Now And Then - Print Topic

Paul McCartney regrets not finishing third Beatles reunion song

Paul McCartney recently shed some light on one of the unfinished mid-'90s Beatles reunion tracks that was left unreleased.
Macca spoke to Britain's Q magazine about the unreleased John Lennon song, titled "Now And Then," explaining that, "There was one more that we didn't do (for The Beatles Anthology), which was a pity. It didn't have a very good title, it needed a bit of reworking, but it had a beautiful verse and it had John singing it. But George (Harrison) didn't wanna do it. The best thing about it all was to work with John again. Hearing him in the headphones, it was like he was in the next room -- 'f***, I'm singing harmony with John.' It's like an impossible dream."
We asked Harrison's widow Olivia Harrison how she feels about any unfinished Beatles Anthology reunion songs being released: "Well, I don't know that much about it. But I know that if they thought something wasn't good enough then that's probably the reason no one's heard it. You know, if they never got around to it -- sometimes that's it, time runs out."
The then-surviving Beatles, McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, dubbed "The Threetles" by the British press, spent four sessions between February 1994 and March 1995 attempting to flesh out "Now And Then" along with the eventually released reunion songs "Free As A Bird," and "Real Love." The songs were recorded at Macca's home studio, The Mill, in Sussex, England with producer and ELO co-founder Jeff Lynne.
The trio eventually abandoned the track, due in large part to a persistent buzz found on the demo tape that couldn't be erased. Lennon's demo for "Now And Then" -- also known as "I Don't Want To Lose You" -- has been available on the underground circuit for years.
In May 1995, the group allegedly started work an all-new McCartney-Harrison collaboration called "All For Love," which also remains unreleased.
In October 2005, Lennon's widow Yoko Ono talked about a further "electronic" Beatles reunion using the unfinished Lennon track. She explained to The Washington Post that, "I sent those songs to them when the situation was quite different. Now that George is gone, I don't know if the same would apply."
The Beatles' reunion single "Free As A Bird" peaked at number six in 1995, with the group's second reunion single "Real Love" topping out at number 11 in 1996.

Is there a bootleg of Now And Then?

Seems from the sound of it that there are no more tapes of Lennon songs Yoko could have handed over after all.

Quoted from GreenApple

Is there a bootleg of Now And Then?

There is. I'll upload it in the bootlegforums. Available now.

McCARTNEY EYES ONE LAST BEATLES SONG

Sir Paul McCartney is planning to reunite with his late Beatles bandmate John Lennon and finish an unreleased track the pair sang together.

The Fab Four abandoned "Now And Then" during their prime. McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr tried to resurrect the track when they put together their Beatles Anthology albums ten years ago, but guitarist Harrison claimed it was not good enough.

But McCartney wants to go back and finish the job.

A source tells British newspaper the Daily Express, "It has always niggled a bit with Paul that they didn't finish Now And Then.

"While George wasn't keen, Paul always though the song had a lot of potential. He is now hoping to complete it after all, with him singing the harmonies to John's lead vocal. It would obviously be very moving to hear the pair of them singing together one last time." McCartney himself recently said of the song, "It needed a bit of reworking but it had a beautiful verse."

Yoko Ono has granted permission for an unfinished track by her late husband John Lennon to be finished by his Beatles bandmates.

The song, called Now And Then, will be completed by Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr after Ono - who owns the rights to Lennon's solo material - gave the project a cautious green light.

She says, "It's up to them. But no, I'm not against it."

McCartney and Starr previously tried to revive the track more than a decade ago for inclusion in The Beatles Anthology. However, George Harrison vetoed the idea.

Sad days!

I know john was working on his next songs!!

Free as a bird ect were (not for the Beatles!)
I have the solo accustic he did & piano stuff!

John was not ready for the Beatles as --It as a the band--Did not allow
freedom of self!
This is why George left also!

John said it on one of his songs--
I don't beleave in Beatles--I beleave in me--Yoko & Me! I am John!

He just wanted to be seen for him & not as a beatles!That was a
product & could be sold!
Buttons-postes-socks-ect!!

Who cares? Doing it don't add nothing to the beast and don't take anything from it. I'd like to hear it, I hope there is something of George though.

Welcome back, TheMasterOfGoingFaster!!! :) :) :)

I heard the demo to this song and thought it was one of
the best songs Lennon ever wrote.
I can imagine how the song would sound but it woundn't work i think,
not without John & George (obviously!)

It sounds somewhat mournful to me ...

Im listening to it, if they have any George put him on to it and rerecord the rest of it. It'll sound good, the lyrics kinda fit the situation. Any situation. Maybe a new chorus? Who knows. As I said I'd like to hear it, but it's not that important.

Whatever they decide, I hope they don't get Jeff Lynne! Lennon's vocals sound so thin and 'phasey' on FAAB and Real Love, like there's 2 or 3 playing simultaneously or something.

Quoted from thefadedline

Whatever they decide, I hope they don't get Jeff Lynne! Lennon's vocals sound so thin and 'phasey' on FAAB and Real Love, like there's 2 or 3 playing simultaneously or something.

Yeh I've wondered about that. But is that just because the recording of John's voice they used was pretty poor quality? I don't really know much about production. I think the fact that lennon's voice is to thin and phasey kind of makes the songs more atmospheric. Sorry bit off topic!

Well I have heard the original FAAB demo's and, without being big-headed, I feel I could do a better job of his vocals myself... I dunno.

From contactmusic.com:

Quoted Text

The surviving members of THE BEATLES are to release a new single compiled from archive recordings. The track, called Now And Then, is based on a John Lennon recording given to MCCartney by the late musician's widow Yoko Ono. Archive tracks from George Harrison will also be woven into the new song, along with vocals from Sir Paul MCCartney and drumming from Ringo Starr, reports British newspaper the Sunday Express. ELO musician Jeff Lynne, who produced the track's original sessions, says, "The song had a chorus but is almost totally lacking in verses. We did the backing track, a rough go that we really didn't finish. "It was sort of a bluesy sort of ballad, I suppose, in A minor. It was a very sweet song; I liked it a lot, and I wish we could have finished it."

i'm new and do not yet have permission to the bootleg-forum, could someone post that tune here?
or is it against the rules? thanks!

sebastian, sweden.

Quoted from Sebastian

i'm new and do not yet have permission to the bootleg-forum, could someone post that tune here?
or is it against the rules? thanks!

sebastian, sweden.

Try this ;):
http://rapidshare.com/files/21668027/Now_And_Then.mp3.html

... for the password to the bootlegforums you can send a private message to Bobber, somedude210 or The End.

Quoted from raxo

Try this ;):
http://rapidshare.com/files/21668027/Now_And_Then.mp3.html

... for the password to the bootlegforums you can send a private message to Bobber, somedude210 or The End.

thank you!
i've sent a message to the end, just waiting for a response.

Quoted from Sebastian

thank you!
i've sent a message to the end, just waiting for a response.

A pleasure ... I'll see you there then! ;)

An awful choice, if you ask me. The demo sounds badly and boring. I wish Paul and Ringo do a cover of it instead of overdubb it.

Quoted from Sebastian

sebastian, sweden.

I'm not you, I'm Sebastian, from Spain, heheheh. What a surprise to find one member with my name here!. Well, it's yours too, obviosly, heheheh.

Quoted from sewi

I'm not you, I'm Sebastian, from Spain, heheheh. What a surprise to find one member with my name here!. Well, it's yours too, obviosly, heheheh.

i stole it from you. buggers! :K)

Is this the song as far as The Threetles made it?

The vocal sounds terrible. Personally I think it just proves one thing, that Jeff Lynne was never the best person to produce The Beatles.

Whether or not the demo ever reaches final phase of completion, the Fab legacy is intact. Granted, it would be nice to have a "final" final Lennon/McCartney piece, but if the song sounded tinny or "thin", it wouldnt be worth the effort. I for one would hate to end this historic collaboration on a flawed note. I've heard the demo--there are some beautiful moments there--but unless technology advances a bit further, a better digital enhancement of John's voice is sorely needed for salvaging this gem. Too bad John laid his vocals down on (by today's standards)home-made, poor -quality analog. Perhaps if Paul could get permission to record it himself...but then on second thought, that wouldnt do (*shrugs*)--I figure the whole thrill for Macca would be to do it with his old best mate (albeit posthumously). If they can find a way to fix the technical shortcomings, it would absolutely marvelous to hear Paul sing with John again... :'(

Quoted from BlueMeanie

The vocal sounds terrible. Personally I think it just proves one thing, that Jeff Lynne was never the best person to produce The Beatles.

I tend to agree w/ this..although I'm a MAJOR Lynne fan (in a separate sense), being addicted to ELO in the 70's and 80's (and even his earlier work w/ Roy Wood and Wizzard)

I never thought I'd miss Phil Spector....but...

Quoted from 829

I tend to agree w/ this..although I'm a MAJOR Lynne fan (in a separate sense), being addicted to ELO in the 70's and 80's (and even his earlier work w/ Roy Wood and Wizzard)

Didn't know he produced Wizzard.

It's a shame about the quality of the vocal. And a bit of a surprise. I've just been listening to the Strawberry Fields demo's recorded at Kenwood, and the quality of the vocal recording is mostly far superior.

What a beautiful song! I'm sorry it's such a bad recording. It does sound unsalvagable for a commercial release.

For the first time in many moons I'm impressed by a Lennon song. It sounds very contempory, far better than anything on Double Fantasy.

I would like to hear it reworked with a different producer. But then, I suppose that Lynne's 'big sound' masks the poor quality of the original tape.

Quoted from BlueMeanie

Didn't know he produced Wizzard.

It's a shame about the quality of the vocal. And a bit of a surprise. I've just been listening to the Strawberry Fields demo's recorded at Kenwood, and the quality of the vocal recording is mostly far superior.

sorry, I wasnt clear on that point--I meant Jeff Lynne's older association w/ Roy Wood, not producing.

and as far as SFF demo...of course it sounds better

I think some of those final demos of John's sounded like they were recorded up in the Dakota's bathroom w/ some cheap Phillips tape recorder propped up on the sink--a far cry from Kenwood, or for THAT matter, the "cavern"ous (sorry for pun),Abbey Road.

Yoko probably locked him in!!

Quoted from BlueMeanie

Yoko probably locked him in!!

:o ;D

(and John screaming "Aisumasen! Aisumasen! (sp?) let me out! My bread is burning in the oven!!")

*reads the above with awe*

I feel as if I was there.

it sounds very ELO!! great song though but John's voice sound's more
like Julian Lennon's.

I think this is an amazing song...the demo sounds a little unfinished,but i heard macca was gonna do something with this song.
Wouldnt it be great if he released it along with the launch of all the beatles albums on i-tunes.
We live in hope eh?

http://www.whatgoeson.com/blog/the-beatles/now-and-then-leaked-to-youtube.html

I can't wait for the real thing

Any ideas?

http://iamaphoney.blogspot.com/2008/01/now-and-then-is-spreading.html

February 9?

I'd go with this idea:

Quoted Text

The Abbeyrd's Beatles News Page described it this way: While this sounds very professionally produced, we don't think this is anything more than a clever, but unauthorized, mash, thanks to the overuse of echo and the audio from Beatle songs woven through it. A mash, but a well-done one, at that.

I would have thought that the tapes are well and truly under lock and key. Probably in a farmhouse in Sussex! I don't recall hearing any booted outtakes from Real Love, and Free As A Bird (but then I haven't looked for them, so I may be wrong), so I wouldn't have thought that this would have got out. A good fake, I'd say.

I was actually refering to the Iamaphoney series of Paul is dead videos and that there is to be some kind of resolution on February 9th. Not the Now and Then thing.

The link you provided takes us straight to 'Now And Then'.

Sorry about the confusion, this 'Now and Then' video and arrangement originally comes from Iamaphoney, whoever that is. He claims to have cracked the 'Love' album code and has reported it to Apple and will be collecting his prize on 9th of February, that's what I assume anyway. ::)

The videos are very profesionally edited, the hypnotic splices he creates by using the reversed "backmasking" bits really are good.

It's an interesting curio.

has there been any news on Now and Then of late? is it planned for the remasters or Paul solo or what?

Quoted from Bungalow Bill

has there been any news on Now and Then of late? is it planned for the remasters or Paul solo or what?

I heard a rumor last summer that Paul wanted to finish it off and put it on one of his solo albums, but it was probably one of those News Of The World celebrity gossip type stories. The rumor about a deal with iTunes to release a remastered Beatles catalog very likely falls into the same category:

http://abbeyrd.best.vwh.net/news/308itunesdivorce.html

Quoted from Geoff

I heard a rumor last summer that Paul wanted to finish it off and put it on one of his solo albums, but it was probably one of those News Of The World celebrity gossip type stories. The rumor about a deal with iTunes to release a remastered Beatles catalog very likely falls into the same category:

http://abbeyrd.best.vwh.net/news/308itunesdivorce.html

Quoted from BlueMeanie

Bingo! (Should have taken the more direct approach myself).

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.
;)

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.

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

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.

Quoted from 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).

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

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'.

I'd love to see it resolved as well.

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.

Quoted from 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.

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."

Quoted from Geoff

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!

Quoted from BlueMeanie

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.

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 :-)

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