new one has been designed for ‘Anthology 4’. The outer box cleverly combines the imagery of the three original covers, though a superfluous cardboard wrap adds an uninspiring band photo when still in shrink wrap.
Some highlights include a stripped-down version of ‘The Long And Winding Road’ that exceeds the entire ‘Let It Be…Naked’ version, an alternative take on ‘Lady Madonna’, the versions of ‘Ain’t She Sweet’ that frame their career, and the instrumental of ‘Hey Bulldog’ among other treats, because, after all, it's The Beatles. Many of these tracks will appeal to completists, and numerous copies will find their way under Christmas trees. It’s a hefty sum for sonic upgrades on a set not many fans may spin regularly, but it sounds superb for what it is. Martin has done an impressive job on the rough early recordings, and ‘Anthology 4’ presents intriguing material, even if much of it is now familiar to enthusiasts. The 2025 version of ‘Free As A Bird’ sounds wonderful, while ‘Real Love’ is distinctly different. I’d argue both are a nice addition, while some might disagree. The whole collection is pressed to near-silent vinyl by Optimal and done extremely well.
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‘Through The Open Window – The Bootleg Series Vol. 18 1956-1963’ features some of Bob Dylan’s earliest work. The forty-two track vinyl edition gets many aspects right. The sturdy box contains lovely inner sleeves with replica Columbia branding and a twenty-four-page booklet that enhances the atmosphere. Additionally, it was cut at Sterling by Ryan K. Smith and pressed at Pallas. The only concern, from a sonic perspective, is the quality of some of the sources used. The first side is quite swooshy and hissy initially—the recordings, not the pressing—only calming down for a fine rendition of ‘Railroading On The Great Divide’ from 1961. If you can deal with some thin and fluctuating tape sound, you’ll likely be fine, but it does raise questions about presenting such material in an expensive vinyl format.
That said, the pressings are excellent, and there are remarkable moments throughout the eight sides. ‘(I Heard That) Lonesome Whistle’, a 1962 outtake from ‘Freewheelin’’, is incredibly charming, and a rough take on ‘Tomorrow Is A Long Time’ from a Minneapolis party proves oddly captivating. By interspersing the weaker recordings instead of grouping them, each drop in sound quality can feel somewhat jarring. However
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Looking for some last-minute gift ideas? Let Clash lend a hand. The December issue typically highlights a selection of appealing gift options while also gathering