The so-called final song from The Beatles, Now and Then, makes modern music sound like “pure trash” according to fans of the band.
The Grammy-winning song left fans teary-eyed when it first released, but Now and Then, released in 2023, appears to have affected other genres of music for some fans. Rock and roll, according to one fan, looks like “pure trash” compared to the final song from The Beatles. Now and Then had initially been set for release around the time of the Anthology package, but George Harrison vetoed the song. Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney returned to it over two decades later, after getting John Lennon‘s vocal tape up to a point where they felt the quality was acceptable. Its release is still lauded by fans, who took to r/Beatles on Reddit to share their thoughts on the song.
One wrote: “To me, it makes me feel nostalgic and sad. Especially looking at them now, two of them are resting, and two of them are still living. Back then, they were young, energetic, and still together. John’s death was a massive loss for Rock’ n Roll.
They were the ones who made Rock n Roll popular worldwide. When I watch the official video, it’s honestly heartbreaking. Seeing John and George with Paul and Ringo was so good. Looking at today’s Rock n Roll, it’s pure trash.”
Though praise for Now and Then was found in the comments, some suggested it was the not the strongest of the three Anthology recording songs. One wrote: “I like it. Of the three new songs, it’s not my favourite, but I do enjoy it a lot, and I got a bit teary hearing Paul perform it live last year.
“While I get people saying the reunion songs don’t recreate the magic. For me, Real Love is one of the best songs I’ve ever heard.” Another questioned whether Now and Then was a song intended for The Beatles, or just a John Lennon track. They wrote: “I love it. It’s an affecting song. Whether it’s really a Beatles song rather than a John Lennon song is another question…”
Some have also suggested listening to all three of the reunion songs is a unique listening experience. They wrote: “The three reunion songs played in a row make a nice listening experience, it’s like eleven or twelve minutes. Free As A Bird, Real Love, Now And Then.”
While Now and Then made use of new technology to strip background noise from the Lennon vocals, other fans are hoping the same treatment is given to Free as a Bird and Real Love.
What do you think about "Now and Then"
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They wrote: “I like it. As a full stop or bookend to the story of The Beatles, it does the job nicely. It’s far from perfect, but nothing created decades after the end of the band would be.
“I think it sits well with Free As A Bird and Real Love. I’d have liked to have seen it released with Anthology 3, as it was supposed to be part of the Anthology project, but George quite rightly vetoed it. I hope he would have been pleased with how it turned out.
“I’d also have liked to have seen Free As A Bird and Real Love remixed by Giles, with today’s technology, and added onto the remixed Blue album. But we can’t have everything we want!”
I thought it would’ve been great to release all 3 of their last songs on an ep like in the old days .If they could’ve done their magic on Real Love and free as a bird with the same audio technology as Now and Then that would’ve been really special.