Its absolutely astonishing how little EMI knew about how much material their most successful act had recorded, and in their OWN STUDIOS! Mind you, I guess back in those days something like an incomplete take or partially completed just wouldn't have been considered for release by any record label of any band. So I think we have the bootleg scene to thank for the likes of the Anthologies, and the SMiLE and Pet Sounds Sessions releases we now have.

I think "If You've Got Trouble" is a quirky gem with great movement. "Leave My Kitten Alone" is a spectacular vocal from John in his best "When I Get Home"/"Slow Down" style. "That Means A Lot" is a song that reveals, even early on, John and Paul's sophisticated chord savvy.

My local store just got a huge amount of Beatle bootlegs in (the owner is keeping the triple Black Album for himself) and there were a couple copies of this that I passed on since I have all of the tracks elsewhere, but now I'll go back and grab one. I had no idea this was a thing.

I owned a copy of How Do You Do It on bootleg in the mid-70s. In the 80s, I bought the Sessions album. That Means a Lot was one of my favorites because it had those magical harmonies that only John, Paul, and George could produce. But one can't deny that George's acoustic While My Guitar Gently Weeps is the most moving song on the album!

“Leave My Kitten Alone is an outstanding track! It really should have been included on Beatles For Sale. It also could have been sent to Capitol when they requested songs for their BEATLES VI album. Thank you, Andrew for another great episode!!! - Roger

Am I the only one who likes ''If You've Got Trouble'' ?

I really love That Means a Lot. I heard it over and over in 1996, I think. A great song and another great video, dear Andrew!

You have outstanding presentation skills. The visuals are on the screen long enough for the viewer to linger over and then to have the opportunity to interpret their meaning. Additionally, they perfectly match your narrative. All too often today video teams put up images that neither relate to what the presenter is saying nor remain on the screen for more than just one or two seconds. Keep up the great work and I sincerely hope that many younger content creators will learn from your high standard. 👍

I remember feeling bummed out when Sessions got shelved in ‘85. But it turned out for the better, as the 3 volume Anthology was far more comprehensive.

Being a true Beatles maniac in Mexico is not easy in the bootleg subject. I only have heard of this album and never seen it. In the 80´s bootlegs were true expensive for a poor music student so I never had many. Thanks a lot for this priceless info.

After years of hearing about scratchy, hissy Beatles bootlegs I finally found a shop around 1985 that sold these unofficial albums. Not really knowing where to start, I chose the Sessions album (there were actually several other people standing around in the store discussing this "new" release) and I took it home expecting the worst! Couldn't have asked for a better introduction to Beatles bootlegs! Thanks for this video Andrew!

This is great Andrew. It pieces together a lot of what I've thought over the years. By 1983-85, there was actual stores that sold SESSIONS as an "import" near where I live. Following that, I always thought that whomever was doing tape research leading up to the Mark Lewisohn book, was dubbing off extra tape copies of the rarities to be ready for bootlegging. Certainly, the timeline fits, especially to the high quality CD bootlegs, prior to 1990. Getting back to SESSIONS, the word I heard, in the early 1990s, was that EMI told Paul, George & Ringo, along with John's estate about the impending release. The only response that they heard at all was from George's camp, which was a resounding NO, which only then lead to the same response from the rest of the camps. Still, the bootleggers had done such saturation to the Beatles' collectors market, that many of them yawned when the ANTHOLOGY series came out.

I bought the colourful version at a record fair back in 1988, along with "Get Back" (Tonto version) and "Beatles Not For Sale" (Nems). Bootlegs had certainly moved on from the days of TMOQ. For me the stand out track was "I'm Looking Through You". Although there was no middle 8 yet, I think I preferred the early take. Nice to see you delving into the murkier regions of Beatle Collecting. Most of us collectors do it you know!

Terrific video Andrew! I was only 13 when this album was supposed to come out and while I was not aware of it until much later I do have a vivid memory of my radio station in Boston playing Leave My Kitten Alone around that time. I am just happy that we finally got to hear everything eventually. Thanks so much for sharing

I still think "Leave my Kitten Alone" should have replaced "Mr. Moonlight" on Beatles for Sale. I just never liked that take on the song, but that is just me. And as great as Emerick was, some of his mixes on Anthology and early fades just baffle me. As always Andrew, very informative and surprising to me. Excellent.

Great video. It was probably my first Beatles bootleg as well. My copy, which Discogs has listed as a 1986 German pressing on EMI/Odeon, has a different cover. The front has The Beatles around the piano, Paul playing, John on guitar, George taking it in and Ringo staring off camera. There a animated cel of George on the piano from the Yellow Submarine movie. The back is an outtake from the back of Revolver session. It also has a different track sequencing. Who ever put this one together tried to make it more chronological: A1 Besame Mucho A2 How Do You Do It? A3 One After 909 A4 Leave My Kitten Alone A5 That Means A Lot A6 If You've Got Troubles A7 I'm Looking Through You A8 Christmas Time Is Here Again B1 What's The New Mary Jane? B2 Not Guilty B3 Come And Get It B4 While My Guitar Gently Weeps B5 Mailman, Bring Me No More Blues Though my copy does not have it, it was supposed to have a typed fact sheet about each of the tracks, though some facts are in error. Thanks for this video, this is probably my favorite bootleg I own of theirs and only one of two I still like to listen to today (the other being the 1969 Glyn John mix of the Get Back, which has now been superseded by the boxed set copy... but I did a/b the two pressings when the box came out)

Great video Andrew as always. Interesting to see the notes from press kit. I remember some of those early bootlegs the best quality being Ultra Rare Trax. Looking forward to the next video.

I love “ If you got troubles”. I thought it was left off Hard Days Night since that only has 13 tracks and no Ringo song

The 80s and early 90s were a great period for Beatles bootlegs, since so much material (thankfully) leaked from the vaults. It’s unlikely we’ll see leaks like that ever again. I often listen to the Sessions bootleg or the Ultra Rare Trax boots over Anthology, just because I have a fondness for them and I like the way they are sequenced.

I remember getting it on vinyl in the late 80s at the Liverpool convention. It was magic hearing it first time round and I played it constantly! I love the sequencing of tracks and think it flows better than the Anthologies in a weird way...especially side 1.

This is another great video. I agree with you about "That Means a Lot". It is a fine song, which they could have included on the Help! album, or on a flipside of a single.

This was a goodie! The next best thing to the Beatles catalogue were the Beatles bootlegs! I had 3 different versions of “File Under The Beatles” (all with different film strips), The Beatles Sessions Lp and subsequent versions, the B/W 45 cover and everything else in between. The Swinging Pig “Ultra Rare” releases came out on cd and, I believe, limited sporadic vinyl release after the cd release (correct me if I’m wrong). Those days of waiting for “rare” releases to arrive was keeping the independent record stores alive. No matter the era the buyer/collector was looking for anything rare on their favorite group! Through the years many of the import (for us) titles have appeared as well made bootleg versions whether box sets or rare EP version sets. The John Barrett Tapes really awoke EMI and Apple up to veritable treasures that shone in the darkness of the vaults. Great episode!!

What I want is Peter Jackson processing the complete BBC sessions. Still don't have any recordings of them. They demonstrate Beatles mastery of so many songs in so many styles

I heard some of these tracks on the radio back in 1985 in Philadelphia, because promo copies of it appeared to have leaked (it's also possible it was a bootleg obtained at the Beatles convention that took place in the city that year). WMMR DJs freely admitted they were going to play them knowing that they would probably hear soon from EMI attorneys with cease and desist orders. For several days they played While My Guitar Gently Weeps (without the looped ending, so it had George saying "Let's hear that back" at the end), and Leave My Kitten Alone, so I had them on tape for many years.

I had a bunch of bootleg CDs including Sessions, Ultra Rare Trax and the 2nd version of Get Back. Even more fascinating than the Sessions CD were the early takes of Strawberry Fields Forever. I still have the mixtape I made of my fave 'Beatles Rarities'.

Thanks again for presenting such well researched information regarding the greatest band in the world. Your channel is indispensable!😊

First Beatles bootleg I bought was on a 90 minute cassette. One side was the evolution of "Strawberry Fields Forever" and the other side was a compilation of the Christmas Fan Club flexi-discs. It ignited my love for unreleased and alternate takes of all my favorite bands.

Session was th first Beatles bootleg lp that I ever bought. I remember being very excited about this album. I loved everything about it, from the "factory sample - not for sale" tag on the back, the nicely laminated cover, the extensive liner notes by Southall, to the blank record labels. It all made it look like it had actually escaped from EMI's pressing plants! The music also sounded pretty great to me at the time, but it's been years now since I last played it. Your video makes me want to revisit it. Thank for another great job!

Hi Again Andrew-As usual you’re still teaching even us older Beatlefans new fascinating tidbits ! You know, I’ll bet the Beatles were also furious at EMI for those unreleased tracks that escaped onto boots as well. That sounds like a lawsuit too !

Great subject. There were two versions of this compilation, one with the original ending to Besame Mucho, and the "released" version with the looped ending. Some collectors would complain on hearing the mix that Emerick did. It is interesting that those mixes would be used in Anthology.

I picked up my copy of "Sessions" (on CD) at a Record/Tape/CD Collector's fair-- I don't remember for how much-- just a few years before the Anthology sets were released. I love a couple of tracks, "Not Guilty", "Come and Get It", and "One After 909", just a few that I can remember off the top o' my head. Thanks for covering this album, Andrew-- a nice surprise and another awesome video as usual! You give me something to look forward to on Sundays!!

Thanks Andrew. Wonderful video as usual. I thoroughly enjoy them all. I look forward for each one to appear every Sunday morning. Cheers !

I remember buying the Sessions album in a store in Greenwich village in New York in the 80’s and really loved it. Couldn’t believe Leave My Kitten Alone had been left off an official release. Also loved the acoustic While My Guitar Gently Weeps. I do really like That Means A Lot but I think it may have been a little too close to Ticket To Ride in form. It’s hard to imagine then that a decade or so later this would all be truly officially released . And no one could have imagined then that around a quarter century later it would all be available at the click of a button

Oh cool! I never heard of this record! Great video subject!

Most informative, as always. Thank you Andrew. Does this mean an episode of the 1981"Rarities" companion, "Casualties" may one day be in our future? Cheers, RNB

Wow! Another informative video. Never knew all about this. Great info as usual Handsome.

Aaah, "Ultra Rare Trax". The first ever Beatles Bootlegs I ever saw here in Athens (thank you Music Corner!!). When you finish off with the official releases or near-releases (like "Sessions"), have you thought of delving into the world of Bootlegs? Many of them have such special places in our hearts!! I've never seen a "Sessions" bootleg in my country but I'm really thankful for the ones I have seen!! Great video, as always, thank you Andrew!

Am I correct in thinking that Kitten was in mono on Anthology 1 (and the original tv broadcast) but on the dvd boxset it's in stereo? Will have to check as it's been quite a while! Great info and video as always.

Very interesting, that press kit is a great find. Andrew bringing the goods again! 👍

the first bootlegs i ever owned were CDs of the Esher Demos and the Rooftop Concert. I never thought they would officially released by apple. I would love a physical copy of the rooftop concert!

Really great to see a video on SESSIONS. I've been waiting for this one. Still the best channel about The Beatles (or maybe any band) on KZfaq. Thanks, Andrew!

Another informative video. I went to the Abbey Road open day in 1983. In fact, I went twice! I can't tell you just how incredible it felt not only to walk around inside Studio 2 but also to hear previously unreleased Beatles material through those huge speakers in the very room the recordings were made. Goosebumps time indeed! It blew my mind the first time I heard the early take of 'I'm Looking Through You'. I managed to get a few photos including one of me sat at the harmonium John played on 'We Can Work It Out'. Keep up the great work!

Excellent subject. I always found this LP interesting. Thanks for uncovering the press kit, too...wow! Great job, Andrew 👏👏 👏 👏

That was so interesting. As always, love your content 💓

Leave My Kitten Alone would have been a great single. And I think it was a missed opportunity for Anthology 1 as well as it could have been the second single released after Free As A Bird. I know Real Love was not to be overshadowed, but Kitten was great.

Great video Andrew! Always look forward to your well researched and informative presentations!

Great video! Lots of really great info. Thanks for assembling.

Best Beatles Channel... period. Every episode is info I've wanted to know about

Very interesting and informative video. Well-researched and professionally presented.

Another great vid bud. Keep it up. Enjoyed that 😀 this is a little off topic but I absolutely love your background etc...I can't make out-is that a real REEL to reel lol

Andrew, Another fine upload! Great research!

Once again a very insightful video. Thanks Andrew. How about a video on "The Peter Sellars Tape?"

What a great subject for a video! I owned every boot that you showed; it's hard to describe to younger fans that tracking all of those down used to be like. Those first two ULTRA RARE TRAX discs were magic. I must've copied tapes of them for everybody and their mailman back in the day.

This was an incredible breakdown of a story I knew little about. Very fascinating. Thanks for the great content!

Another brilliant and insightful video Andrew, thanks I really enjoyed that 👍

Another interesting and informative video, Andrew. This was also my first Beatles' Bootleg purchase. Well worth the money.

Thanks for the very informative and entertaining video!

Another great video Andrew! Thankyou :)

Another home run! Spectacular episode!

thank for posting really enjoyed it, I bought the session album back in the day and also still have the P.J. proby single plus I did the "abbey road" visit on the 2 different years they held it, great stuff

Brings me back... I was working at a small town record store. Bill (the owner) was well connected in things both Beatles and Bootles. I heard of the expected release of Sessions and I was SO HAPPY. I later heard of the cancellation, but Bill softened the impact with a TDK SA-60 copy for me. I had that tape until sometime around 2004. I recently "rebuilt" it for a friend of mine and discovered quite a bit of overlap with the versions on Anthology.

As always a fascinating insightful video.. live them all

Manythnx, hope all are having a great weekend 🤘❤️‍🔥

Amazing video Andrew! its truly an interesting topic and he many vaiations it has makes it truly amazing! Really a very good video. cant wait till the next one! PD: Theres any way to get Barretts notes?

Andrew, you continue to astonish us fans with each new video. The depth of your research in information is outstanding. I am curious about one thing concerning the press kit. Did you bid on it at auction?

I attended the Beatles At Abbey Road show in Studio No 2 back in July of '83. And hearing those tracks booming out of the Studio speakers really whetted the appetite for what was rumoured to be at the time a release of unreleased material from the Fabs. Sadly it was not to be. I still have a couple of those bootleg cassettes of "Sessions", at the time the quality was ropey to say the least. They're something I keep as a momento of the time. Rather primitive in comparison to the material we've been spoiled with over the last few years with the Super Deluxe Box Sets, and the hopefully soon to arrive Red, Blue and New Beatles song. (My gut feeling is they're all being held back for the lucrative Christmas market) But what was proposed and done with "Sessions" clearly paved the way for all the fantastic Beatles releases we've had since '95, so in a way we have to thank EMI for what they tried to do, but failed miserably...

Another great video Andrew I was heavily into getting unreleased material back in 81/82 on cassette from sellers in Record Collector Magazine. As a youthful 17 year old,I wrote off to EMI about unreleased material enquiring about what they had Amazingly,EMI wrote back to me several times on headed beige coloured paper,attempting to answer my questions! It was clear at that time that they had no idea what exactly they had hidden away,apart from the obvious ones. I also asked about re editing the Let it Be film to include more of the unreleased footage The guy replied that it was a very good idea,but that he thought it would not be possible as lots of footage was spread around the world and held by various sources I wish I had held on to that correspondence

Thanks for your time researching for the video. Kitten and That Means A Lot have been extreme favourites of mine for decades, first hearing them on pass-me-down hissy cassettes.

Great video. I went to the Abbey Road show in August 1983; I remember Roger Scott narrating the video but have no recollection of what music they played until now. It was really special being in Studio 2 as it was the same place they recorded the video for Sat in Your Lap by Kate Bush. Cheers

Great story. I love these historical journeys. Tx!

Another great video!

Another great video Andrew. I own both versions of the Bootleg. Thank you very much for posting this video. Cheers Fred

I remember now, rumours on the french press. Anyway, that chanel is a true performance. Talking about music while never playin' it and keeping the interest level very high. Hats off.

EMI sounds like they were a shambles! Not overly surprising they went bust. Great video as usual Andrew 👍😊

That was the first (of many) bootlegs I had in the late 80s, On tape: a cassette recorded from another cassette recorded from another cassette from my cousin from god knows who... Loved it all! Particularly I'm looking through you and While my guitar gently weeps. Then I found a shop specialized in Beatles' bootlegs. Vinyl bootlegs were expensive for me as a teenager ($50), but for $5 you could have it on tape; either on a cheap cassette they had already copied OR you could take your own cassette of choice and had it recorded. I still have a lot of those cassettes: Ultra Rare Trax, At the Beeb, Unsurpassed Masters, Sweet Apple Trax, various concerts... Great video! (as usual) Greetings from Argentina!

Incredible information! So sad how disputes can cancel such great projects. I was just wondering how many Beatles bootlegs ended up associated with NEMS, which also released Black Sabbath's official records in the mid 70's.

Interesting subject. Now with The Archives and all the Bonus tracks on the new releases...my once cherished bootleg Vinyl, Cassettes, and CDs are rendered worthless. You do good work and your episodes have become something of note in my activity calendar. Thanks.

Great vid...would have nice to seen all the different variations of the boot and lables they were on...where the boots came from...foreign releases etc etc...also your own story of how you got yours...(I got mine a few months after release in Brighton record fair...although it was secretly bought by my best mate who was given the money by my girlfriend so she could give the Xmas present of my dreams) - I had heard it prior on the boot you illustrated.

Excellent programme. I don't have this disc physically but I had the opportunity to get the "Ultra rare trax" series in the late 80's (as they say, just out of the oven). And it was a real shock. Both the sound quality and the tracks included. Thank you Andrew for such an excellent job.

Another great episode Andrew. Well done as always. Many thanks. I do remember seeing a Capitol Lp or what looked like a new Capitol Lp - called Collectors Items in the early 1980s (purple Capitol labels) but I think that was issued as a counterfeit just before Rarities was released. I don't think I had ever seen a Sessions Lp until this episode. Very cool.

As a recent enough fan, I have had the privilege of having (mostly) everything released officially and never gave much thought to the bootleg. I bet they were both exhilarating and frustrating times! It’s always fun to hear stories from the fandom elders I honestly have a soft spot for both If You Got Trouble and How Do You It: I don’t know but I like the lads version better than the one from Gerry and the Peacemakers. This was a piece of history I didn’t know about, thanks for sharing your passion with us and educating the children, Andrew

This was excellent. Thank you.

Been waiting for this story with interest..having been one of the lucky ones to have visited Abbey Road Studios at the time I was blown away by the sound coming out from the speakers especially installed for opening...first time I heard outtakes etc ..never forget it.. A couple years later I ended up buying quite a few of the mentioned bootleg cds from the Recird Fair in Brighton..and still have them...although some of them weren't copied at correct tape speed (from what I heard read...)they were a great insight into the sessions...I actually still prefer the bootlegs to the Anthology album versions which they added echo especially..standing there song which was over done ... Great video Many thanks 😊

Gigantic Beatle fan here: Thanks for the great story of which I was previously unaware. My sincere appreciation.

I was an elated 18-year-old when Ultra Rare Trax made its way to CD Warehouse. My weekly visit to the store was greeted by the store manager holding them telling me, “You’re going to freak out when you see this!” I still listen to them to this day.

I have such fond memories of this release. I was old enough to get dropped off to the Austin Record Convention & found the other very common version of Sessions. Mine was the “Mad Day Out” cover that resequenced the tracks chronologically (a better listen). The sound quality & packaging (made to look like an official import from Germany?) were an incredible leap from the bootlegs I’d found before. Generic sleeves with a mimeographed 8x11 page glued to them, the Trade Mark Of Quality(lol) releases of Yellow Matter Custard(poor sounding dubs of bbc stuff) & some version of the Get Back reels & poorly pressed vinyl were for the die-hards only. Sessions was good enough for me to share with the non-Beatlemaniacs in my junior high. Soon after many great boots would surface, but, for at least a year, this was the only non Capitol/Apple album I’d play endlessly.

I have an expanded version of "Sessions" and I can't recall the label on it. It's a nice enough collection, but my first venture into this kind of release wss with Ultra Rare Trax Volumes 1 and 3. Shortly thereafter, Unsurpassed Masters emerged, which was like a game changer for me. I love hearing take after take of a song with starts, false starts, breakdowns, the engineer anouncing the next take with the band in the background discussing this or that part. It's sort of like being there, whereas Sessions has all of that removed and feels like a regular album.

I got a tape with most of those songs on it right before my senior year of high school, sorry, but I can’t say what year that was, let’s just say it was before the pandemic, OK, let’s just say it was before the anthology albums were released and leave it at that, LMAO. I never knew those songs had so much history behind them, they are all. Songs that remind me of how much fun I was having senior year because that tape was being played all the time when me and my friends were hanging out. Great video today, Andrew, very interesting!! Keep up the great content and keep it Poppin🍾

So glad you did this program on'Sessions' Bootleggers got hold of most of John Barretts cassettes which are great to hear.

Hi, Andrew! I only found out about this channel a couple of months ago, but I've been watching, enjoying, and "like"ing at LEAST twice per day. I'll probably never catch up, but I'll get to all I can. I'm one of the old guys in your audience. I should be kicking myself for dumping all of the original Capitol records once CD became a thing. All of those picture sleeve singles alone would be great to display. And I'm one of those guys who seriously took care with records! But then, I'm the guy who TOLD my mom to toss my old baseball cards before they became collectables. I had several shoeboxes of Micky Mantle cards. I could probably buy the NY Yankees with them today. I guess I'm just not good with thinking ahead. And it's not just The Beatles records that got dumped. Loads of fan books and magazines and even three ticket stubs from Shea Stadium '65. Mom, my brother, and I went over to see them after a day at the World's Fair. I SAW The Beatles, but HEARED nothing but screaming. Thank you, Andrew, for taking on this project. Video on the internet lives forever in some format, and I wish I could be around 50 years from now to see the reactions of music scholars looking at your work, however it gets played back by that time. And won't they be surprised at the low prices we could buy collectors items for back in our day? "Two or three thousand pounds/dollars for an album? That's less than a day's pay!" Keep it up, Andrew, and I wish you great success with this and future endeavors. -MJ

The original not-to-be version of Sessions looks tastefully done, great photos! Sadly it wasn't to be. Wasn't really aware of this one, very interesting!

Hi Andrew. I am playing catch up after being away on holiday and managed to avoid all social media at the time. No mean feat!! This is really interesting stuff. A bit naive of EMI to think nobody would walk into that room without a tape recorder secreted somewhere on their person. I can imagine the cries of anguish when they got out into the market place! Great video and as always a mine of information I knew nothing of. Thanks 🙂

I visited Abbey Road Studios in 81 when they opened it up for the general public. I was 13 at the time. I have gotten a hold of a copy of the video that was shown in the visit.

Brilliant video Andrew. There is a true stereo version of "Kitten" knocking about which knocks the spots off of the released version. I think Apple probably took a leaf out of the Bootlegger's book and expanded the available material.

I purchased this album in 1988. What a treat it was to hear new Beatles music.

Great video, Andrew: thanks. I remember what a goldmine this album was when it came out. Listening today, however, the mixes and edits are really bad, and unfortunately, some of those were used on Anthology. I have 2 lps with different jackets, and two cds with different ones, including the official EMI one, which has a very nice booklet with it.

Another great video Andrew,I know a part of this history,

Excellent video as always, Andrew. I know it seems greedy, but I think I would have much preferred a new 2xLp remixed 'Sessions' compilation to the upcoming 'Red' and 'Blue' albums. The inclusion of the 'new' track 'Now and Then' would have made much more conceptual sense and I would have certainly picked up a copy. As it is, I'm likely to only purchase the single.

I was amazed hearing these gems back in the 80s; this and the Yellow Dog / Blind Pig offerings. We have John Barret to thank for much of the EMI vault releases.

I have the "File under The Beatles" bootleg LP..along with about 30 others.. That Means Alot is my favorite of the songs listed for the sessions lp..also like the original One after 909.