The Beatles’ Last Song: “Now and Then”
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The Beatles we know and love are back for what they are claiming to be their last song ever! With Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr as the only Beatles members who are still alive, this phenomenon seems almost impossible. Thanks to modern technology, the production of Giles Martin, and the drive to do the band justice and pay homage to their late members, the song “Now and Then” was born and was released on Thursday November 2, 2023, following a promotional short film about the origins of the song.
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The song was first introduced to the surviving members of The Beatles in 1994 when Yoko Ono gave Paul McCartney two tapes containing John Lennon’s unreleased home recordings. These recordings included the songs “Free As A Bird,” “Real Love,” “Grow Old With Me,” and of course, “Now and Then.” Two of these songs were released by The Beatles in the 1990s, and a third was released on one of Lennon’s posthumously released albums. The last song standing, “Now and Then,” remained unreleased because in the studio, they weren’t happy with how the piano was overpowering Lennon’s vocals, but with recent technological advancements, the gates to the song were unlocked. As depicted in the short film, new technology allowed for the piano to be completely separated from John’s voice and gave the remaining Beatles and their crew the opportunity to finish the song.
The technology they used for this phenomenon was a system of artificial intelligence (AI) that Peter Jackson, who is best known for his “Lord of the Rings” movies, named MAL (machine-assisted learning) after Mal Evans who was The Beatles road manager and personal assistant. Jackson also directed the “Now and Then” music video, which combines exclusive footage of The Beatles back in the day with recent footage of Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr in the recording studio.
Image Courtesy: Billboard
The music video along with the song lyrics bring about a flood of nostalgia for the late great John Lennon and George Harrison. I think the song itself does a good job of sticking to the band’s roots and delivering that distinct Beatles sound and vibe. While I don’t think it is objectively better than any of their big hits, it’s definitely worth a listen! I might even add it to a few of my playlists. But what I love most about this song is that it’s a full circle moment for the band and gives them and all of their fans a bit of closure on what The Beatles have done for music and the world.
Strike Out,
Julia White
University of Notre Dame
Editors: Elisabeth Olsen and Maddie Arruebarrena
