The is here.
Titled BԪַNow and Then,BԪַ the almost impossible-to-believe track is four minutes and eight seconds of the first and only original Beatles recording of the 21st century. ThereBԪַs a countdown, then acoustic guitar strumming and piano bleed into the unmistakable vocal tone of John Lennon in the songBԪַs introduction: BԪַI know itBԪַs true / ItBԪַs all because of you / And if I make it through / ItBԪַs all because of you.BԪַ
More than four decades since LennonBԪַs murder and two since George HarrisonBԪַs death, the very last Beatles song has been released as a double A-side single with BԪַLove Me Do,BԪַ the bandBԪַs 1962 debut single.
BԪַNow and ThenBԪַ comes from the written by Lennon in the 1970s, which were given to his former bandmates by Yoko Ono. They used the tape to construct the songs BԪַFree As a BirdBԪַ and BԪַReal Love,BԪַ released in the mid-1990s. But there were technical limitations to finishing BԪַNow and Then.BԪַ
On Wednesday, a short film titled BԪַThe Beatles BԪַ Now And Then BԪַ The Last Beatles SongBԪַ was released, detailing the creation of the track. On the original tape, LennonBԪַs voice was hidden; the piano was BԪַhard to hear,BԪַ as Paul McCartney describes it. BԪַAnd in those days, of course, we didnBԪַt have the technology to do the separation.BԪַ
That changed in 2022, when the band BԪַ now a duo BԪַ was able to utilize the same technical restoration methods that separated the BeatlesBԪַ voices from background sounds during the making of director , BԪַThe Beatles: Get Back.BԪַ And so, they were able to isolate LennonBԪַs voice from the original cassette and complete BԪַNow and ThenBԪַ using machine learning.
When the song was first , McCartney described artificial intelligence technology as BԪַkind of scary but exciting,BԪַ adding: BԪַWe will just have to see where that leads.BԪַ
BԪַTo still be working on BeatlesBԪַ music in 2023 BԪַ wow,BԪַ he said in BԪַThe Beatles BԪַ Now And Then BԪַ The Last Beatles Song.BԪַ BԪַWeBԪַre actually messing around with state-of-the-art technology, which is something the Beatles wouldBԪַve been very interested in.BԪַ
BԪַThe rumors were that we just made it up,BԪַ Ringo Starr of LennonBԪַs contributions to the forthcoming track in September. BԪַLike we would do that anyway.BԪַ
BԪַThis is the last track, ever, that youBԪַll get the four Beatles on the track. John, Paul, George, and Ringo,BԪַ he continued.
McCartney and Starr built the track from LennonBԪַs demo, adding guitar parts George Harrison wrote in the 1995 sessions and a slide guitar solo in his signature style. McCartney and Starr tracked their bass and drum contributions. A string arrangement was written with the help of , son of the late Beatles producer George Martin BԪַ a clever recall to the classic ambitiousness of BԪַStrawberry Fields,BԪַ or BԪַYesterday,BԪַ or BԪַI Am the Walrus.BԪַ Those musicians couldnBԪַt be told they were contributing to the last ever Beatles track, so McCartney played it off like a solo endeavor.
On Friday, an official music video for BԪַNow and Then,BԪַ directed by Jackson, will premiere on the BeatlesBԪַ YouTube channel. It was created using footage McCartney and Starr took of themselves performing, 14 hours of BԪַlong forgotten film shot during the 1995 recording sessions, including several hours of Paul, George and Ringo working on BԪַNow and Then,BԪַBԪַ Jackson said in a statement.
It also uses previously unseen home movie footage provided by LennonBԪַs son Sean and Olivia Harrison, GeorgeBԪַs wife, and BԪַa few precious seconds of The Beatles performing in their leather suits, the earliest known film of The Beatles and never seen before,BԪַ provided by Pete Best, the bandBԪַs original drummer.
BԪַThe result is pretty nutty and provided the video with much needed balance between the sad and the funny,BԪַ said Jackson.