The smell of fresh ink and a faint whiff of nostalgia. That’s what hit me first, cracking open the shrink wrap on this new edition of The Beatles Anthology in guitar tab format. Not the new new one, mind you – just the latest printing. My dog-eared, heavily annotated copy from the ‘90s still sits on my shelf like an old, loyal friend, but this… this is different. It’s like meeting a younger, sharper version of yourself.

This isn’t just a reprint. Hal Leonard has clearly poured some serious love into this edition. The layout is noticeably cleaner, the paper stock thicker, and the tabs are clearer and more readable than ever. For the seasoned guitarist, this matters. Because, let’s be frank, the original tabs were sometimes a mess. Chord voicings were… suggestive, let’s say. This version refines those suggestions into something far more accessible. We’re talking about music that launched a thousand bands, remember. Clarity here is key. They’ve also cleverly included all the little musical quirks. Things like the way Lennon would bend a string just so on “Strawberry Fields Forever,” or the way Harrison’s slide guitar wails on “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” That attention to detail is what separates this from a simple transcription.

The dimensions are perfect, too – those 9x12 inches are a welcome change from some unwieldy, coffee-table-book format editions that are more art piece than practical tool. The page count, 184, is a reasonable size, not overwhelming, and perfect for carting around to lessons or band practice. And speaking of practice, let’s address the elephant in the room: the tab-based format. Purists will always argue for reading actual notation, and I get that. But for many guitarists, especially those starting out, the tab format is a gateway. It’s immediate, intuitive, and lets you get playing now. Plus, you can often learn a song faster.

Now, I have one minor quibble. The binding, while improved, isn’t perfect. Repeated opening and closing, especially during a song marathon, will eventually wear it down. No biggie, though. A simple spiral binding from a local print shop will solve that for a few bucks. It’s a minor inconvenience for a truly outstanding collection.

Compared to the original, this version shines. The editing is tighter. The presentation, far more elegant. And let’s face it, it’s a vast improvement over some of the shoddy bootlegs floating around out there.

So, who should grab this? If you’re a budding guitarist eager to learn the foundations, or a seasoned player brushing up on the classics, you won’t regret picking this up. Think of it as a meticulously curated textbook of rock history. Grab it. Dust off your axe. Time to get playing.