The Beatles’ Nowhere Men
Let me tell you why Now and Then does not work as a Beatles song and why it should not be called “the last Beatles song.”
“Now and Then” was an unfinished John Lennon song. According to Carl Perkins, Lennon’s last words to McCartney were “Think about me every now and then, old friend,” which may have made the demo smack of a message from the beyond.
This is nothing more than marketing. The song will also appear on newly expanded, remixed, and de-mixed releases of the band’s vintage greatest-hits compilations, known as the Red and Blue albums.
John Lennon recorded the demo with piano and vocals at his home in New York in 1978, two years before he was murdered in 1980. “Now and Then” could not even be completed to be added on 1980’s ‘Double Fantasy’. The demo did not even end up as spare tracks left over that would make up Lennon’s ‘Milk and Honey‘ released in 1984.
So 43 years after Lennon’s death, one of his songs is now “the last Beatles song”?
This song and video should have been added to Peter Jackson’s 2021 ‘Get Back‘ documentary series.
As per a recent review in The Guardian, even George Harrison thought “Now And Then” was “fucking rubbish.” in the mid-90s.
“The End” from 1969’s album ‘Abbey Road‘ was the last song recorded collectively by all four Beatles.
Now And Then – The Last Beatles Song is now streaming on Disney+. The 12-minute documentary film, written and directed by Oliver Murray, tells the story behind the last Beatles song with exclusive footage and commentary from Paul, Ringo, George, Sean Ono Lennon and Peter Jackson.