Have you heard the “new” Beatles song yet? Sixty years after the onset of Beatlemania and with two of the quartet now dead, artificial intelligence has enabled the release of what is promised to be the last “new” Beatles song.
The track, called “Now And Then,” debuted Nov. 2, as part of a single paired with “Love Me Do,” the very first Beatles single that came out in 1962 in England.
“Now And Then” comes from the same batch of unreleased demos written by the late John Lennon, which were taken by his former bandmates to construct the songs “Free As a Bird” and “Real Love,” released in the mid-1990s.
Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison worked on “Now And Then” in the same sessions, but technological limitations stood in the way.
But now, with the help of artificial intelligence, director Peter Jackson (whose talents helped fashion the previously “unfilmable” “Lord of the Rings” films) cleared those problems up by “separating” Lennon’s original vocals from a piano used in the late 1970s. The much clearer vocals allowed McCartney and Starr to complete the track last year.
The survivors packed plenty into it. The new single contains guitar that Harrison had recorded nearly three decades ago, a new drum part by Starr, with McCartney’s bass, piano and a slide guitar solo he added as a tribute to Harrison, who died in 2001. McCartney and Starr sang backup.
McCartney also added a string arrangement written with the help of Giles Martin, son of the late Beatles producer George Martin.
As if that wasn’t enough, they weaved in backing vocals from the original Beatles recordings of “Here, There and Everywhere,” “Eleanor Rigby” and “Because.”
“There it was, John’s voice, crystal clear,” McCartney said of the track. “It’s quite emotional. And we all play on it, it’s a genuine Beatles recording. In 2023 to still be working on Beatles music, and… to release a new song the public haven’t heard, I think it’s quite an exciting thing.”
Harrison’s widow, Olivia, said he felt in the 1990s that the technical problems made it impossible to release a song that met the band’s standards. With the improvements, “he would have wholeheartedly” joined Paul and Ringo in completing the song now if he were still alive, she said.
A 12-minute film that tells the story of the new recording has also been released to accompany the song, and expanded versions of the Beatles’ compilations “1962-1966” and “1967-1970” have also been released. “Now And Then,” despite coming much later than 1970, has been added to the latter collection.
The surviving Beatles have skillfully released new projects, like remixes of their old albums that include studio outtakes and Jackson’s “Get Back” film, usually timed to appeal to nostalgic fans around the holiday season. This year, it’s the grand finale of new music.
“This is the last track, ever, that you’ll get the four Beatles on the track. John, Paul, George, and Ringo,” Starr said in a recent interview.
Lyrics
I know it’s true
It’s all because of you
And if I make it through
It’s all because of you
And now and then
If we must start again
Well, we will know for sure
That I will love you
Now and then
I miss you
Oh, now and then
I want you to be there for me
Always to return to me
I know it’s true
It’s all because of you
And if you go away
I know you’ll never stay
Now and then
I miss you
Oh, now and then
I want you to be there for me
I know it’s true
It’s all because of you
And if I make it through
It’s all because of you