- The Beatles are back together thanks to AI
- Their las song "Now and Then" is finally out!
- 'Now and Then' marks a historic reunion
The "Fab Four" are back! More than half a century after their split, the Beatles have reunited for one last song, "Now and Then," officially closing the final chapter in their storied musical legacy.
Back together Again!
Released on Thursday, the track features the voices of John Lennon (shot dead in 1980) and George Harrison (died from lung cancer in 2001), thanks to the magic of digital technology. Paul McCartney (81) and Ringo Starr (83) have also contributed new material to this final release from arguably the most influential and bestselling musical group of the 20th century.
Spotify glitch or Beatles magic?
Such is the enduring popularity of the band that some listeners complained on social media that the song appeared to glitch or stop entirely when played on the Spotify streaming platform.
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McCartney, in a short BBC documentary film released Wednesday to mark the new song, said, "We listened to the track and there’s John in his apartment in New York City, banging away at his piano, doing a little demo.”
Would John have approved?
McCartney revealed in the film that he had second thoughts about using Lennon's voice. However, he believes Lennon would have loved the idea, saying, “Hey John, would you like us to finish that last song of yours? I’m telling you, I know what the answer would have been ‘Yeah!’”
Cutting-edge technology meets classic Beatles
The final track was made possible by isolating and enhancing a low-quality cassette tape of John Lennon singing and playing piano in his New York apartment in the late 1970s. The tape was passed on to the surviving Beatles members in 1994 by Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono.
"Now and Then" was considered as a single release in the 1990s, but the band “ran out of steam and time,” according to McCartney. Despite initial rejection, the song features a typical Harrison slide guitar solo, recorded in 1995.
The song also features a string section conducted by Giles Martin, son of George Martin, who produced the Beatles' albums.
Peter Jackson used artificial intelligence tools to restore hundreds of hours of grainy documentary footage of the band making the 'Let It Be' album in 1969. McCartney said, "Since Peter took John off [the cassette] and gave him his own track, it's like John's there. It's far out."
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Mixed reactions
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Sean Ono Lennon, John and Yoko's son, told the 'BBC': "My dad would have loved that because he was never shy to experiment with recording technology. I think it's really beautiful."
"Now and Then" will be released as a double A-side single along with the band's first single "Love Me Do," which debuted to an unsuspecting British public in 1962.
