The Beatles ended in 1970. Any chances of additional music from the group ended in 1980. Just like the wonky-sounding "Free As A Bird" and "Real Love," this song is not canon and more like fan fiction. I'm glad that you have an honest take on this song. Any other band that would release a single like this would still be appearing at open mic nights weekly.
I can't say say I agree with your assessment here. I think the strings are great and accentuate the song like they did many classic Beatles songs. I do agree with you about the packaging. We all have our own filters and perspectives to be sure. I am happy that The Beatles and the Stones have new music out that is selling well and exciting at least part of their audience. If you choose to take a more cynical and deconstructionist perspective, that is fine. It's more fun to enjoy it though. For the record I thought the demo was abyssal and had quite low expectations for the track. As far as George Harrison calling it "fucking rubbish" there is a debate as to whether he was referring to the very poor quality of the demo or to the composition itself. George's family has stated the poor technical quality of the demo was the source of his decision to abandon it.
@@TheGuitarHistorian iamaphoney did a better remix, a fan mix, using Beatles material, but YT deleted it. You can search Now and Then - the twin version to possibly find it, but good luck it's being blocked by Apple, of course.
Got to agree mate. From your sleeve comments to the song, and subsequent production. That's coming from a lifelong Beatles fan. It just doesn't work. Period. I'm with you all the way.
I'm a lifelong Beatles fan, as well, and I find this new single to be another McCartney ego trip. He is totally and completely surrounded by 'yes men' who constantly tell him what a genius he is (including that obnoxious Rick Rubin). One of the great things about George was that he said what he thought and could see right through McCartney's self importance.
@@continentalgin Got it in one mate. At best it just sounds like a solo Lennon track. So he saved it to a tape. Could have been just an idea for later. We're only told it was a demo.
@@colinstuckey1053 Yes, I agree. I've always thought the method of songwriting Lennon & McCartney used (to enormous success) was in creating song fragments and then putting them together with other song fragments to make a new song. The Now And Then demo, in my opinion, was a fragment that wasn't fully worked out by John, so he may have saved it for later or he may not have liked it much, so he didn't try to develop it. We all should not presume John would like this new single.
Just ask Ringo Starr is all I have to say. My parents met Ringo in a holiday camp in North Wales when he was working there as a camp Redcoat, in about 1959 - my mother said always Hello Richard, when he turned up on TV later years. 🏴👍😎
As usual, you are spot on, especially your take on this being done in spite of George's opinion. It was part of Paul, one more time, at pushing George down. For me, Paul having the nerve to "play slide like George " (he didn't even come close) really finished any appreciation I would have had for this release. Also, spot on regarding the mix, look at the waveform, no dynamics...just a wall. Thanks for one of the more insightful and honest reviews being posted.
Completely disagree. George's comments were about product in 1995 not this finished product. It is what they had to work with. Agree about garbage cover. I like your shirt way more than your opinion.✌
Haha yeah thanks but the real issue is that we don’t know exactly what he was talking about. Was it the song or was it the recording? I think Paul is just speculating.
The idea of bringing in help would have been nice if they brought in some of their children. Sean Julian Dani and Zac. That would have been now and then
When we saw what the Stones, Chicago etc brought out in later years, everyone said ` The beatles knew when to stop´, and that was sooo true, they had preserved their legacy. Then years later we have this, `Real Love´ OK not one of the bands best, but still worth hearing...Free as a bird would in my opinion never have been released by `The Beatles´. So now we have this offering called `Now and Then´could also have the title `Money Talks´ with thin whinney voice ( before it got the works) , disjointed and confused, I hated that song.......until I heard the MonaLisa Twins version( try it) it really is THAT what those money grabbers McCartney and Starr should have made it into, but couldn`t!. If I was a young person hearing the Beatles on this song for the first time , I would certainly give their back catalouge a very wide berth!!.
Jon didn’t exactly run out and record his own album with these songs… When it came time to make double fantasy, he wrote on new songs. There’s a reason for that.
I realize that this will sound heretical to many Beatles' music lovers, but as I did with 'Free As A Bird" and 'Real Love', I sped up the tempo of 'Now And Then'. Doing so makes the track flow mucho better! (I didn't quicken it too much... from the original 4:09 to 3:54) The major problem with all of The Threetles tracks were they sounded like dirges. Upping the tempo (I did it with Audacity) improves them exponentially... though 'Real Love' is, to my ears, still too distorted sounding; something that should be fixed soon with the same tech prowess applied to 'Now And Then'.
Very true! If you listen to how many songs John wrote over his lifetime, many of the demos are much slower than the final track of eventually ended up being. I think that if this track had been made while they were still active, the tempo would’ve been quicker. You’re right there.
I see it a bit differently. It sounds to me like George was commenting on the quality of what they were able to do with the song. I find it hard to believe he totally rejected the song because the melody and John's vocal are vintage John. I think it is a better song than "free As A Bird" though not as good as "Real Love". I do agree with much of the critique of the finished song. It is definitely missing a high voice and the strings are just window dressing. I do wonder what Jeff Lynne would have done with the song? It might have turned out better.
The song is OK. The Beatles thankfully are never halfassed. BUT... If McCartney wants to do something GREAT? Apply that tech to the Hamburg Tapes. I've heard some of the homemade cleanup efforts and they're pretty good. Underneath that primitive recording is some really good playing. George used to say that the Beatles were at their best live during those days.
John spent his entire Beatles career telling George Martin, do something with my voice, make it different. This record hasn't done anything to change his voice. The strings are uninspired and if every production tricks were needed, this was the time. Good call.
I do think that "Now and Then" is a very good song, but it doesn't rank with the Beatles greatest work. John Lennon's vocal is amazing both on an emotional level and technically too, considering the source is a cassette tape from 1977. I'm glad Paul McCartney had the tenacity to get this song finally out there.
It's a good production. It just doesn't sound like either a Lennon or a George Martin production of a Lennon song for The Beatles. I doubt if John would have added anything to the piano demo. The state of Paul's current voice is probably why his harmony is buried in reverb. If they wanted to make it sound like The Beatles, it needed much more from the guitars and drums and much less strings. Now and Then is much closer in style to John's Julia, Love, and Oh My Love. It's not really a song like I Am the Walrus, Across the Universe or A Day in the Life which all sounded great with strings.
I'd rather believe George didn't like the sh*tty quality of the demo. And they could have asked Eric Clapton to play lead guitar. Paul's "tribute" slide guitar solo is way below what George played on FaaB and RL.
Lead in...this is just my reaction as a fan & musician. It doesn't sound/look like the Beatles of old. I suppose visually it's kind of fun, but from a reactive standpoint; and I am a very reactive and emotional person in general; it just didn't cause a reaction in me. It left me realizing that the Beatles are in fact gone. So, let's continue to enjoy what they were...now...and especially, then. Finally, the album cover is just plain flat & lazy. It's computer graphics that could be finalized in 5 minutes. Very disappointing...
I have to agree over a 110% on this. It just doesn't take me to a uforic state like Strawberry Fields or Something. People forget that it wasn't a Beatles song to begin with. It was shelved for a reason. Its head scratching from all angles. The only thing that actually made me feel any emotion was the 12 minute documentary they made. That felt pure and real. The video feels clumsy and too slap stick for the subject matter. I watched it two times snd that was enough. The art work on the single is really a let down. It looks like a graduation card you find at a reception table. It as zero resemblance as The Beatles much less anything they're known for. So with those in mind, it made it worse to go on RU-vid and see click bait thumbnails of 20 year olds wiping tears away. Its terribly confusing. If they released an updated version of She's Leaving Home, it would make all the sense in the world in mass numbers. But this is really a disappointment. I applaud all that goes into this and how many hours invested but it could've been done so much better without the confusing effects.
The record cover has flashbacks of some cheap album template from an 80's infomercial of a compilation of crappy songs .. looks terrible. I have a feeling they will redo this record cover at some point.
The demo of Now and Then is quite boring of a song. The heavy layering of orchestration and overdubs smothering that turd doesn't make it much better. Paul complained about Spector's treatment of The Long and Winding Road yet what he did to John's song was multitudes worse. Furthermore John never thought much of the song as he never bothered to improve it for release on his own albums while he was alive.
Ruscha is popular among billionaire art collectors, who buy and select art and artists from peer pressure, not from good taste. If their billionaire friends like it, they like it. When I look at this cover, I see what looks like a boring typeface immersed in air pollution.
