.jpg "The Beatles - Rarities (Compilation) (1978) front album cover")
33.jpg "The Beatles - Rarities (Compilation) (1978) back album cover")
The Beatles - Rarities (Compilation) (1978)
Front and Back image album cover from Rarities
The Beatles – Rarities (Compilation) (1978)
A Unique Beatles Compilation of Hard‑To‑Find Tracks
Rarities is a compilation album by The Beatles originally released in 1978 as part of the UK box set The Beatles Collection. It was later issued individually due to popular demand, featuring tracks that were not available on the original core British albums — including B‑sides, EP tracks, German‑language singles, and rarer versions of songs.
📌 Album Overview
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Artist: The Beatles
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Title: Rarities
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Type: Compilation album
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Released: December 1978 (UK box set), later issued individually in 1979
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Label: Parlophone (UK) / Capitol (in some regions)
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Format: Vinyl LP (never officially released on CD)
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Purpose: To collect Beatles tracks not available on original UK LPs — including B‑sides, German recordings, and EP exclusives.
Although most of the recordings later appeared on the Past Masters compilation, Rarities remains a valuable snapshot of how Beatles rarities were originally curated for fans.
🎶 Tracklist (UK 1978/1979 Parlophone LP)
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Across the Universe
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Yes It Is
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This Boy
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The Inner Light
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I’ll Get You
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Thank You Girl
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Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand (German version of “I Want To Hold Your Hand”)
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You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)
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Sie Liebt Dich (German version of “She Loves You”)
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Rain
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She’s A Woman
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Matchbox
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I Call Your Name
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Bad Boy
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Slow Down
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I’m Down
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Long Tall Sally
📌 Note: Some tracks — such as the German versions — were rare in the UK at the time and had only appeared on singles or EPs before Rarities.
🎸 Album Credits
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John Lennon: Vocals, Rhythm Guitar
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Paul McCartney: Vocals, Bass Guitar
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George Harrison: Lead Guitar
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Ringo Starr: Drums
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Producer: George Martin (original studio track productions)
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Recorded during various sessions from 1963–1966 for singles, B‑sides, EPs, and foreign releases.
📈 Commercial Performance
Although Rarities wasn’t a major chart success on its own, it became a collectible item among Beatles fans due to its inclusion in The Beatles Collection box set and the scarcity of several tracks on LP format at the time.
The album never saw an official CD release, and eventually most of its content was made widely available via the Past Masters collections.
🤩 Fun Facts
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Rarities was originally only available as a bonus disc in ‘The Beatles Collection’ box set before being issued separately due to demand.
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It included two German‑language Beatles recordings — Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand and Sie Liebt Dich — that were not widely available on UK albums at the time.
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The compilation brought together B‑sides and EP tracks that hadn’t previously appeared on UK LPs, filling gaps in the UK album catalogue.
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All tracks on later releases were eventually compiled in the comprehensive Past Masters double CDs.
❓ Trivia
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Tracks like Across the Universe had previously appeared only on charity compilations or singles before Rarities.
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The German versions of I Want To Hold Your Hand and She Loves You were produced to appeal to German audiences in 1964.
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The LP version of Rarities became a collector’s item, especially early pressings included inside the original box set.
🧠 Did You Know?
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The Beatles’ Rarities compilation never received an official digital or CD release, making original vinyl copies sought‑after by collectors.
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It served as an early attempt to compile non‑album Beatles tracks decades before the Past Masters collections standardized this content.
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In some regions (like the U.S.), Rarities had variations in track selection or was reconfigured due to prior availability of tracks on local Capitol albums.
