The Beatles - Rarities (Compilation) (1978)

The Beatles - Rarities (Compilation) (1978)

Tracklist front / back album covers

Side one

"Across the Universe" ("Wildlife" version from a British various artists charity album titled No One's Gonna Change Our World) stereo

"Yes It Is" (B-side)

"This Boy" (B-side)

"The Inner Light" (Harrison) (B-side)

"I'll Get You" (B-side)

"Thank You Girl" (B-side)

"Komm Gib Mir Deine Hand" (German version of "I Want to Hold Your Hand") stereo

"You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)" (B-side)

"Sie liebt dich" (German version of "She Loves You") stereo

The US pressing of Rarities included in the limited edition numbered boxed set of The Beatles Collection contained "I Want to Hold Your Hand" rather than "Komm Gib Mir Deine Hand", and "She Loves You" rather than "Sie Liebt Dich".

Side two

"Rain" (B-side)

"She's a Woman" (B-side)

"Matchbox" (Perkins) (From Long Tall Sally EP)

"I Call Your Name" (From Long Tall Sally EP)

"Bad Boy" (Williams) (recorded for the American LP Beatles VI, first UK release on A Collection of Beatles Oldies) stereo

"Slow Down" (Williams) (From Long Tall Sally EP)

"I'm Down" (B-side)

"Long Tall Sally" (Johnson/Penniman/Blackwell) (From "Long Tall Sally" EP)

Rarities is the name of two separate and unrelated compilation albums by the English rock band the Beatles. The first was released in the United Kingdom in December, 1978, while the second album was issued in the United States in March, 1980.

Rarities is a British compilation album featuring a selection of songs by The Beatles. The album was originally released as part of The Beatles Collection, a box set featuring all other Beatles records, but was later released individually. The album has not been released on CD, but all of the tracks are available on the double CD compilation Past Masters.

Rarities was conceived to include lesser-known songs that were not included on any other original Beatles album. These included B-sides of singles, two German-language recordings, the tracks from an EP with exclusive material, a song recorded for the American market and a version of "Across the Universe" that had previously appeared on a World Wildlife Fund charity record.

The choice of selections seems to assume that the customer already has all the regular-issue British albums (that is, the albums included in the 1978 box set), along with the career-spanning compilations 1962–1966 and 1967–1970, and the Magical Mystery Tour LP (which was originally only released in the US), but not A Collection of Beatles Oldies or Hey Jude. Such a collector would own copies of every song in the entire Beatles catalogue except for all the songs provided on Rarities. Such a collector would still be missing the original single version of "Love Me Do", however. This track, which went out of print in late 1963, was not available anywhere until its inclusion on the 1980 American Rarities. It was finally made available again in Britain in 1982 on the "Love Me Do" 12-single.

The album was released on 2 November 1978 in the UK, as part of the British edition of The Beatles Collection box set. On 12 October 1979, Rarities was issued as a stand-alone album in the United Kingdom.