The Beatles - Turn Me On Dead Man: The John Barrett Tapes (1999)

A superb-sounding double CD of alternate mixes and (just a few) actual alternate takes, named after the late Abbey Road engineer John Barrett, who catalogued and copied many Beatles vault tapes in the early '80s. At first glance, this appears to be a goldmine of unreleased Beatles goodies, spanning "From Me to You" to the Let It Be sessions, but read the fine print carefully. Most of the takes are in fact stereo and mono mixes that happen to be rare or commercially unavailable, not performances that are commercially unavailable. To some fans, these different mixes are revelations; to many, however, they are barely or completely indistinguishable from the familiar versions on official Beatles albums. There are a few previously unheard takes here: a rougher alternate of "What You're Doing," with a key change not heard on the Beatles for Sale version; a bunch of attempts (most feeble) at "That Means a Lot," some of which are so lame that one gets the impression that the Beatles eventually decided to sabotage the tune; "The Way You Look Tonight," which is some loose jamming in the middle of the "I Will" session, and an extended "Can You Take Me Back?," which was the uncredited link track between "Cry Baby Cry" and "Revolution 9" on The White Album. These are nice to hear, but not cuts that are going to excite the ordinary fan, let alone incite a $40-50 purchase. Among the rare mixes, the most exciting discovery is the "complete oboe version" of "Penny Lane," different from the "hybrid of the oboe and trumpet versions" that was on Anthology 2, according to the very professional and thorough liner notes. If that sounds like hair-splitting, be warned that such subtle variations form the core of this bootleg.

CD 1
1. From Me to You (stereo)
2. From Me to You (1982 stereo mix)
3. Thank You Girl (stereo)
4. Thank You Girl (unechoed stereo)
5. One After 909 (tk 2 1982 mono mix)
6. She Loves You (1966 stereo remix 1)
7. She Loves You (1966 stereo remix 2)
8. This Boy (1966 stereo remix 15)
9. I'm a Loser (1982 stereo remix)
10. Mr. Moonlight (alternate - 1982 stereo mix)
11. What You're Doing (take 11)
12. That Means a Lot (take 1 stereo)
13. That Means a Lot (stereo edit piece)
14. That Means a Lot (mono - low reverb mix)
15. That Means a Lot (take 20 stereo)
16. That Means a Lot (take 21 stereo)
17. That Means a Lot (take 22 stereo)
18. That Means a Lot (take 23 stereo)
19. That Means a Lot (test stereo)
20. Help! (take 8 1982 stereo mix)
21. Norwegian Wood (take 1)
22. Norwegian Wood (take 2)
23. 12 Bar Original (take 1)
24. 12 Bar Original (take 2)
25. Paperback Writer (1982 stereo remix)
26. Rain (1982 stereo remix)
27. Tomorrow Never Knows (mono mix 11)

CD 2
1. Strawberry Fields Forever (take 7 mono)
2. Strawberry Fields Forever (take 26 mono)
3. Penny Lane (complete oboe version mono mix)
4. Penny Lane (mono mix 10)
5. Penny Lane (1982 stereo remix)
6. A Day in the Life (1982 stereo remix)
7. Hello, Goodbye (1982 stereo remix)
8. Lady Madonna (1982 stereo remix sans sax)
9. Hey Jude (rehearsal 1982 stereo mix)
10. What's the New Mary Jane? (1968 stereo mix)
11. Step Inside Love (1982 stereo mix)
12. Los Paranoias (1982 stereo mix)
13. The Way You Look Tonight (1982 stereo mix)
14. Can You Take Me Back? (1982 stereo mix)
15. Shake, Rattle and Roll (1982 stereo mix)
16. Kansas City / Miss Ann / Lawdy Miss Clawdy (1982 stereo mix)
17. Blue Suede Shoes (1982 stereo mix)
18. Not Fade Away (1982 stereo mix)
19. Because (1982 stereo mix)