Consequence‘s Song of the Week series takes a look at the latest and greatest new songs. Find these and more on our Spotify Top Songs playlist, and for our favorite new songs from emerging artists, check out our Spotify New Sounds playlist. This week, The Beatles have a new song (no, really), “Now and Then.”
In the 12-minute mini-documentary for what’s being billed as ‘the last/lost Beatles song,” Paul McCartney and company spend a noticeable amount of time justifying their actions, assuring fans that John Lennon would have given his blessing. Whether this was a response to the mild backlash that arose when he first revealed they were utilizing artificial intelligence to complete the recording, a way to separate themselves from the more sinister-feeling posthumous releases, or merely an honest gesture for the late Lennon and George Harrison, it’s a sentiment that they didn’t need sell so hard. Should “Now and Then” truly be the last the world hears of The Beatles, it’s a fitting, touching, and respectful sendoff for the band that was bigger than Jesus.
For a song with a uniquely anachronistic history, “Now and Then” sounds remarkably well put together. The tune pretty seamlessly meshes Lennon’s original 1979 demo, Harrison’s guitar tracks from when the band initially attempted to finish the song in 1995 (but abandoned it do to a distracting hum on Lennon’s tape), and McCartney and Ringo Starr’s modern contributions. Hell, there are even samples from “Here, There and Everywhere,” “Eleanor Rigby” and “Because” thrown in for good measure. It’s somewhat of a roundabout way to reunite the Fab Four, but the results are magical for anyone invested in the band (everyone, I should have just said everyone).
The tune actually feels like a Beatles song, which is a small miracle in its own right and should come as a sigh of relief for those concerned about the band’s use of AI. McCartney and his team tapped the same tech Peter Jackson used for Get Back to separate the singing and piano playing found on the original demo tape and get rid of the blasted humming. Finally, the song could be finished.
Lennon’s voice is given room to breathe with a litany of other Beatles signifiers backing him up. There are strings that sound straight out of their Revolver era, a Harrison-style slide guitar solo, and those trademark Beatles harmonies. By design, it doesn’t come across like a long-lost cut from Help!, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band or Let It Be. Rather, it’s simply tapping into the essence of what The Beatles were. It’s the band as you remember them — and that’s the mark of a great swan song.
So, is “Now and Then” going to topple the countless classics from the band’s original run? Not quite. But it is successful in its attempt to revive the spirit of the band for one last go-around; asking for anything more just seems greedy. “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “Something” will always be there; for now, let yourself get lost in the wonder that is a new Beatles song in 2023.
— Jonah Krueger
Editorial Coordinator