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It’s been over 50 years since the Beatles broke up, but the Fab Four are sort of getting together for their first new song after 45 years, titled “Now and Then,” which will also be their final one and is based on a demo cassette tape recorded by Lennon in 1978.
The song features contributions from all four original members of the band, including John Lennon, who was murdered back in 1980 but is now brought back to life with artificial intelligence.
Yoko Ono, Lennon’s widow, gave Paul McCartney a cassette tape titled “For Paul.”Then, in the mid-90s, the three remaining Beatles released two songs from Lennon’s cassettes, “Free as a Bird” and “Real Love,” which were the band’s first “new” material in over two decades.
The additions to the Beatles catalogue used Lennon’s vocals with new backing tracks recorded by the other band members. However, using 1990s technology to lift Lennon’s voice was not an easy task. Jeff Lynne, the producer, stated that “It was so hard. Layering that voice in there, which had a piano glued to it. Really difficult, virtually impossible. But we got it done somehow.”
Despite the difficulties faced, the technology worked, and the overall concept was successful. All three Anthology CD releases reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts and catapulted the Beatles back into the public eye.
However, “Now and Then” didn’t make the cut at the time, as George Harrison called the song “f***ing rubbish.” Lennon recorded the song himself in the late 1970s after The Beatles had split. It was not easy to work with the original tape of the song “Now and Then.” McCartney revealed that the piano was hard to hear in John’s demo tape, and the lack of technology made it impossible to separate the tracks. “Every time we wanted a little bit more of John’s voice, this piano came through and clouded the picture,” McCartney said in a new mini-documentary about the song.
The trio, McCartney, Harrison, and Starr ended their session without “Now and Then” ever being finished, and with Harrison’s death in 2001, the chances of it being released seemed slim. Though, 25 years later, McCartney felt it was the “right moment” to revisit “Now and Then” and finally complete it.
How AI brought back the voice of John Lennon in the new Beatles’ song
In 2022, the band, now a duo, was finally able to use advanced technical restoration, which involves methods that were used in the making of Peter Jackson‘s 2021 documentary series, “The Beatles: Get Back.”
When the song was announced in June, McCartney expressed his excitement and slight apprehension towards the use of artificial intelligence in music production. “To still be working on Beatles’ music in 2023 — wow,” he said in “The Beatles — Now And Then — The Last Beatles Song.” “We’re actually experimenting with state-of-the-art technology, which is something the Beatles would’ve been very interested in.”
With the help of artificial intelligence and machine learning, Lennon’s original vocals were separated from the piano music that backed it. McCartney and Ringo Starr then recorded the backing instruments, with existing recordings of the late Harrison woven in. Though Lennon does not sound much like him, chances are that he could have been replicated using artificial intelligence.
This is the last track where all four Beatles played together – John, Paul, George, and Ringo.
“Now and Then” is available on streaming services, and there is also a documentary titled “Now And Then – The Last Beatles Song – Short Film” streaming.
The song features contributions from all four original members of the band, including John Lennon, who was murdered back in 1980 but is now brought back to life with artificial intelligence.
Yoko Ono, Lennon’s widow, gave Paul McCartney a cassette tape titled “For Paul.”Then, in the mid-90s, the three remaining Beatles released two songs from Lennon’s cassettes, “Free as a Bird” and “Real Love,” which were the band’s first “new” material in over two decades.
The additions to the Beatles catalogue used Lennon’s vocals with new backing tracks recorded by the other band members. However, using 1990s technology to lift Lennon’s voice was not an easy task. Jeff Lynne, the producer, stated that “It was so hard. Layering that voice in there, which had a piano glued to it. Really difficult, virtually impossible. But we got it done somehow.”
Despite the difficulties faced, the technology worked, and the overall concept was successful. All three Anthology CD releases reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts and catapulted the Beatles back into the public eye.
However, “Now and Then” didn’t make the cut at the time, as George Harrison called the song “f***ing rubbish.” Lennon recorded the song himself in the late 1970s after The Beatles had split. It was not easy to work with the original tape of the song “Now and Then.” McCartney revealed that the piano was hard to hear in John’s demo tape, and the lack of technology made it impossible to separate the tracks. “Every time we wanted a little bit more of John’s voice, this piano came through and clouded the picture,” McCartney said in a new mini-documentary about the song.
The trio, McCartney, Harrison, and Starr ended their session without “Now and Then” ever being finished, and with Harrison’s death in 2001, the chances of it being released seemed slim. Though, 25 years later, McCartney felt it was the “right moment” to revisit “Now and Then” and finally complete it.
How AI brought back the voice of John Lennon in the new Beatles’ song
In 2022, the band, now a duo, was finally able to use advanced technical restoration, which involves methods that were used in the making of Peter Jackson‘s 2021 documentary series, “The Beatles: Get Back.”
When the song was announced in June, McCartney expressed his excitement and slight apprehension towards the use of artificial intelligence in music production. “To still be working on Beatles’ music in 2023 — wow,” he said in “The Beatles — Now And Then — The Last Beatles Song.” “We’re actually experimenting with state-of-the-art technology, which is something the Beatles would’ve been very interested in.”
With the help of artificial intelligence and machine learning, Lennon’s original vocals were separated from the piano music that backed it. McCartney and Ringo Starr then recorded the backing instruments, with existing recordings of the late Harrison woven in. Though Lennon does not sound much like him, chances are that he could have been replicated using artificial intelligence.
This is the last track where all four Beatles played together – John, Paul, George, and Ringo.
“Now and Then” is available on streaming services, and there is also a documentary titled “Now And Then – The Last Beatles Song – Short Film” streaming.
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