Past Masters

This article is about the Beatles album. For other uses, see Past Master (disambiguation).

Past Masters
The 2009 Past Masters album cover
Compilation album by
the Beatles
Released7 March 1988 (1988-03-07)
Recorded4 September 1962 – 4 January 1970
StudioEMI, Trident, Olympic and Apple, London
  • Pathé Marconi, Paris
GenreRock
Length93:29
LanguageEnglish, German ("Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand" / "Sie Liebt Dich")
LabelParlophone, Capitol, Apple
ProducerGeorge Martin
CompilerMark Lewisohn
The Beatles chronology
20 Greatest Hits
(1982) 		Past Masters
(1988) 		The Beatles Box Set
(1988)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic (Vol. 1)[1]
(Vol. 2)[2]
(Vol. 1 & 2)[3]
BBC(favourable)[4]
Consequence[5]
The Daily Telegraph[6]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[7]
One Thirty BPM100%[8]
Pitchfork9.2/10[9]

Past Masters is a two-disc compilation album set by the English rock band the Beatles. It was originally released as two separate volumes on 7 March 1988, as part of the first issue of the band's catalogue on compact disc.[10] The album contains all songs released commercially by the band that were not available on the Beatles' 12 original UK albums or the US Magical Mystery Tour LP.[10][11] It was compiled by Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn, who also wrote the liner notes. The majority of the Past Masters set consists of A- and B-sides from the band's singles, including single versions of songs that appeared in a different form on the band's albums. Also included are the full contents of the UK-only Long Tall Sally EP, two German-language tracks, a song recorded for the American market, and a track released on a charity compilation album.[10]

Although Past Masters is not a studio album and is instead a compilation, it is considered to be the Beatles' 14th (and final) major release. This occurred when the Beatles' core catalog was standardized in 1987, followed by the official re-releases in 2009.[12]

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  7. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference one was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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  10. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference rough was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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  12. ^ Lewisohn 1988, pp. 200–201.