The Beatles’ Now and Then: An Emotional Mix of Art, Science and Soul

This track’s history is fascinating. Picture it, 1977. Star Wars was blowing everyone’s mind and becoming the first blockbuster, Fleetwood Mac’s iconic record Rumours was hitting the shelves and John Lennon sat at a piano and recorded a demo of Now and Then on a boom box tape recorder. Fast forward to 1994 where Yoko Ono ran into Paul McCartney at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as Lennon was being posthumously inducted and gave him two cassettes. You see, she was talking to George Harrison about some demos Lennon recorded at their house in New York and she didn’t know what to do with them. In 1995 George, Ringo and Paul got together to record some tracks to overdub on the song and release Now and Then on a Beatles box set. The problem was that there was traffic noise and hissing on Lennon’s vocal that they could not clean – up. By 1997 George said the vocal was “fucking rubbish” and the track was shelved again. In 2001 George Harrison died and the song remained on a shelf.

Paul kept working on it, but couldn’t get it to a state where he felt good about releasing it to the public. In fact, in 2005 and 2006 Paul and Ringo recorded new tracks to add to the song in combination with George’s stuff back in the 90s…but the song was still not finished. Fast forward again to Peter Jackson’s Get Back, which was released in 2021 – 2022. You see, Jackson used a new AI program to isolate vocals and instruments on masters in order to clean – up all the studio and rooftop concert footage for the series. Paul had an idea…maybe he could use Jackson’s AI to finally get rid of the hiss and the background noise on John’s vocal that had been the thorn in his side since 1994. He took the AI, cleaned – up the vocal, added his, Ringo’s and George’s tracks and in 2023 we have the final single from the Beatles.

This four decade plus labour of love only enhances the track. Lyrically and vocally it is a classic melancholy apologetic love song John was known for. Lyrically it may not have the depth of his other work, but this is a demo and I’m sure John would have played around with it over time. However, there is beauty in simplicity. The Beatles’ great strength was taking simple emotions, daily life and elevating the mundane in a way that connected to your soul. The deaths of John and George have only heightened this track and put added weight to when John sings “Now and Then / I miss you / Oh, now and then / I want you to be there for me.” The added vocals of George, Ringo and Paul all harmonise well and you get that classic Beatles’ harmony that just gives me chills.

Musically, Paul and co – producer Giles Martin, son of famed Beatles producer George Martin, had a challenge on their hands. How do you take a demo on piano from 1977 and blow it out into a full track? I think they do a great job adding everyone in and not crowding out the song. In fact, I think they did a great job with restraint. The track’s musical simplicity gives it this dark air which is both moody, but also compelling. You are drawn into the track in a way that would be lost with too much tinkering. Ringo gives you those lovely snaps on the drums, which echos his work on so many Beatles’ tracks. Even though this is a track that was compiled with overdubs since 1994 it is really tight and is both psychedelic and true to the Beatles’ sound we all love. There is also a count in, by Paul I think, and I always love a count in.

The Beatles ended in a manner that did not befit a band of their brilliance. A bitter and rocky ending coupled with John’s assassination and George’s death left fans with a feeling that they never got true closure with the band. This single gives the Beatles the masterful closing number they deserved. I think Paul, Ringo and George also believed they needed this track for closure as well. I think they wanted to honour John and give the band its proper send off. Why else would they be so dedicated to having this track work and see the light of day?

Is it the best Beatles’ song ever? No. But, it is something more. It is a labour of love and devotion to friends that goes beyond notes and AI production tools. This is not as much a track as it is a testament to a band that changed music forever and four men who went their seperate ways, but would love each other and be connected for the rest of their lives. Now you can hear that connection transcend time and space…and it’s beautiful.

Listen to Now and Then