Credit: ABCWith the use of modern technology, John, Paul, George and Ringo are brought together for the last performance since the famous Rooftop Concert in 1969. However, Disney+ brings viewers into the studio one more time as the Beatles perform “Now and Then.”
By very little exaggeration, the Beatles are perhaps the most successful, the most inventive, the most famous, and the most beloved band to ever grace the stage. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr are undoubtedly some of the best musicians individually, but together, they became an absolute sensation that rocked the world from the ’60s and beyond.
Even after the assassination of John Lennon in 1980 and the death of George Harrison in 2003, the Beatles are still making music decades after their official breakup. While The Beatles: Anthology did bring eager fans the last recordings of “Real Love” and “Free as a Bird,” the last official Beatles track only existed in relics and recording leftovers… Until now.
The Last Beatles Song
It’s nearly impossible to write down all the achievements all four members of the band have under their collective belts, but over 213 songs, 12 studio albums, and a vice grip on popular culture for years are certainly nothing to sneeze at. Even Paul Mccartney himself admitted that a new Beatles song coming out in 2023 is unreal, but the amount of technical wizardry that made it happen is even wilder.
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While it is true that AI was indeed used to make this vision a reality, it’s truly not as nefarious as the idea might sound. All four Beatles are legitimately present on the track, nothing is created artificially, and the new and controversial technology is utilized to restore and enhance rather than to try to create something from an algorithm and leftover recordings.
For those still on the fence about AI or technology creating a new song from refurbished sounds, Disney+ has a documentary featuring all four Beatles. Several other personalities of the music industry such as George Martin, Sean Lennon, and Jeff Lynne offer commentary on how the track came to be. Like Peter Jackson’s Get Back, it’s a very intimate affair featuring footage and recordings of the band developing the song “Now and Then.”
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Jackson uses his cinematic expertise seen in the previous Beatles documentary to pull back the curtain on the recording process. Seeing the band back in the studio in both 1994 and 2023 definitely comes with a surreal flavor; even the surviving members offer commentary as to how incredible and unreal the experience was.
Now and Then: The Last Beatles Song can be viewed in its entirety on Disney+, and the long-awaited track releases November 2, 2023. Truly a legendary event for Beatles fans and music lovers everywhere, a miracle of technology has been pulled from the past to take a new generation of listeners on a journey with John, Paul, George, and Ringo.
Have you heard the Beatles’ “Now and Then?” Tell Inside the Magic what you thought in the comments below!