It’s not a grand finale. It’s a wistful postscript.
“Now and Then,” released on Thursday, is billed by its label, Apple Corps, as “the last Beatles song.” It’s a lost-love song reconstructed from a piano-and-vocal demo that John Lennon recorded in the late 1970s, well after the Beatles broke up. Yoko Ono brought it and other Lennon demos to the surviving Beatles in 1994.
Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr began building an arrangement around Lennon’s recording in 1995, the year they released another posthumous song, “Free as a Bird,” on the compilation album “Anthology 1,” followed by “Real Love” on “Anthology 2” in 1996. “Now and Then” is also, inevitably, a marketing tool. It’s the previously unreleased material added to the expanded, remixed reissue of “The Beatles 1967-1970,” which arrives on Nov. 10 paired with an expanded, remixed version of “The Beatles 1962-1966.” Those two compilations are better known as the Blue and Red albums.
I had read that they'd used some AI to smooth over a few things, but it still sounds plenty hissy and raw (in a good way), to me, so I don't mind. I was sure that was George on guitar, but then saw Paul listed in the credits on slide guitar, so, good for him.
Re: Newly released Beatles song Now and Then
Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2023 12:29 pm
by BackInTex
Mrs BiT and I saw Beatles LOVE (cirque du soleil at the Mirage) last night. It is fabulous. The performers were magnificent. I wish I could do what they do. I wonder if they have a training program. Maybe I’ll apply for the fat guy speaker role.
Mrs BiT and I saw Beatles LOVE (cirque du soleil at the Mirage) last night. It is fabulous. The performers were magnificent. I wish I could do what they do. I wonder if they have a training program. Maybe I’ll apply for the fat guy speaker role.
I saw that twenty years ago. I was never a huge fan, but liked the show.
Mrs BiT and I saw Beatles LOVE (cirque du soleil at the Mirage) last night. It is fabulous. The performers were magnificent. I wish I could do what they do. I wonder if they have a training program. Maybe I’ll apply for the fat guy speaker role.
I saw that twenty years ago. I was never a huge fan, but liked the show.