Love 'em or hate 'em, The Beatles are the most influential band in history. Who would have thought, 53 years after they broke up, that they would still be releasing new music? And it's only possible because of recent advances in AI and audio engineering technology, adding intrigue to what will (presumably) be the last song they ever release as a "complete" band.
It all started in the years leading up to John Lennon's assassination, when he was home at his piano fiddling around with some new music. He set up a mic and tape recorder and rehearsed several ideas he had for new songs. The tape that he recorded to was kept safe by his wife, Yoko Ono, until years after his death when she received a call from Paul McCartney. She shared the demo with Paul, and he knew that he wanted to make it into a posthumous Beatles recording.
The problem was that it was the mid-90's, and while technology was able to salvage 2 of the 3 demos on the tape (Free as a Bird / Real Love), a third song remained too difficult to separate John's vocal from the piano underneath. Still, the remaining Beatles at the time - Paul, Ringo Starr and George Harrison - put down accompanying guitar, bass and drum tracks in the hopes that they could somehow make it work.
After trying repeatedly, they eventually shelved that third tune and released the other two songs to much fanfare. They were great songs, bringing John "back from the dead" in an amazing reunion that seemed like a pinnacle achievement of technology and ingenuity. Who would have thought the Beatles would ever release music after John's death, especially as a full quartet? And yet we got two great singles, one of which actually became my and my wife's wedding song (Real Love). The songs were great, but Paul never forgot that third tune.
Fast forward ANOTHER 30 years, bring in the technological wizard Peter Jackson, and the recent advancements in AI, and Paul knew it was time to revisit the song. Jackson had worked with Paul on their recent documentary, "Get Back," in which they used AI to separate instruments for isolation in sound mixing. He suggested they use the same technology to separate John's piano from his vocal on that third demo. And so they did it, and the results are pretty amazing.
The song that emerged is called "Now and Then," and it amounts to the last recording that all of the Fab Four play together on the same song. It's a pretty remarkable achievement, and a pretty darn good song. It would certainly have not been a single on their old records, but I could hear this as a deep cut classic on Revolver or the White Album, or maybe Abbey Road, when they were experimenting with orchestration and interesting chord changes and song structures. It's catchy, it's unique, and it's a treat for anybody that appreciates the Beatles and also appreciates the positive sides of technology, and how they can make projects previously deemed impossible come to life.
Don't take my word for it, check out the tune for yourself:
It's pretty interesting, and man those chord changes and John's voice get me good after all this time. I'm sure some of you hate the Beatles. But for those that don't, what do you think? It may not be their pinnacle achievement, but it's certainly a notable addition to their catalog. I love stuff like this, and do really like this song. But more than anything, it's the story behind the music that's truly remarkable.
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