The Beatles "Now And Then" Single released November 2nd. Remixed 'Red' and 'Blue' Albums due out November 10. (1 Viewer)

[Wayne_j]

“NOW AND THEN” TO BE RELEASED WORLDWIDE
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 2 AT 2PM GMT / 10AM EDT / 7AM PDT
THE BEATLES’ 1962-1966 (‘THE RED ALBUM’) AND 1967-1970 (‘THE BLUE ALBUM’) COLLECTIONS EXPANDED, MIXED IN STEREO & DOLBY ATMOS FOR 2023 EDITION RELEASES OUT NOVEMBER 10
London – October 26, 2023 – Together and apart, The Beatles have always had a talent for the unexpected. And now, 2023 brings one of the most anticipated releases of their long and endlessly eventful history. “Now And Then” is the last Beatles song – written and sung by John Lennon, developed and worked on by Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, and now finally finished by Paul and Ringo over four decades later.
“Now And Then” will be released worldwide at 2pm GMT / 10am EDT / 7am PDT on Thursday, November 2 by Apple Corps Ltd./Capitol/UMe. The double A-side single pairs the last Beatles song with the first: the band’s 1962 debut UK single, “Love Me Do,” a truly fitting full-circle counterpart to “Now And Then.” Both songs are mixed in stereo and Dolby Atmos, and the release features original cover art by renowned artist Ed Ruscha. The new music video for “Now And Then” will debut on Friday, November 3. More details including global premiere plans will be announced.

Announcement | The Beatles

The Last Beatles Song.

www.thebeatles.com

 

[EricSchulz]

Yikes! Half a dozen different 7” singles!

 

[BobO'Link]

Had no idea this was coming. I'm somewhat interested in the updated Red & Blue releases but the new "Beatles" song... maybe. I wasn't that impressed with "Real Love" and "Free as a Bird." They are OK, but really sound like lesser material from Lennon. I expect this one to be no different. And I'm not sure it really belongs on the end of The Blue Album re release as it's not yet been proven to be a "classic" deserving such placement.

 

[Wayne_j]

The Beatles today released a short form documentary on their new single 'Now and Then' today.



It features new comments from Sean Ono Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr as well as comments from George Harrison from the nineties. Lots of archival video from the time as the Beatles as well as the Anthology era in the 1990's with Jeff Lynn. Giles Martin composed a string score for the song but he and Paul told the musicians that it was for something Paul was working on due to secrecy.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Song dropped this morning:

The Beatles - Now And Then

Listen to Now And Then by The Beatles.

thebeatles.lnk.to

Reaction: Meh

 

[BobO'Link]

Yep - very "meh." "Real Love" and "Free as a Bird" are, IMHO, superior and I don't particularly care for either of those. It's been *years* since I last listened to them while I've played the rest of The Beatles' catalog many times in that time frame.

It certainly colors (aka lessens) my interest in the newly remastered/updated Blue album. I guess when I rip the discs I could relegate "Now and Then" to the EP containing "Real Love" and "Free as a Bird" so it wouldn't be the "just average" downer ending song.

 

[RMajidi]

I love it.

Having listened to the original demo tape recording many times over the years and thinking ‘if only…’, I’m so happy and grateful for the outcome achieved through a mix of technology, tenacity, musicianship and outright love.

With this technology, I hope they now isolate John’s vocals to remix Free As A Bird and Real Love. Both are beautiful songs in my estimation, but hampered by the voice-in-the-well technical limitations of their time.

 

[WillG]

I was prepared to be underwhelmed but first impression is it’s fine. No one will mistake it for A Day in the Life, but works ok as a mid tier Beatles song. Was trying to imagine where it might fit in the 60s discography. It sounds to me like a cousin of “I’m Only Sleeping” from Revolver. But also interesting is how it gives a hint of what the Beatles might have sounded like had they continued into the 70s. The production here sounds a bit more timeless that Free as a Bird and Real Love which always seemed to me as something that came from the 90s.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

No one will mistake it for A Day in the Life

That's for sure!

 

[Jim*Tod]

Meh to the tenth power. As a 70 year old boomer of course I loved the Beatles. But the endless repackaging and reselling of the group gets more and more ridiculous every year. From the Anthology cds several years ago to the endless Peter Jackson version of LET IT BE and now this they have been scraping the bottom of the Beatles barrel for a long time. To be clear, from the beginning of their careers they were very cleverly marketed. That we keep buying each iteration is rather pathetic.

 

[Garysb]

 

[TravisR]

I was prepared to be underwhelmed but first impression is it’s fine. No one will mistake it for A Day in the Life, but works ok as a mid tier Beatles song.

Agreed. It's a gift to get any "new" Beatles song but I think this is easily the best of those three tunes. Like you alluded to, it's not in the top level of their work but it's still very good and I'm so happy to get to hear it.

 

[Wayne_j]

I thought it was OK. Nothing great, but it does show how good you can make a audio cassette recorded in the 1970's sound if you have the right tools and abilities. I'm still getting the Red and Blue CDs since I love the remixes and this will give me them for their career highlights.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

I'm really enjoying it. A big part of that for me though is the haunting quality of Lennon's isolated vocals. There's something eerie about the fact that the new AI technology can be taught what John Lennon sounded like, and then pull vocals that crisp and clear out of an old amateur recording on consumer-grade cassette with ambient noise and piano playing that was never meant to exist in that form past the initial demo.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I really like the new song.

I'm kind of disappointed that the only way to get it on physical CD appears to be buying The Blue Album again, which I already have. Vinyl and even cassette get single versions, but not CD. Oh well.

 

[Wayne_j]

It is available in lossless High Res download. If you have a CD burner you can make your own CD. HDTracks has it with Love Me Do for $3.99.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Yes -- I will probably do that but I meant an official CD with artwork and packaging. I guess the market for a CD single would be negligible, so I get it. But if they can print several different versions of the vinyl, one CD option would have been nice.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

So, a question...

Why was it so important to separate Lennon's vocals from the piano?

Would the song have worked simply by taking his original recording of him singing at the piano and adding the rest of the modern instrumentals and voices?

The only thing I can think of is that the song would not have worked as well with the piano constantly being present in the recording.

 

[RMajidi]

The Beatles - Now And Then (Official Music Video)​

 

[RMajidi]

Peter Jackson Talks About Making The Beatles' Last Music Video

“When Apple asked me to make the music video, I was very reluctant - I thought my next few months would be a hell of a lot more fun if that tricky task was somebody else’s problem, and I could be like any other Beatles fan, enjoying the night-before-Christmas anticipation as the release of a new Beatles song and music video approached - in 1995, l loved the childlike excitement I felt as the release of Free As A Bird was inching closer.

I could have that experience once again - all I had to do was say no to The Beatles…”

https://www.thebeatles.com/read-what-peter-jackson-says-about-making-beatles-last-music-video