Breaking Down the Beatles' Swan Song “Now And Then"
The Beatles performing at the Magical Mystery Tour in 1967. Photo by stratocasterbob57 via Flickr
With over 1 billion records sold, the most No. 1 albums in the UK, 20 No. 1 hits in the US, and 16 of the 100 best-selling songs of all time, the Beatles are solidified as cultural icons. And they just so happened to release their final song on Nov. 2, titled “Now And Then.”
The question many may be asking is: How have the Beatles come out with another song if John Lennon and George Harrison weren’t alive to help with its creation?
Well, with the help of artificial intelligence and a very devoted Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, “Now and Then” was made possible.
The track itself started as a demo by the late John Lennon. He initially wrote and recorded the song shortly before his assassination in 1980. The original demo is very skeletal and bare due to Lennon never finishing it.
That demo, and a few others, was given to Paul McCartney in 1994 by Yoko Ono, Lennon’s widow.
McCartney, Starr, and Harrison decided to shelve the demos for the time because there was no way of turning them into actual songs.
That is until today. AI has helped restructure the song and clean up Lennon’s vocals, extricating his voice from the cassette it was originally recorded on. Ringo’s drums and McCartney’s bass and vocals were also added in. Oscar-winning director Peter Jackson, notably known for directing “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” films, was a key participant in using AI to help make this happen.
The song debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Rock Digital Song Sales charts almost 50 years after the band broke up.
Many people believe the song itself isn’t the focus, and it’s more of a tribute to the band and their successes. The song itself is simple, classic Beatles, nothing they haven’t done before, but the amount of attention it has received has been immense.
This raises another point many are making: Will artists whose popularity peak was years ago and have fallen out of the spotlight started to release vaulted songs using AI to clean them up? Or use AI to produce posthumous music from band members?
Now, this is a valid question. Did the Beatles do this? Technically, yes, but they didn’t fabricate Lennon’s voice. His voice on the song is entirely his. They used AI for instrumental-related adjustments and to polish and refurbish Lennon’s voice.
Music fans are concerned that bands that lost a member will start to do this for attention or money. However, many believe that “Now and Then” and its accompanying music video is a fitting “end” to the band.
The music video has sparked some controversy, however. In the video, many clips are shown as the song plays: home videos, concerts of the band, recording sessions, and more. Some clips have an 80-plus-year-old Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr alongside George Harrison and John Lennon from the 60s and 70s, as they all sing and play their instruments together.
Some have said it is “chilling” to depict the members as if they are all still alive. Others are happy to reminisce about the Beatles and their musicianship.
Combining classic and iconic art from years ago with today’s technology can be tricky, and doing so while trying to please everyone is a steep mountain to climb. “Now And Then” is a way of reflecting on the Beatles as a band and appreciating them for what they were in the 60s, and how things have changed over 50 years.