September, Friday 20, 2024

The Beatles set to unveil their poignant 'last track', Now and Then, within the following week


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After more than 50 years since The Beatles disbanded, the band has announced the release of their "last song." Titled Now And Then, the track is based on a demo recording by John Lennon from the 1970s, which was completed last year by Sir Paul McCartney and Sir Ringo Starr. Sir Paul mentioned the song in an interview with the BBC, revealing that AI technology had been used to extract Lennon's vocals from an old cassette. Now And Then will premiere on Thursday, 2 November, and will also be featured on newly remastered versions of The Beatles' Red and Blue albums, set to be released on 10 November. The compilations, originally launched in 1973, are highly regarded as the most influential greatest hits albums in history, encompassing the band's early days (the Red Album) and their later experimental and expansive period (the Blue album). The surviving members of The Beatles expressed their surreal experience in completing the song, with Sir Paul remarking on the emotional nature of hearing Lennon's voice crystal clear. He described it as a genuine Beatles recording and an exciting event to release a new song that the public hasn't heard. Sir Ringo added that working on the song felt like having Lennon in the room and was a far-out experience. Now And Then was originally penned by Lennon after The Beatles' breakup in 1970 and circulated as a bootleg for years. The song was eventually passed onto Sir Paul by Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, on a cassette labeled "For Paul," along with early versions of Free As A Bird and Real Love. The band attempted to record Now And Then in the past, but the session was abandoned due to the perceived poor quality of Lennon's recording. Sir Paul had always wanted to complete the song, and advances in audio technology have now made it possible. The process began with the release of the Beatles' Get Back documentary in 2021, where new software was developed to "de-mix" mono recordings from the 1970s and isolate individual instruments and vocals. This technology was later utilized to create a new mix of the band's album Revolver. Using elements of Artificial Intelligence and machine learning, the software was trained to separate overlapping sounds and identify specific elements like Lennon's guitar. This same technology was applied to the original tape of Now And Then to remove tape hiss and electrical noise while preserving Lennon's performance. Last year, Sir Paul and Sir Ringo worked on completing the song by adding new vocals, drums, bass, guitar, and piano parts. Additional electric and acoustic guitar pieces recorded by George Harrison in 1995 were also included before his passing. Giles Martin, son of Beatles producer George Martin, contributed backing vocals from the original recordings of Here, There And Everywhere, Eleanor Rigby, and Because, adding an extra layer of nostalgia. The release of Now And Then will be accompanied by a documentary about the song's creation, set to premiere on Wednesday, 1 November.