The sets pack rarities, outtakes and demos from the Beatles' full career, as well as two songs - "Real Love" and "Free as a Bird" - that started as John Lennon demos from the late 1970s and were finished by Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr in 1995.

All three collections entreated the Billboard 200 chart at No. 1, with Anthology 1, 2 and 3 arriving in November 1995, March 1996 and October 1996, respectively.

Anthology 1 has "Free as a Bird" as the first track. The tune picked up the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal category in 1996. The set also features recordings from the pre-Beatles band the Quarrymen starting in 1958 and runs through Beatles recordings up to October of 1964.