In celebration of the upcoming 50th anniversary of The Beatles' historic first trip to America, a new box set gathering together CD versions of 13 Fab Four albums created for release specifically in the U.S. during the band's existence will be released next month. Hitting stores on January 21, the collection, titled The U.S. Albums, spans from the group's 1964 Capitol Records debut, Meet The Beatles!, through the 1970 Apple compilation Hey Jude.
As Beatles fans know, most of the band's U.S. releases were different from the U.K. ones, including varying track lists, cover art, song mixes and titles. The CDs in the box set will boast replica cover and sleeve artwork, while the package also will feature a 64-page booklet that includes photos and a new essay penned by music writer and TV producer Bill Flanagan.
Most of The U.S. Albums' CDs feature both mono and stereo mixes. Five of the discs — The A Hard Day's Night original movie soundtrack, The Beatles' Story, Yesterday and Today, the U.S. edition of Revolver andHey Jude — are getting their CD debut with the release. In addition, all of the CDs in the set also will be available for purchase for a limited time individually, except for The Beatles' Story, which is an audio documentary about the band.
Here are the list of CDs featured in The U.S. Albums box set; all albums feature both mono and stereo mixes unless noted:
Meet The Beatles! (1964)
The Beatles' Second Album (1964)
+A Hard Day's Night (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (1964)
Something New (1964)
+*The Beatles' Story (1964)
Beatles '65 (1964)
The Early Beatles (1965)
Beatles VI (1965)
Help! (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (1965)
Rubber Soul (1965)
+Yesterday and Today (1966)
+Revolver (1966)
+*Hey Jude (1970)
+ = denotes CD debut
* = stereo mix only.
