The Beatles are known as one of the most sensational bands in music history, bringing about successful careers even after their devastating separation in 1970. In the following decade, with the passing of lead singer, John Lennon, there wasn’t any hope left for the band’s return.
Then in 1994, Yoko Ono, John Lennon’s wife, handed Paul McCartney a cassette with music written by the late John Lennon.
While successful with a couple of songs, “Free as a bird” and “Real Love”, they weren’t able to complete “Now and Then.” The song was “rubbish” as George Harrison described it, the audio was mainly overtaken by John’s piano and his voice was barely audible. This lead to them eventually giving up and calling it a day.
Then in late 2001, George Harrison passed away from complications with lung cancer.
This seemed like “Now and Then” was never going to happen, with only two more Beatles left, no one would think about another new Beatles song coming out in the future.
Now it is 2023, and many Beatle fans anticipate the making of a new song.
With the help of music director Peter Jackson, who originally worked on the “Get Back” documentary, they were able to find a way to make out what John Lennon was singing. Peter Jackson and his team separated John’s voice from the loud piano. This lead to the remaining Beatles remastering the song that they thought was gone forever.
“Now and Then” was released on November 2nd along with a remastering of the Red (1962-1966) album, and Blue (1967-1970) album dropping November 10th.
One of our older SMHS math teachers, Mr. Paulus stated, “The thing that made The Beatles great was they they did thousands of shows, THOUSANDS! People nowadays do three (shows) and think they’ve “made it big”. The Beatles really perfected the craft. It would be interesting to see where (AI generated music) goes.”
Mr. Paulus also reminisced about listening to The Beatles when he was younger on his older brother’s turntable. He believes the song sounds like The Beatles’ earlier work and could use a few more takes.
I personally believe that this song was interesting. The lyrics are very strong, not strange coming from John Lennon who has made a lot of emotional works. The song also includes a Guitar solo from the late George Harrison which I enjoyed. I think its a good song and I feel very fortunate to be able to live through this moment. I would rate this song a good 8/10.
You can listen to the new release here.
