Vinyl Nostalgia 
Attempting to compile a complete chronological list of compilation albums released both during The Beatles’ existence and after their breakup can be a real headache, especially since the most prominent creators of such lists differ greatly from one another.
A good example is the album *A Collection of Beatles Oldies*, which Yoko Ono includes in the band’s official discography among the list of original albums, rather than compilations. Generally, however, this album is not considered part of the canon, as it contains recordings from the band’s singles released between 1963 and 1966, and was released solely for commercial reasons (EMI had nothing better to offer before Christmas 1966). One reason why John Lennon’s widow might have included *Oldies* among the other original albums is the presence of a single new song on it that had never before been released in the UK. It was a cover of Larry Williams’s “Bad Boy,” though it had previously been released in the U.S. on the album *Beatles VI*.
A separate issue is the reason why it’s worth collecting compilation albums; aside from the obvious collector’s appeal, it’s the fact that this is the only way we can listen to hits like “Hey Jude” or “The Ballad of John and Yoko,” which were released exclusively on singles (they do not appear on any “canonical album”).
In my list, I’ve arranged these albums—which are compilations of previously released tracks, as well as their remixes, remasters, and demo versions from recording sessions—in chronological order by release date.
A Collection Of Beatles Oldies (1966)
Release date: December 9, 1966. Label: Parlophone.
Mono version (catalog number PMC 7009), stereo version (catalog number PCS 7009).
Side 1
: “She Loves You,” “From Me to You,” “We Can Work It Out” “Help!”, “Michelle”, “Yesterday”, “I Feel Fine”, “Yellow Submarine”.
Side 2
: “Can’t Buy Me Love”, “Bad Boy” (Larry Williams), “Day Tripper,” “A Hard Day’s Night,” “Ticket to Ride,” “Paperback Writer,” “Eleanor Rigby,” “I Want to Hold Your Hand.”
The Beatles 1962–1966 (The Red Album) (1973)
Release date: April 19, 1973. Label: Apple.
Side 1
: “Love Me Do,” “Please Please Me,” “From Me to You,” “She Loves You,” “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” “All My Loving,” “Can’t Buy Me Love.”
Side 2
: “A Hard Day’s Night,” “And I Love Her,” “Eight Days a Week,” “I Feel Fine,” “Ticket to Ride,” “Yesterday.”
Side 3
: “Help!”, “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away”, “We Can Work It Out”, “Day Tripper”, “Drive My Car”, “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)”.
Side 4
: “Nowhere Man,” “Michelle,” “In My Life,” “Girl,” “Paperback Writer,” “Eleanor Rigby,” “Yellow Submarine.”
The Beatles 1967–1970 (The Blue Album) (1973)
Release date: April 19, 1973. Label: Apple (PCSP 718).
Side 1
: “Strawberry Fields Forever,” “Penny Lane,” “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” “With a Little Help from My Friends,” “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” “A Day in the Life,” “All You Need Is Love”.
Side 2
: “I Am the Walrus,” “Hello, Goodbye,” “The Fool on the Hill,” “Magical Mystery Tour,” “Lady Madonna,” “Hey Jude,” “Revolution.”
Page 3
: “Back in the U.S.S.R.”, “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da,” “Get Back,” “Don’t Let Me Down,” “The Ballad of John and Yoko,” “Old Brown Shoe.”
Side 4
: “Here Comes the Sun,” “Come Together,” “Something,” “Octopus’s Garden,” “Let It Be,” “Across the Universe,” “The Long and Winding Road.”
Rock 'n' Roll Music (1976)
Release date: June 11, 1976. Label: Parlophone.
The version of this same album released simultaneously in the U.S. includes 5 additional mixes (tracks marked in bold), which George Martin created without the band members’ permission to improve the sound quality. In the UK, the label was afraid to release them, which is why the American version of this compilation is a more interesting purchase.
Side 1
: “Twist And Shout,” “I Saw Her Standing There,” “You Can’t Do That,” “I Wanna Be Your Man,” “I Call Your Name
,” “Boys,” “Long Tall Sally
.”
Side 2
: “Rock And Roll Music,” “Slow Down
,” “Kansas City / Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey,” “Money (That’s What I Want),” “Bad Boy,” “Matchbox
,” “Roll Over Beethoven.”
Side 3
: “Dizzy, Miss Lizzy,” “Any Time At All,” “Drive My Car,” “Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby,” “I’m Down,” “Revolution.”
Side 4
: “Back In The U.S.S.R.”, “Helter Skelter”, “Taxman”, “Got to Get You into My Life”, “Hey Bulldog”, “Birthday”, “Get Back”.
The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl (1977)
Release date: May 6, 1977. Label: EMI.
Side 1
: “Twist And Shout,” “She’s A Woman,” “Dizzy Miss Lizzy,” “Ticket To Ride,” “Can’t Buy Me Love,” “Things We Said Today,” “Roll Over Beethoven.”
Side 2
: “Boys,” “A Hard Day’s Night,” “Help,” “All My Loving,” “She Loves You,” “Long Tall Sally.”
Love Songs (1977)
Release date: November 19, 1977. Label: EMI (catalog number: PCSP 721).
Side 1
: “Yesterday,” “I’ll Follow the Sun,” “I Need You,” “Girl,” “In My Life,” “Words of Love,” “Here, There and Everywhere.”
Side 2
: “Something,” “And I Love Her,” “If I Fell,” “I’ll Be Back,” “Tell Me What You See,” “Yes It Is.”
Side 3
: “Michelle,” “It’s Only Love,” “You’re Going to Lose That Girl,” “Every Little Thing,” “For No One,” “She’s Leaving Home.”
Side 4
: “The Long And Winding Road,” “This Boy,” “Norwegian Wood,” “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away,” “I Will,” “P.S. I Love You.”
Hey Jude (1970/1979)
Original U.S. release (catalog number CPCS 106, February 26, 1970), later U.K. release (catalog number PCS 7184, May 11, 1979).
Side 1
: “Can’t Buy Me Love,” “I Should Have Known Better,” “Paperback Writer,” “Rain,” “Lady Madonna,” “Revolution.”
Side 2
: “I Am the Walrus,” “Hello, Goodbye,” “The Fool on the Hill,” “Magical Mystery Tour,” “Lady Madonna,” “Hey Jude,” “Revolution.”
The Beatles “Rarities” (1979)
Release date: October 29, 1979. Label: EMI (catalog number: PCM 1001).
Side 1
: “Across The Universe,” “Yes It Is (mono),” “This Boy (mono),” “The Inner Light (mono),” “I’ll Get You,” “Thank You Girl (mono),” “Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand
(I Want To Hold Your Hand)”, “You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)”, “Sie liebt dich (She Loves You)”.
Side 2
: “Rain (mono)”, “She’s A Woman (mono)”, “Matchbox (mono)”, “I Call Your Name (mono)”, “Bad Boy,” “Slow Down (mono),” “I’m Down,” “Long Tall Sally (mono).”