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27-589: Past Masters is a two-disc compilation album set by the English rock band the Beatles . It was originally released as two separate volumes on 7 March 1988, as part of the first issue of the band's catalogue on compact disc . The album contains all songs released commercially by the band that were not available on the Beatles' 12 original UK albums or the US Magical Mystery Tour LP . It

54-688: A greatest hits album , singles album or box set. Compilation albums may employ traditional product bundling strategies. According to sound technician Richard King , classical music compilations "may require more processing to match tracks coming from various sources and recording venues, as well as the different sizes of ensembles." In Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), Robert Christgau said, "While compilation albums by album artists (as opposed to stylistically unified singles specialists) are often useless, sometimes they present themselves as events", citing as examples

81-617: A contract, record companies may release as many greatest hits albums by their recording artist as they wish without requiring the artist's agreement or permission. In the United Kingdom, the Official Charts Company compiles a weekly compilation albums chart, limited to various artists compilations and soundtrack compilations. Greatest hits album It is also common for greatest hits albums to include new recordings, remixes or unreleased alternate takes of

108-460: A female artist in major music markets such as Australia , United Kingdom and United States . In the UK, Queen 's Greatest Hits is the biggest selling album of all time. In second place is ABBA Gold , another greatest hits compilation which has gone on to become the longest-charting album in the UK. Queen's Greatest Hits II is also one of the UK's top ten biggest sellers. One example of

135-446: A greatest hits album, such as rock groups AC/DC , Tool , and Metallica . Garth Brooks had initially refused releasing one, but he eventually agreed to it in 1994 for a limited release (the resulting record, The Hits , sold over ten million copies). In 2000, Sony Music Entertainment launched their The Essential series, which collects singles and other career-defining tracks of artists licensed to Sony. The Essential Bob Dylan

162-573: A greatest hits compilation released against the artists' intentions is British rock group the Rolling Stones ' 1971 compilation Hot Rocks 1964–1971 . The music magazine Rolling Stone remarked that the album served as a "beautifully packaged... purely mercenary item put together by former record executives of the Stones' to cash in on the Christmas season and wring some more bucks out in

189-441: A reissue and, therefore, there's no reason for a label to mine the vaults, searching for old music to make new again. Users can assemble their own personalized greatest hits playlists or just scan through an act's most accessed songs", which has led to greatest hits collections becoming redundant. Despite the popularity of streaming in the 2010s and early 2020s, some artists continued to issue physical greatest hits albums, including

216-415: A similar line, Gold , which collects artists' greatest hits onto two discs. In the late 2000s and 2010s, digital downloads and music streaming services increased in popularity, which allow users to listen to their favorite tracks without the need of a greatest hits package. In 2016, Pitchfork said that "in the digital era, once a catalog enters a streaming service or an MP3 store, there's no need for

243-673: A track released on a charity compilation album. Although Past Masters is not a studio album and is instead a compilation, it is considered to be the Beatles' 14th (and final) major release. This occurred when the Beatles' core catalog was standardized in 1987, followed by the official re-releases in 2009. Past Masters was originally issued as two separate CDs, Past Masters, Volume One and Past Masters, Volume Two , on 7 March 1988. The two volumes were included in The Beatles Box Set . A double LP set, titled Past Masters, Volumes One & Two (also titled simply Past Masters ),

270-671: The Hot Rocks sales, but not the ownership royalties. The concept of greatest hits compilations has been adapted to other media as well. In television, some shows have released compilations of their critically successful and highest-rated episodes to drive new viewers to watch a program, such as Family Guy ' s Freakin' Sweet Collection and South Park : The Hits . Several video game companies have re-released popular games for continued sales, sometimes with discounted prices: Sony 's PlayStation has released games under their Greatest Hits series; Nintendo has re-released games under

297-471: The best-selling albums worldwide with sales of over 20 million copies. For example, Eagles ' Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) is the best-selling album in the United States, according to Billboard, selling over 38 million copies. Worldwide, The Immaculate Collection by Madonna is the best-selling compilation by a solo artist, with 30 million copies, and is the best-selling compilation by

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324-490: The 1971 Ray Charles LP A 25th Anniversary in Show Business Salute to Ray Charles , The Kink Kronikles (1972), and Changesonebowie (1976). Common types of compilation include: For multi-artist compilations, royalties are usually prorated. In most cases, each artist's per-record royalty rate (typically 12–14% in 1999) is divided by the number of artists on the album. Some record companies simplify

351-661: The White Stripes , Spoon , and the Weeknd . Spoon lead singer Britt Daniel said he chose to compile 2019's Everything Hits at Once: The Best of Spoon out of an affinity for compilations such as Standing on a Beach by the Cure and Substance 1987 by New Order , which had introduced him to those artists in his youth, and to provide an official introduction to Spoon's catalog for new listeners. Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand echoed those sentiments when describing

378-499: The decision to release the band's 2022 Hits to the Head compilation, stating that "I have friends who believe you're somehow not a 'real' fan if you own a best of rather than a discography. I disagree. I think of my parents' record collection as a kid. I loved their compilation LPs. I am so grateful that they had Changes or Rolled Gold . Those LPs were my entrance point. My introduction." Various compilation albums became amongst

405-399: The equation and pay a rounded-off rate, either as a percentage or as a set amount, regardless of the total number of artists on the record. As of 1999 , these rates were around 0.5% to 1% or 15–16 cents per record. When a compilation album includes a track from a different record company, the royalties are split between the artist and the original record company. Unless specifically limited by

432-516: The hit songs, plus other new material as bonus tracks to increase appeal for longtime fans (who might otherwise already own the recordings included). At times, a greatest hits compilation marks the first album appearance of a successful single that was never attached to a previous studio album. Greatest hits albums usually are released after an artist or band's contract with a major label is completed, they've been dropped or died, with next releases following on new labels. The first greatest hits album

459-460: The late 1960s, EMI Sweden released a series of greatest hits-EPs featuring artists such as The Supremes , Ray Charles and Louis Armstrong . By the 1990s, greatest hits albums were common for popular artists, with some artists even releasing the greatest hits album as a music video collection concurrently with the album. It also became a commercially viable option to boost popularity for artists with dwindling careers. Some bands refuse to release

486-576: The name of the Mod Princes they once owned." After their management tricked the band into signing over the copyrights to their 1963–1970 song catalog, the band did succeed in changing management and major labels. However, they could neither prevent the release of Hot Rocks nor its successor, More Hot Rocks (Big Hits & Fazed Cookies) . Hot Rocks remains the best-selling album of the Rolling Stones' career. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards continue to collect significant songwriting royalties from

513-523: The original 1988 issue contained the two tracks in mono . Mark Lewisohn's name was removed from this reissue. The Beatles in Mono box set, released at the same time, includes the album Mono Masters , which contains a similar track list of dedicated mono mixes. A remastered-for-vinyl version of the Past Masters double LP set was released on 12 November 2012. The dates provided are the dates when

540-416: The recordings are from one artist, then generally the tracks were not originally intended for release together as a single work, but may be collected together as a greatest hits album or box set . If the recordings are from several artists, there may be a theme, topic, time period, or genre which links the tracks, or they may have been intended for release as a single work—such as a tribute album . When

567-425: The tracks are by the same recording artist, the album may be referred to as a retrospective album or an anthology . Songs included on a compilation album may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several performers. If by one artist, then generally the tracks were not originally intended for release together as a single work, but may be collected together as

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594-857: The tracks were originally released, not recorded. All songs written and composed by Lennon–McCartney , except where noted. Tracks are in stereo, except where noted. Contains recordings originally released between 1962 and 1965: Contains recordings originally released between 1965 and 1970: Sales figures based on certification alone. Shipments figures based on certification alone. Sales figures based on certification alone. Shipments figures based on certification alone. Shipments figures based on certification alone. Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. Compilation album A compilation album comprises tracks , which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one performer or by several performers. If

621-440: Was Johnny Mathis 's Johnny's Greatest Hits , released in 1958. The album collected eight of Mathis's charting singles, as well as three non-charting B-sides and an altogether new track. The album spent three weeks at the number one spot on Billboard 's Best Selling Pop LP's chart. The greatest hits album format then gained popularity in the 1960s and 1970s among American and British rock and pop artists. One notable example

648-624: Was the Beach Boys 1974 album Endless Summer , which upon release was certified 3× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America . It propelled them from an opening act for Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young to headlining their own tour in just a matter of weeks. Some artists were even popular enough to release multiple greatest hits albums during and after their career. Greatest hits compilations were sometimes also released as 4-track 7" vinyl EPs . In

675-554: Was compiled by Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn , who also wrote the liner notes. The majority of the Past Masters set consists of A- and B-sides from the band's singles , including single versions of songs that appeared in a different form on the band's albums. Also included are the full contents of the UK-only Long Tall Sally EP , two German-language tracks, a song recorded for the American market, and

702-599: Was subsequently released in the US on 24 October 1988 and in the UK on 10 November 1988. Both volumes were also released as a double cassette bundle on 7 March 1988. The double set was re-released on CD, titled simply Past Masters , on 9 September 2009, as part of the remastering of the original Beatles catalogue, and was included in The Beatles (The Original Studio Recordings) box set. This release includes stereo mixes of both " From Me to You " and " Thank You Girl ", whereas

729-445: Was the first in the series, and the company has since released dozens of albums in the series with other artists under their label. In addition to artist-specific collections, the series has also released genre-specific and themed albums, such as The Essential Christmas (collecting pop and rock covers of Christmas songs ) or The Essential Australian Rock (collecting a specific regional output). In 2005, Universal Music Group launched

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