The Beatles EP Collection

All of the group's vinyl EPs (with the exception of the unreleased Yellow Submarine, of course) were gathered together for the boxed set The Beatles EP Collection issued on December 7th, 1981.  This deluxe package included reproductions of the original sleeves, with Magical Mystery Tour boasting the 32 page booklet from its 1967 release.  In addition, MMT was issued here in both mono and, for the first time in the UK, in stereo.

The icing on the cake was a bonus EP which, like the "White Album," was simply titled The Beatles.  This disc featured stereo versions of four B-sides and used the same photograph as the Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever single from 1967 on its sleeve.

SIDE ONE

The Inner Light
Baby You're a Rich Man

SIDE TWO

She's a Woman
This Boy

The tracks are presented in reverse chronological order, boldly starting with Harrison's most authentic Indian-flavored song The Inner Light from 1968.  This is followed by an actual Lennon/McCartney co-composition Baby You're a Rich Man from '67.

I have not actually heard the record myself but Allen J. Weiner reports in The Beatles: The Ultimate Recording Guide that McCartney's She's a Woman from late 1964 is preceded here by a count-in.  The final track is a fake stereo version of Lennon's This Boy, one of the band's first great B-sides from 1963.

This collection was reissued in the CD format in 1992, retaining the sleeve reproductions, the mono and stereo versions of Magical Mystery Tour with its accompanying 32 page booklet and the bonus disc.  Though this is a very handsome item, it has always been a bit on the pricey side, thus making it something that only diehard fans and collectors would be truly interested in.