The "New" Beatles Song: Marvelous or Monstrous???

[Penny Traitor]

Today marks the release of the first “new” song by the Beatles since 1995. “Now and Then” is available on streaming services (with an Atmos mix where supported), and the story behind the song’s production is one that’s drawn a lot of interest from fans of the iconic rock band. Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr turned to breakthrough technology and machine learning to piece together a finished track from an old lo-fi John Lennon recording.

The Beatles first attempted to make something from Lennon’s “Now and Then” demo in the mid-‘90s, when McCartney, George Harrison, and Starr reunited to work on “new” songs that would appear on the group’s Anthology albums. They successfully completed “Free as a Bird” and “Real Love,” layering full-band arrangements on top of Lennon’s demos.

But progress on “Now and Then” eventually stalled out — largely due to technical issues that made the original tape tricky to work with. “In John’s demo tape, the piano was a little hard to hear. And in those days, of course, we didn’t have the technology to do the separation,” McCartney said in a new mini-documentary about the song. “Every time we wanted a little bit more of John’s voice, this piano came through and clouded the picture.”

The pivotal moment came earlier this decade, when director Peter Jackson was working on his comprehensive Get Back documentary for Disney Plus. His team developed a technology that allowed them to take practically any piece of music (even ancient demos) and “split all the different components into separate tracks based on machine learning.” McCartney and Starr realized this was their opportunity to go back and give “Now and Then” the ending it deserved. “Now we could mix it and make a proper record of it,” McCartney said. He recorded a bass track, Starr added drums, and producer Giles Martin came up with a string arrangement “like Giles’ dad would’ve done in the old days.”

Despite some consternation from fans, everyone involved in the project (and from the estates of nonliving members) seems fully comfortable with how “Now and Then” came together.

“My dad would’ve loved that, because he was never shy to experiment with recording technology. I think it’s really beautiful,” said Sean Ono Lennon. McCartney echoed that sentiment. “To still be working on Beatles music in 2023... wow. We’re actually messing around with state-of-the-art technology, which is something the Beatles would’ve been very interested in. ‘Now and Then,’ it’s probably like the last Beatles song. And we’ve all played on it, so it is a genuine Beatle recording.”

FULL STORY:

Listen to the very last new song by The Beatles, called Now and Then

The song would’ve never been finished without AI’s help.

www.theverge.com

FULL TRACK:

 

[Chief Walking Stick]

Bad. But I'm no Beatles fan.

 

[KittiesKorner]

Bad. But I'm no Beatles fan.

I am okay with John Lennon although this song is some beige hippie shit. I hate Paul McCartney, though. Total meow-galomaniac

 

[Heidenlarm]

I am okay with John Lennon although this song is some beige hippie shit. I hate Paul McCartney, though. Total meow-galomaniac

I was thing of the other hip word. Sounds like some contemporary/maybe a touch older hipster shit.

 

[Sculpt]

FULL STORY:

Listen to the very last new song by The Beatles, called Now and Then

The song would’ve never been finished without AI’s help.

www.theverge.com

FULL TRACK:

Funny poll selections. lol I would fall in that light-years gap between Wonderous Composition/Utter Adoration and Mediocre Composition.

I like it. But certainly not one of their best. It is wonderful thing to have a new Beatles song come out now.

I would have done the song a little different. I wonder when George Harrison worked with this song in the 90's if he did a guitar solo? I certainly would have added that.

The song is missing a classic bridge. Lennon/McCartney usually added to each other's composition... I would have liked McCartney to make a bridge, if not also another part. Also, I would have liked to hear Paul strongly harmonize the chorus.

The band did a great job with Free as a Bird and Real Love.

Now and Then seems very "hands off Lennon's song" to me. Nothing wrong with keeping it simple, if that was the best result, but to my ears it's missing Paul, George and Ringo.

 

[BearFanJohn]

Not a huge fan after one listen. AI generate/associated stuff is neat, cool, interesting but I d ‘t know it is art or music. I think I have a good appreciation for a number of different music genres. I can’t understand someone’s lack of appreciation for the Beatles or any of them individually. Lennon/McCartney may be the best song writing duo in modern music. McCartney may be the most important person alive when it comes to Rock. He may be the most important dead or alive.