The Beatles’ Latest Tune, “Now And Then”

The long-anticipated moment is finally here. Today marks the release of “Now and Then,” the latest and somewhat “last” track by The Beatles. This song originated from a home demo recorded by John Lennon back in 1978. The demo, which resurfaced in the 1990s, was eventually completed last year with the invaluable aid of cutting-edge technology developed during the making of the “Get Back” miniseries, thanks to Peter Jackson.

Adding an intriguing sense of closure, “Now And Then” is hitting the airwaves alongside the reissue of “Love Me Do,” the 1962 debut single of the Liverpool quartet, now available in stereo and Dolby Atmos.

As of today, the song will grace radio waves while being simultaneously available on various streaming platforms. Physical copies in both CD and vinyl formats, including the once-antiquated but now resurgent cassette, are set to hit the shelves starting this Friday. This coincides with the release of an official music video. From November 10th, “Now And Then” will be part of the revamped editions of the classic “Red” and “Blue” collections, featuring a grand total of 21 additional tracks.

In the meantime, a 12-minute documentary titled “Now And Then – The Last Beatles Song,” scripted and directed by Oliver Murray, has been unveiled on The Beatles’ official YouTube channel. The documentary takes viewers on a captivating journey through the song’s history, utilizing found video footage and the insights of key figures, including Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, George Harrison, Sean Ono Lennon, Yoko Ono, and Peter Jackson.

The Genesis

The story unfolds in 1978 when John Lennon recorded a demo comprising vocals and piano in the comfort of his New York home. This “sketch” began circulating among fans as a bootleg in the subsequent years.

Sean, John’s son, reminisces in the documentary, stating, “I remember my dad constantly playing around the house. He was continuously recording demos, and I recall him using those cassette recorders. Mom had a handful of songs that my father hadn’t completed.”

Following John’s passing, Yoko Ono delivered the recording to the other Beatles on a cassette that also contained demos of “Free As A Bird” and “Real Love,” tracks that were ultimately completed by Paul, George, and Ringo between 1995 and 1996. These singles marked the first “new” Beatles songs since their breakup.

During these recording sessions, “Now And Then” was considered but was essentially an unfinished chorus due to the exceedingly poor quality of the recording. Consequently, it was put on the backburner.

Fast forward nearly three decades, and advancements in technology have made it possible to cleanly separate Lennon’s vocals from the piano, a crucial step in finalizing the song.

The Role of Artificial Intelligence

The making of the documentary-miniseries “The Beatles: Get Back” witnessed Peter Jackson and his WingNut Films team using MAL audio technology to deconstruct the soundtrack by separating instruments, voices, and overlapping sounds, based on machine learning processes.

This technology, having been employed for the 2022 remix of “Revolver,” based on the original master recordings from 1966, set the stage for revisiting “Now and Then.”

In 2022, Paul and Ringo successfully integrated the song with electric and acoustic guitar parts recorded by Harrison in 1995. Ringo added a fresh drum section, and Paul enriched the song with bass lines, piano, and slide guitar (as a nod to George). The final touch was a beautiful string arrangement crafted by producer Giles Martin, in collaboration with Paul and Ben Foster.

“This is the last song my father, Paul, George, and Ringo had the opportunity to create together,” affirms Sean Ono Lennon. “It’s like a time capsule, as if everything were destined to be this way. My dad would have loved it because he never shied away from experimenting with new recording technologies.”

Paul McCartney is equally convinced that John would have given his wholehearted approval: “Is there any reason not to do this? Every time I contemplated it, I thought to myself, hang on a moment, what if I had the chance to ask John, ‘Hey, would you mind if we completed this last song of yours?’ I’m sure, I know he would have said ‘Yes!'”