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[Bobber]

I don't know about that. I say let's have it. Why not? It looks like it's practically ready to release.

[BlueMeanie]

I don't know about that. I say let's have it. Why not? It looks like it's practically ready to release.

As far as I'm concerned The Beatles finished in 1970, and that should be that. I was all for Anthology, and anything else that's in the vaults to be released, and Love is a good excercise in bringing the music more up to date for a new audience. Although I thought Real Love, and Free As A Bird were OK, I think it's too much messing with the past. If all the band were alive, I'd say go for it, but from what I've heard they'd have to sample some of George's guitar from existing songs in order to finish it. Even taking into account that The Beatles is now a brand, and not a band, I happen to think that's an unnecessary travesty, and a cheapening of the name.

[Geoff]

I think it's too much messing with the past. If all the band were alive, I'd say go for it, but from what I've heard they'd have to sample some of George's guitar from existing songs in order to finish it.

Agreed. The contortions required are getting to be too much. Besides, exhuming half finished demos and now even guitar licks strikes me as being a rather ghoulish enterprise with vaguely Frankenstein-ish overtones. If Paul wants to do another John leftover, my suggestion would be to start from scratch and do the whole thing himself; maybe with Ringo's help, if that suits both of them.

[Andy Smith]

i was never up on the free as a bird / real love thing anyway.  :-/

[Geoff]

i was never up on the free as a bird / real love thing anyway.  :-/

Neither was I. Back when those came out, I used to make jokes about how the demand for Beatles reunions had finally evaporated.

[PaulieBear]

those songs were good but...it wasn't really exciting.

[Geoff]

those songs were good but...it wasn't really exciting.

I think they did a decent enough job with those two songs, but having to work with half finished (and badly recorded) demos really limited what Paul, George, and Ringo could do. They might have been better off recording a couple of Cavern-era oldies or something like that. George and Paul reportedly tried to write a new song called "All For Love," but nothing came of it if the song ever in fact existed.

[awc1967]

there have been on going rumors since a year ago, but neither paul or ringo has commented on those rumors, but jeff lynnes manager has denied that the song is even being worked on.
i do love the fan remix on youtube.
a nice guy there sent me an mp3 version of the song, now i listen to it in the car.
i really love this song.
 

[BlueMeanie]

Merged thread 15/04/08. BM.

[awc1967]

Please forgive me, if i'm wrong for this, but i think Apple needs a wake up call on Now and then,The same way, they got one on the Beatles live at the bbc, 2 cd set back in 1994.
This song was done in very good taste by iamaphoney on youtube, and it sounds like it could have fit on the love cd, in my opinion.
I  have heard it quite a few times and it has really blown me away, Apple could make millions by releasing it with the downloads or on it's own, or even on a greatest hits cd.
this is just my opinion , but      http://www.thepetitionsite.com/5/release-the-beatles-now-and-then-song          
might be the way to get Apple's attention.
The Beatles did originally plan on releasing this for the anthology series, but technology needed to progress a bit more.
I  truly feel that with what we have here in 2008, it can be achieved.
just my opinion, and i understand that there are those who oppose it, but it would be the final gift that the Beatles could give us.
 

[fendertele]

just thought id through a video up of a song i cant help but think of when hearing Then and Now.

it is by a very underrated English band called The Doves

it starts to come together after the first verse.

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the video has absolutely nothing to do with the song and was just used to accompany it.

[awc1967]

An enterprising and talented fan has created a virtual Beatles reunion album and posted his results on youtube.com, according to the Beatles fan website Abbey Road Best (abbeyrd.best.vwh.net).

A man identified as Octavio (actually it is 2 guys)has taken rare Beatles and solo demo tracks and added appropriate "Beatlesque" sounding instrumentation to essentially create the album that never was. One of Octavio's "outfakes" of the third unfinished mid-'90s Beatles reunion track "Now And then" recently duped some longtime fans into thinking that they were actually hearing an unreleased Beatles reunion performance.

Among the demos that have been overdubbed are such rarities as Paul McCartney's 1968 version of "Goodbye" which morphs his 1968 demo with Mary Hopkin's 1969 version; George Harrison's All Things Must Pass-era demos of "Nowhere To Go" and "I Don't Wanna Do It"; John Lennon's late '70s and 1980 demos of "India," "You Saved My Soul," "Help Me To Help Myself," "Grow Old With Me," and others.

All of the tracks are created to sound very much like the Beatles' Anthology reunion tracks "Free As A Bird" and "Real Love," which were produced by ELO's Jeff Lynne.
Octavio has started his own blog virtualbeatles.blogspot.com which provides the audio to the tracks. The videos, which mainly consist of photo montages, can be accessed by logging on to youtube.com/user/gaius476.

they do sound preety good, but "Now and then" would sound so much better if Paul and Ringo were to finish it, or maybe, it's already done.
But these demo's with newly added instruments do sound very enjoyable, i hope Apple, Paul, Ringo, Olivia, and Yoko are seeing the interest being generated for "Now and then".

those newly worked on songs are also available on these 2 guys blog space and they can be downloaded too for free.

[Andy Smith]

An enterprising and talented fan has created a virtual Beatles reunion album and posted his results on youtube.com, according to the Beatles fan website Abbey Road Best (abbeyrd.best.vwh.net).

yes, i've heard these, very good i must admit.

[awc1967]

Whenever I mention, now and then, i'm not trying to be Sid Bernstein, it's just that Paul actually started all this by saying he would like to finish it, since then it has became a giant internet rumor, but then again, is it really a rumor?
I  beleive, even those opposed or even those who don't care, would love the finished version.
The melody and meaning has really got me hooked on it, it's in me bloody head and i can't get it out'.

[Mellotroniac]

I'd love to see it resolved as well.

[BlueMeanie]

Listening to 'Now And Then' I think they did well to drop it. It's a very similar tempo to 'Real Love' and 'Free As A Bird', and pretty uninspiring to my ears.

[Geoff]

Listening to 'Now And Then' I think they did well to drop it. It's a very similar tempo to 'Real Love' and 'Free As A Bird', and pretty uninspiring to my ears.

I agree. It would have to be- or should be- completely rethought with a new recording begun from scratch. No one would be interested in that, though: it's not a Beatles "reunion."

[BlueMeanie]

I agree. It would have to be- or should be- completely rethought with a new recording begun from scratch. No one would be interested in that, though: it's not a Beatles "reunion."

Lennons voice sounds awful in it, as it does on the other two. Though a top engineer might be able to get something better out of it. It's a shame that - given all his experiences with the sound guys at Abbey Road, and all the technological innovations that came about, partly because of him - he doesn't seem to have embraced technology very much in the 70's. He could at least have had a little home studio for his demo's instead of singing into a cassette recorder!

[Geoff]

Lennons voice sounds awful in it, as it does on the other two.

It's surely a very provisional work-in-progress demo, and the surviving tape is probably a couple of generations removed from the original. John's vocal is tentative at best; he's just feeling his way though a half finished song and recording it to get some idea of where he's at with it. Good point about him not having some sort of home studio; that is odd, because he did have them at Kenwood at Tittenhurst Park, didn't he?

By the way, here's the youtube for "Now and Then" again if anyone's interested. I don't see this original take elsewhere in the thread.

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[Paul Doherty]

I think Johns method of recording in the dakota was a pretty simple one........just like when he came up with s.fields,he had an idea and put it to tape right away.
Juts as a writer would scribble an idea down on a piece of paper...this would be how ideas would be kept for a later date....to go back on and progress the track.
Its something i do...and i remember hearing a great story from Fran Healy the Travis singer......he said that he was sitting with the guitar one night when he came up with that famous tune they had(rain on me?).......so he grabbed a little tape recorder and sang the melody and played the guitar parts etc.He then put the recorder and guitar down and made himself a cuppa....totally forgetting the tune he had just wrote..
So half an hour later,he came back to the tape recorder all excited to hear wht this great new song sounded like,only to find that he didnt actually record the song properly...he had the pause button on and only released this when he had finished recording........BUT(the point is coming).....its ends up he was whisteling the song when he was making the tea,and the recorder picked this up.......so Travis had their hit.......phew


Sorry that has no relevance really.....

Now and then......great song,great melody.....but just an idea around the piano......john is making it up as he goes along......there is only one take of this song also just to add to the fact.

Macca should do something with it,as i think it kind of relates to them both....it would be nice to hear paul bouncing off johns verse with a vocal etc....

the end

sorry  :-)