Nearly 50 years after the band’s initial breakup, the Beatles’ final song, “Now And Then,” has been completed and released to much buzz from critics and listeners alike.
With a little help from a newly created audio-learning AI, “Now And Then” features John Lennon’s restored vocals from a demo recorded before his death in 1980. Lennon’s vocals were then mixed with his other bandmates’ vocals.
“It seems, in a way, merely an extension of audio manipulation processes that are integral to music productions for a long time,” Akiva Zamcheck, a music professor, said. “For example, equalization — processing through effects that allow the editor to focus on certain frequencies and to pull out certain aspects of an audio signal. So, in that sense, I think it’s not truly radical or creepy.”
Many die-hard Beatles fans think highly of the new release.
“I think it really was just about a perfect send-off, sort of reflecting on the time they had,” Adam Fox ’27 said. “I think it does a great job of commemorating the greatest people to ever write and play music.”
While it generates excitement for some, the delayed release of “Now And Then” incites pause for others. “Now And Then” is being promoted as a song by the entirety of the Beatles, even though Lennon wrote it years after the band broke up.
“Without being too cynical about it, I feel like, ‘Oh, here’s another opportunity to try and milk more out of the Beatles in the way of revenue,'” music professor Jorge Torres said. “It seems that because it’s from the hands of one of the Beatles — and a dead one at that — we seem to think it’s a great thing that they’re able to sit or make something out of this last song.”
Fox defended the song from its critics.
“I think a lot of people were so off-put by that because they expect it to sound like a classic Beatles song,” Fox said. “But I think that it sounds like the music they would have made after “Let It Be,” which I think makes sense because this was written after that. This wasn’t a song they wrote in the ’60s and forgot about.”
Despite the song having a few shortcomings for some, the fact that remaining Beatles members Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr finished “Now and Then” seems to appease most listeners and fans.
“We’re all very happy we got to hear it,” Torres said. “I don’t think it’s going to have the effect that ‘She Loves You’ had in 1963, but it’s a nice thing.”
Fox agreed.
“I think it’s amazing that people were able to appreciate this music,” Fox said. “I always believe that if their music came out today, it would still top the charts because of how incredible they are, and how talented John, Paul, George and Ringo [were].”
