Beatles 31: Tomorrow Never Knows

Those individuals special enough to be called “Beatle insiders” likely stay that way due to their ability to keep a secret, as well as that of creating media buzz over a non-event. Every now and then something does appear to excite fans old and new; the last of these were arguably the catalog overhaul in 2009, and the iTunes deal a year later that made the 14-album canon available for individual (and legal) download.

Since then there had been the occasional iTunes expansion, such as the Red and Blue albums, all three Anthology sets, Love, 1, and even Yellow Submarine Songtrack. They’ve yet to recreate digital versions of such themed compilations as Rock ‘N’ Roll Music, Love Songs, or Reel Music, but what diehards really want are more things from the vaults, like the once-available Hollywood Bowl concerts and Christmas messages, or any of the multitudinous outtakes and live performances. (See the recent Rolling Stones Archive downloads, or even Paul McCartney’s own catalog expansions, for reference.)

Instead, Apple and Apple made a move right down the middle. Tomorrow Never Knows followed the path of the themed compilations that present one alleged facet of the band. This time the focus was on “their most influential rock songs”. This particular, all-new sequence was download only—no vinyl or CD counterpart—and at eight bucks, cheaper than buying the songs individually. (Also, the re-edited promo clip for “Hey Bulldog” was offered for download, making the second time that song and video have been used to promote a collection of previously released music.)

Rock ‘N’ Roll Music is a viable comparison, as six of those songs are repeated here. But while that set leant heavily on their earlier material, Tomorrow Never Knows takes the other end of the seesaw, picking tracks from Revolver, the White Album and even Yellow Submarine. It’s heavy on John, with two songs by George. Only two tracks are “non-canon”—the 2003 remix of “I’ve Got A Feeling” from Let It Be… Naked and the wackier Anthology 3 remix of “The End” that incorporates the final chord from “A Day In The Life”. (And yes, “It’s All Too Much” is still the standard album track, and not the full-length version.)

The music’s great, of course, and all are the 2009 masters, so the sound is terrific. “I’m Down” and “You Can’t Do That” are a little jarring up against the later period tunes, and it all has the air of somebody’s mix tape. There are plenty of other rockin’ songs that are missing, so it’s hardly a definitive collection.

Nor is it an essential one. Tomorrow Never Knows is designed for completists and anyone whose opinion of the band can only be swayed by the likes of Dave Grohl or the members of Linkin Park and Maroon 5 who contributed blurbs to the iTunes sale page. The minimalist artwork doesn’t help; even the iTunes LP element, designed to add multimedia to the package, is the bare minimum. Thus it will be very interesting to see what, if anything, follows this little experiment to the virtual record rack.

The Beatles Tomorrow Never Knows (2012)—3½
Current CD equivalent: none; download only