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Saperlipopette! View Drop Down
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    Posted: December 28 2023 at 01:07
Originally posted by LearsFool LearsFool wrote:

As to "Now and Then" I love both the lo-fi demo and the new sort of "full band" version. Paul and Ringo did an excellent job of cleaning up and building on John's original version, making it a sort of late Beatles pop cut that might fit on Abbey Road more or less.
You think so? I think it's the dullest song in all of The Beatles discography. Every song on Abbey Road is fun to listen to. Even the couple of ditties that slightly annoy me on the first side. Paul's basslines are singing, Ringo's always coming up with something interesting, the vocal harmonies are some of the most stunning in all of popular music etc... So much beauty, so many twists and turns. Nothing that excites me about Abbey Road is present on "Now and Then". Paul and Ringo themselves would surely have hated this in the late 1960's. The Beatles were a band that could do all of "Happiness is a Warm Gun" in less than three minutes and "She Came In Through The Bathroom Window" in less than two. These four minutes of nothing actually happening isn't The Beatles.
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That it was, though it was in actuality the B side. I love and respect George and the often brilliant takes on early electronica he had but "No Time Or Space" is indeed the mostly ripped off demonstration of the Moog's versatility.

As to "Now and Then" I love both the lo-fi demo and the new sort of "full band" version. Paul and Ringo did an excellent job of cleaning up and building on John's original version, making it a sort of late Beatles pop cut that might fit on Abbey Road more or less. I as an audio engineer remain in awe of how far musical restorative tech has come to give us "Now and Then" as we now know it, which is not simply a job from iZotope's RX 10 which I'm familiar with but a product of Peter Jackson's own unique tool?! I'm not only pleased but fascinated and humbled by the track we've received, aside from how atrocious the associated music video is.
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^Actually, it's worse than that.

The first side comprising "No Time or Space" wasn't even by Harrison, but the editing down of a demonstration done by Bernie Krauss (recorded and released without Krauss' knowledge or permission).
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Originally posted by moshkito moshkito wrote:

I rather think that unlike Paul and John, GH was probably the first that didn't care what anyone thought of his music. He just did it, and that was that ... and you might even remember that he even put together an electronic album ... as a way to teach himself something else, and sadly, he did not continue that at all, and I think him having to play "hits" and not exactly appreciated for being the experimental person he wanted to be, might, in the end, be the bigger problem.
Most, or some of this is probably true. But sometimes a genuine artist gets tired of putting together something like an electronic album. Perhaps for George being a true experimental person meant that from there he needed to move in the opposite direction. Maybe have a go at composing a tune that everyone can sing a long to, or whatever. Just because you hardly approve of anything resembling a hit, doesn't nessecarily mean that the artist is dishonest for creating it.

To me, for someone like George Harrison, Electronic Sound comes across as something he had to get out of his system. Except for the fact that it was made by a Beatle it's completely unremakable and about as interesting as me releasing an album where I'm toying around with a trumpet, a cembalo - or some other instrument I haven't taught myself to play. It didn't even need to be released as an album imo. I'm glad there's only the one.




Edited by Saperlipopette! - November 15 2023 at 13:52
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Originally posted by Atavachron Atavachron wrote:

...
You don't become one of the most important songwriting teams in history without very high standards.   I don't think George Harrison liked every George Harrison song or wanted to record something he thought was not good enough, and he felt the same toward his band mates. 


Hi,

For GH, I don't think there was such a thing as good, or better, In terms of his "religious" standing, it would all be about the very moment it happened that mattered, not before or after, thus him liking or disliking something would seem to be slightly off base. 

I rather think that unlike Paul and John, GH was probably the first that didn't care what anyone thought of his music. He just did it, and that was that ... and you might even remember that he even put together an electronic album ... as a way to teach himself something else, and sadly, he did not continue that at all, and I think him having to play "hits" and not exactly appreciated for being the experimental person he wanted to be, might, in the end, be the bigger problem. 

Hard to tell, but you can see in "Let It Be" that he was, almost always, on a different wavelength, but he was good enough (and probably professional enough) to contribute to what was being done.
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^ i totally agree but it does show how the hunger for The Beatles is still strong some 60 years later.

Not a #1 worthy song IMHO but then again not much is these days in the world of pop music.

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Listening to 'Free as a Bird' and it is a brilliant cut, as good as almost anything they ever recorded.   And 'Real Love' ain't bad at all, both with superb guitar from George, very reasonable breaks from Paul and Ringo's just-behind-the-beat drum track.   'Now and Then', not so much.
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“If there were ever any doubts that the Beatles are the greatest band of all time, they have surely consigned them to history this week.”
- Martin Talbot, Chairman of The Official Charts Company
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The Beatles set record 54-year gap between No 1 singles as Now and Then tops UK chart

 
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-liyiffZRmU8/T9_kDLS2iTI/AAAAAAAAQzE/jOoLJnOXabQ/s1600/The_Beatles-One-Interior_Frontal.jpg

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If they have had enough faith in Now and Then back when they was fab, it wouldn't have ended up as conventional-sounding as this. It's the kind of uninventive arrangement I would expect from Oasis or some modern mainstream rock band. Like a less talented gang of four who loves The Beatles very much. Basic, boring drums that I actually find very annoying and a super predictable composition, where nothing really happens. They just add stuff, like a (nice) guitar part and strings. None of which are horrible or anything. But it doesn't really introduce or add anything interesting or meaningful - like you know it always would have in 1966-1969. I much prefer The Rutles to this.
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Well, having heard the song I can only come away feeling totally underwhelmed.

If this song did not have the magic talisman of The Beatles name attached to it I would think it would pass by relatively unnoticed (even if it was a new McCartney song).

Ah nostalgia. It always was The Beatles' trump card.
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Originally posted by Frets N Worries Frets N Worries wrote:

I've just had the chance to listen to it, I like it, the vocals are better than Real Love and Free as a Bird, some of the harmonies sound a bit off to me, Paul's Slide solo isn't half bad, it fits the song. 

'The Medley' (Which does NOT include Because) is their true end, however, I will say 'Now and Then' is a solid record, and the last 'NEW' Beatles song we'll ever get, it's sad, I had no idea I'd get a new song by Rock's greatest group in my lifetime, so it will always hold a special place in my heart. 

Oh, I don't know. I think John saying "I'd like to thank you on behalf of the group and ourselves, and I hope we passed the audition." at the end of "Let it Be" is great.

Not only is it a little dig at the whole idea of the rooftop performance, but it could also be taken as a sardonic wrap-up of The Beatles whole career.






Edited by Hugh Manatee - November 08 2023 at 20:17
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Originally posted by zeb1981 zeb1981 wrote:

Over produced, but a nice addition to the Beatles canon
I do prefer the original Lennon demo, which have the excellent "I dont wanna loose you" theme intact


Agree.. They could have used the technology to get rid of some hiss, but to also isolate the vocals and piano.
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Over produced, but a nice addition to the Beatles canon
I do prefer the original Lennon demo, which have the excellent "I dont wanna loose you" theme intact
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I thought this was nicely done. I like it better than those previous two singles from 1995. No offense to Jeff Lynne, and I appreciate the effort he made to make those into something given what they were working with, but they reminded me more of the Traveling Wilburys than the Beatles. 
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Originally posted by moshkito moshkito wrote:

Originally posted by Atavachron Atavachron wrote:

"It's rubbish."   --George Harrison

Hi,

Considering GH's sardonic humor ... this comment would probably be followed with a laugh!

No I don't think it was followed by a laugh... maybe a cynical grin.

You don't become one of the most important songwriting teams in history without very high standards.   I don't think George Harrison liked every George Harrison song or wanted to record something he thought was not good enough, and he felt the same toward his band mates. 


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Originally posted by siLLy puPPy siLLy puPPy wrote:

^ it's a mere blip and most people won't even be aware that it came out.

These things are acceptable given The Beatles never carried on with new band members.

Personally it's not horrible but hardly anything i will shell out cash for.

Hi,

Heck ... it might be worth it when the used copies show at at Amadxon ... for $2.99 each. I would buy it then, but I had for a long time over 20 Beatles bootlegs, and I have YET to hear anything that I had not heard in the bootlegs many years ago ... and for us to think that it is new ... is a way of rejecting the actual history of it all in my book!

I imagine that for almost everyone here, this is all "new" ... but it ain't and never will be! The interpretation, sure, but not the actual music. The only thing that bothers me, is the inability to let the actual moment to live on its own, and instead it has to be "redone" and "re-this" and "re-that", so they can sell it as if it were something new. I honestly do not think there is anything new that Paul or Ringo can show us anymore, and I'm getting kinda tired of their rehashes ... 


Edited by moshkito - November 04 2023 at 07:57
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Originally posted by Atavachron Atavachron wrote:

"It's rubbish."   --George Harrison

Hi,

Considering GH's sardonic humor ... this comment would probably be followed with a laugh!
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I will say, that 12 minute documentary on YouTube made me appreciate this a lot more
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Originally posted by Frets N Worries Frets N Worries wrote:

^My conclusion is, Now and Then will always be sentimental to me, seeing as it's the only thing I'll ever get as a 'new' Beatles song in my lifetime, The Medley is their true studio ending, and nothing will ever change that. I say it's a good song (Better than 'Real Love' and 'Free as a Bird' in my opinion) it's technically a Beatles song, so I don't know what to think of it, it's not their best, it's not their worst, it's a mid-tier song (if the Beatles have such a thing), so it's a Mid-Tier Beatles song. 
If I had to sum up my thoughts in a sentence, i'd say:

It's interesting, good, and I'm glad it came out, and I hope it doesn't mar what was meant to be their Swan Song.

Of course.
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