Beatles’ Album Breaks Record For Double-Cd Sales

The first round of the chart battle between the Fab Four and the Garthonator went to the lads from Liverpool as the Beatles’ “Anthology 1” sold 855,000 copies, according the SoundScan. The album debuts at No. 1 on this week’s Billboard album chart.

In its first week, “Anthology 1” almost doubled the sales of Garth Brooks’ much-hyped “Fresh Horses,” which sold 480,000 copies and debuts at No. 2.

“Anthology 1” broke the record for first-week sales of a double-CD previously held by Michael Jackson’s “HIStory,” which sold 391,000 copies. But it fell short of the all-time first-week record of 950,000 set by Pearl Jam’s “Vs.” in 1993.

In another chart debut, Bruce Springsteen is experiencing the results of his low-key approach to promoting his acoustic record, “The Ghost of Tom Joad.” The album is one of his most disappointing chart debuts in two decades, in at No. 11.