Some things about Now and Then 

What is Now and Then?

 It is the latest recording by the Beatles. The song was released last Nov. 2 on singles flip-sided with a new mix of the very first Beatles single, Love Me Do. Of course, it was also uploaded on all digital music outlets. It will be included in a new edition of the Beatles compilation album 1967 to 1970, which is coming out tomorrow, Nov. 10.

Yes, Now and Then is by the Beatles. It is a fact and also so amazing that more than 60 years after Love Me Do was released on 45RPM vinyl, we are listening to a new song by those then young guys from Liverpool, UK, who changed popular music in so many wonderful surprising ways.

Now and Then is not only the latest. It is also the final recording by the Beatles. That is a fact.  Don’t wait out for another song within the next few months. This will never happen again. And when I say Beatles, I mean all four of them.

Peter Jackson, the famous Lord of the Rings director, also helmed the film The Beatles: Get Back. Since he was working mostly on old footage, Jackson and his theme developed a software that can isolate recorded sound files including those on cassette tapes. When Paul learned about this, he knew he had to resume work on the shelved Now and Then again.

I do not mean just Paul McCartney, now 81 years old, and Ringo Starr, 83, since John Lennon was tragically shot to death on Dec. 8, 1980, while George Harrison passed away due to lung cancer on Nov. 29, 2001. But for Now and Then, they were all present, in their own ways in this historic recording session.

When you listen to Now and Then, you will hear John on lead vocals and piano, George on lead guitar, Paul with his bass and Ringo pounding on his drums. No AI vocals or instruments here. Oh yes, there are also lots of strings in the arrangement, just like what producer George Martin used to do. This comes as no surprise since the arranger and conductor is Martin’s son Giles, who co-produced with Paul, Ringo and Jeff Lynne.

Now, how did Now and Then happen? According to the short film, directed by Oliver Murray, which accompanied the release of the single, the then three Beatles were working in the studio for The Beatles Anthology Project in 1995 when Paul thought of working on one of the unfinished songs that John’s widow Yoko Ono, had given George. That was Now and Then. In fact, there was even this note “For Paul” on sticky paper on the demo.

The remaining Beatles started working on it, hoping to be able to include it in Anthology. But it could not be. The demo was on cassette tape and it was impossible to isolate John’s vocals from the piano and other sounds, let alone have the others layer on their instrumental parts. Now and Then was shelved.

Peter Jackson to the rescue. The famous Lord of the Rings director also helmed the film The Beatles: Get Back. Since he was working mostly on old footage, Jackson and his team developed a software that can isolate recorded sound files including those on cassette tapes.  When Paul learned about his, he knew he had to resume work on the shelved Now and Then again.

Paul laid down his bass and even added a solo to the guitar tracks that George was able to record in 1995. Then, he sent the files to Ringo who added his drums. To finish off, Martin came in to secret sessions for a “new project by Paul” and added the strings. And Now and Then was born.

Now and Then is a simple love song. Short and sweet. It is just like a Beatles love song from the early days. “I know it’s true/ it’s all because of you/ and if I make it through/ it’s all because of you.” And it sounds so young.

But because of the story behind it, there is nothing simple about this recording. Every word, every note come across with deeper meaning. It is the last. The end. But then it is not, as it encapsulates six decades of beautiful music that goes on and on.