Experience the Beatles’ Final Composition “Now and Then” Enhanced by AI

The last opus from the Beatles has arrived.

Entitled “Now and Then,” this piece is an awe-inspiring four-minute and eight-second auditory journey, marking the Beatles’ inaugural original composition of the 21st century. A prelude of anticipation is followed by the strumming of an acoustic guitar and the subtle presence of piano, culminating in the distinctive timbre of John Lennon’s voice setting the tone: “I know it’s true / It’s all because of you / And if I make it through / It’s all because of you.”

With more than forty years having passed since Lennon’s tragic demise and two decades after George Harrison’s passing, the Beatles’ newest song has been made public, paired as a double A-side single with “Love Me Do,” their premiere 1962 single.

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Sample the ultimate Beatles melody

The Beatles present “Now and Then”

“Now and Then” is extracted from a collection of Lennon’s unreleased demos penned in the 1970s, subsequently entrusted to his bandmates by Yoko Ono. This cache of demos was the wellspring for “Free As a Bird” and “Real Love,” both of which saw release in the 1990s. However, “Now and Then” faced technical hurdles preventing its completion.

On Wednesday, audiences were treated to a short documentary, “The Beatles — Now And Then — The Last Beatles Song,” chronicling the track’s evolution. Lennon’s vocals were once obscured on the original recording, the piano almost inaudible, as recalled by Paul McCartney. He noted, “Back then, we didn’t possess the technological prowess for such intricate sound isolation.”

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This barrier was surmounted in 2022, as the surviving members embraced advanced audio restoration techniques that had previously been used to discern the Beatles’ vocals from ambient noise for Peter Jackson’s documentary series “The Beatles: Get Back” in 2021. They managed to isolate Lennon’s vocals from the old tape and finalize “Now and Then” by harnessing machine learning.

Upon the song’s reveal in June, McCartney shared that the use of artificial intelligence was “a bit daunting yet thrilling,” and expressed a sentiment of curiosity about the future implications of this technology.

Reflecting on the continuation of the Beatles’ musical legacy into 2023, McCartney expressed his amazement in the documentary, remarking on their engagement with cutting-edge technology, a pursuit he believed the Beatles would have found compelling.

The Beatles, from left in the foreground, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, John Lennon, and Ringo Starr during a performance on the CBS “Ed Sullivan Show” in New York on February 9, 1964. (AP Photo/File)

Ringo Starr addressed speculation in an interview with The Big Big News regarding Lennon’s posthumous contribution to the anticipated song in September, dismissing any notion of fabrication.

He underscored the significance of “Now and Then,” stating, “This track is definitively the final one featuring John, Paul, George, and Ringo together.”

Lennon’s demo served as the foundation, with McCartney and Starr incorporating guitar elements composed by Harrison for the ’95 sessions, including a slide guitar solo that echoed Harrison’s unique style. McCartney and Starr added their own bass and drum overlays. A string arrangement, created with assistance from Giles Martin, son of the Beatles’ revered producer George Martin, echoes the group’s ambitious heritage evident in tracks like “Strawberry Fields Forever,” “Yesterday,” and “I Am the Walrus.” To maintain secrecy over the track’s true nature, those contributing musicians were led to believe it was a solo McCartney project.

The Beatles return to Liverpool, England, on July 10, 1964, for the premiere of their film “A Hard Day’s Night.” (AP Photo, File)

Come Friday, the official music video for “Now and Then” will be unveiled on the Beatles’ YouTube channel, directed by Jackson. The video is an amalgam of McCartney and Starr’s self-filmed performance clips, 14 hours of rediscovered footage from the 1995 recording sessions, including extensive clips of McCartney, Harrison, and Starr crafting “Now and Then,” as shared by Jackson.

It incorporates rare home movie excerpts provided by Lennon’s son Sean and Olivia Harrison, George’s widow, and notably, a few unseen moments of The Beatles in their iconic leather suits, the earliest known footage of the band, supplied by Pete Best, their original drummer.

“The result is surreal and provides the video with a crucial balance of melancholy and humor,” Jackson commented.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Beatles’ final AI-enhanced song

More about Beatles’ final AI-enhanced song

• The Beatles Official YouTube Channel
• The Beatles: Get Back Documentary Series
• Peter Jackson’s Filmmaker Profile
• The Legacy of John Lennon
• Paul McCartney’s Official Website
• Ringo Starr’s Music
• AI in Music Production
• George Harrison’s Musical Contributions
• The History of “Love Me Do”
• Yoko Ono’s Role in Preserving Lennon’s Legacy