Now and Then: Comparison (1977 Demo and 2023 Studio) & Fans Reactions and Comments Topic!

[Walter Hale 4]

Now and Then: Comparison (1977 Demo and 2023 Studio) - John Lennon and The Beatles



A video comparing the original 1977 John Lennon demo of "Now and Then" with the finished 2023 The Beatles studio release.

[Walter Hale 4]

Not the official video but as good as !

[emjel]

The promo video for the new song really is quite amazing . Peter Jackson and the gang should be proud of what they have produced.



Lots of new/unseen footage so now we need an expanded Anthology - the original one that was planned was for 20 hours, but the TV company wanted it cut down, but with what they have done in this video, an updated Anthology is definitely required.

[ORION]

I can't really explain why I was expecting to dislike this so much, maybe it was the "AI" angle.. However, I must admit that this is amazing. It's such a lovely, sentimental tune. I've been humming it all morning. What a fitting closure to the Beatles' catalog. It's a remarkable achievement that deserves the attention it seems to be getting across the globe.

[Walter Hale 4]

I can't really explain why I was expecting to dislike this so much, maybe it was the "AI" angle.. However, I must admit that this is amazing. It's such a lovely, sentimental tune. I've been humming it all morning. What a fitting closure to the Beatles' catalog. It's a remarkable achievement that deserves the attention it seems to be getting across the globe.

Jackson's patented AI could and should be used on The Complete Elvis Masters (plus two bonus discs of rare material) to be earmarked for (or near) August 2027, where every track counts and Elvis vocals are clear upfront and consistent on every single one.

Just think for a moment what this could mean and be achieved on actetates like Hearts of Stone, original When it Rains It Pours, various home recordings, soundboard gems like Your the Reason Im Living.

[Walter Hale 4]

The promo video for the new song really is quite amazing . Peter Jackson and the gang should be proud of what they have produced.



Lots of new/unseen footage so now we need an expanded Anthology - the original one that was planned was for 20 hours, but the TV company wanted it cut down, but with what they have done in this video, an updated Anthology is definitely required.

Good on you emjel.

A lot of Beatles fans over at the Hoffman forum reckon there will be an upgraded and expanded Anthology, probably explains why FAAB and Real Love did not get the AI treatment and included on the Red and Blue upgrades. They're saving those for Anthology.

[Walter Hale 4]

another isolated vocal here...

[Walter Hale 4]

[Walter Hale 4]

another one here...

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[Walter Hale 4]

Now And Then (Official Music Video) [REACTION VIDEO] | Rebeka Luize Budlevska

[Walter Hale 4]

Washington Post

“Because it is the Beatles, the bar is high, and expectations are higher. That Now and Then will now be included on the reissued 1967-1970, otherwise known as The Blue Album, makes my point. A passable song is simply not good enough when you’re sharing vinyl with Strawberry Fields Forever, A Day in the Life or Let It Be."

“Please listen to it. Form your own opinion. Then, when you’re done, put on The Red Album or Blue or any of the 13 studio records the Beatles made, and you’ll maybe get a tinge of what it feels like to be 7 years old with your dad’s KLH turntable pumping the most glorious music into the living room, perfect songs that simply can’t be matched.”



The Times (3/5)

“Now And Then will find its way on to an expanded edition of the Blue album, the beloved compilation spanning the 1967-70 period [...] Against such masterpieces, what amounts to an incomplete Lennon demo that the rest of the Beatles then worked on simply doesn’t stand up.

“There is something touching about McCartney sticking with a song by his old friend for all these years and there is noble intention in the way AI has been used. But I’m afraid to say this isn’t the buried gem Beatles fans around the world have been hoping for.”


New York Post

“In the end, Now And Then — which, in a nice twist, is backed by Love Me Do on the single release — is not a Beatles classic that will trump I Want To Hold Your Hand, Let It Be or Hey Jude. The lyrics are underdeveloped — it was a demo for a reason — and the tune is nowhere near as ambitious as the music that the Fab Four were producing in their later years.

“But really, who cares when those harmonies swell to the heavens?”



The Independent (5/5)

“Here is an emotional resurrection treated with the respect and reverence it deserves. McCartney gives Lennon’s vocals space and prominence, blending his own voice sensitively into that wondrous brotherly harmony we thought we’d never hear afresh again.

“The lyrics – while reading like a typical holding-pattern Lennon love song until greater inspiration stuck – resonate now after 40 years of loss. ‘Now and then I miss you,’ the pair sing, as if nose to nose at the microphone again. ‘Now and then I want you to be there for me, always to return to me.’”



Irish Times (5/5)

“We are living through the twilight of the rock gods. Now And Then reminds us of the void they will leave when they finally exit the stage.

The Guardian (4/5)

"The additions to a song that was obviously incomplete are seamless… unlike Free As A Bird [another Beatles track released posthumously], where McCartney’s new middle eight jarred slightly against Lennon’s original song – the arrangement is sumptuously tricked out with orchestration, but never stoops
to deploying obviously Beatles-y signifiers.

“If you squint, you could just about imagine that it’s the Beatles playing together, which definitely wasn’t true of the mid-90s songs.”



https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/the-beatles-final-song-now-and-then-critics-reviews_uk_6543d429e4b00f9ca31ef416

[Walter Hale 4]

‘I can see why George decided it was a downer’

The song is very moving, especially after seeing Paul perform live a few days ago at 81. Hearing John’s thirtysomething vocals extracted and enhanced is a strange yet pleasing effect. I hope they revisit the mid-1990s mixes of Free as a Bird and Real Love with this technology, rather than the ghostly echoey vocals from John’s home recording. That said, I can see why George reportedly decided Now and Then was a bit of a downer and it languished for almost three decades. It’s reminiscent of John’s raw, delicate early solo works including Love but with a wistful even melancholy mood.

- John Barron, Sydney, Australia



‘I love it dearly’

I’ve been a fan of the Beatles since I was 12 years old. After watching the Anthology documentary (and the time the works on Now and Then were dropped), I had a lot of (nervous) expectations for the song, but couldn’t anticipate how emotional it would feel. I felt the passion put into getting this song ready. It made me imagine John sitting at the piano to show Paul, Ringo and George this new song he wrote and they all gather around him, joining in. I love it dearly.

- Carolina Goloni, 40, the Netherlands



‘Boring’

Dull and unremarkable. Calling it a “Beatles song” when it’s a cut-and-paste mix of recordings made by former band members at separate times over decades is a stretch at best. It begs the question, would this track have otherwise warranted any mention at all if not for that link? It’s not technically bad by any means, but listening to it I could only conjure the same word over and over – boring.

- Sarah, 42, US


‘I’m torn’

I’m torn with this now being the final Beatles song. The lyrics are so poignant and essentially require a song in a minor key but that’s not how I want to think of their story ending. On the other hand, its melancholy reflects how many fans saw the band’s ending, and feels like a bit of a memento mori to all of us: patch up those relationships you care about before it’s too late. In that way, the song makes me very emotional, so I do love it for that.

- Kimberly Blessing, 48, Glasgow


‘The song is just fab’

I became a fan of the Beatles over lockdown, their music and story is absolutely fascinating. The song is just fab! I shed a few tears hearing Paul’s audibly aged voice singing with John’s young late-30s voice. The strings really made it feel like a Beatles record. Paul’s slide guitar tribute to George was so moving too. I just wish they had included the “I don’t wanna lose you” section of the song, but that would have made it too long. I don’t think many will say it is comparable to their earlier work, or even Free As a Bird, but not every song needs to be a smash hit. It’s more about what the song means. To paraphrase Paul on the White Album, “It’s great, it’s the bloody Beatles! Shut up!”

- Joe McCafferty, 18, Letterkenny, Ireland



‘A suitable ending’

It’s such a suitable ending, and releasing it alongside a new mix of Love Me Do showed how far they came, yet how close they stayed to the formula that broke them, foregrounding Ringo’s drums as the consistent beat the rest composed against. It’s the perfect final chapter of the Beatles studio recordings. It’s a piece that captures loss and mortality transposed against the seeming immortality of art. -

Steve Block, 51, Walton-on-Thames


https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/nov/06/beatles-now-and-then-readers

[elvis4life]

[Walter Hale 4]

Classical Composer Reacts to THE BEATLES: NOW AND THEN | The Daily Doug (Ep. 686)

[Walter Hale 4]

It'll be a good thing to find other musicians and singers comments regardless whether they like or dislike, including from the Beatles contemporaries, and add these here in context.

[Walter Hale 4]

And finally Andrew (aka Parlogram auctions) has his say. Andy likes the Dolby Atmos version, he says when comparing the various formats.

His channel's always fun and interesting to visit, you must check it out...


Now & Then - The Beatles Take a Sad Song and Make It Better

[Walter Hale 4]

THE BEATLES - NOW AND THEN - ORCHESTRA & VOCAL MIX...

someones made a stripped-down mix of the new Beatles song NOW & THEN.
Stripping it back to the vocals, orchestra and slide guitar.

[TINML]

very late to the dance but as big of a Beatles fan as I am, this just hasn't clicked.

I have no issues with the Ai angle and the long promo film made me choke up at times but the most jarring thing I can't understand is why Paul's wobbly old man vocals were left as is? Artistic intent is what I assume but it just doesn't work for me.