Now and Then (song)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (May 2007) |
 |
This article does not cite any references or sources. (June 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
| “Now and Then” | ||
|---|---|---|
| Song by John Lennon | ||
| Released | Unreleased | |
| Recorded | 1979 | |
| Genre | Rock music | |
| Length | 4:56 | |
| Writer | John Lennon | |
| Producer | John Lennon | |
| “Now and Then” | ||
|---|---|---|
| Song by The Beatles | ||
| Released | Unreleased | |
| Recorded | March 20–21, 1995 | |
| Genre | Rock music | |
| Length | Unknown | |
| Writer | John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr | |
| Producer | Jeff Lynne | |
"Now and Then" (a.k.a "I Don't Want to Lose You" or "Miss You") is the name given to an unreleased composition by John Lennon. It was first recorded in demo form in 1978 and was resurrected in 1995 as a third possible reunion single by Lennon's former band, The Beatles, for their 1995 autobiographical project The Beatles Anthology.
Contents |
[edit] Origins
"Now and Then" was written by John Lennon in the late 1970s, around the same time as the other two reunion songs "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love". The unfinished piece of music was originally recorded by Lennon in a demo form at his home at the Dakota Building, New York City, circa 1979.
[edit] The Beatles version
In January 1994, Paul McCartney was given two tape cassettes by John Lennon's widow Yoko Ono, which included home recordings of songs Lennon never completed or released commercially. The songs on the tape included the eventually completed and released "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love", in addition to two other songs "Grow Old with Me" and "Now and Then". In March 1995, the three surviving Beatles began work on "Now and Then" by recording a rough backing track that was to be used as an overdub. However, after only two days of recording, all work on the song ceased and plans for a third reunion single were scrapped permanently.
According to Paul McCartney, George Harrison "didn't want to do it," possibly because new verses would have had to been written. Producer Jeff Lynne reported that "It was one day – one afternoon, really – messing with it. The song had a chorus but is almost totally lacking in verses. We did the backing track, a rough go that we really didn't finish." An additional factor behind scrapping the song was a technical defect in the original recording. Like Real Love, a 60 cycles mains hum can be heard throughout Lennon's demo recording. However, it was much louder on the Now and Then recording, therefore making it much harder to remove.
Throughout 2005 and 2006, press reports speculated that McCartney and Starr would release a complete version of the song in the future. On April 29, 2007, it was reported in the Daily Express[1] that the song may be released to coincide with the Beatles catalogue being released for the first time via digital download. At the time of this writing, the only available recording of this song is Lennon's original demo(complete with the "electronic buzz" embeded in the recording). The overdubs added in 1995 by the other surviving members have yet to surface.
In 2007, reports circulated[2] that Paul McCartney was hoping to complete the song as a "Lennon/McCartney composition" by writing new verses, laying down a new drum track recorded by Ringo, and utilizing archival recordings of George Harrison's guitar work.
On Oktober 16th, the 1995 version of Now and Then, where the 3 remaining beatles had worked on, appeared as a bootleg. [3] The song was later released on "The Rotten Apple Tunes"[4][5]
In April 2008, The Sun reported that "there have been discussions about finishing 'Now and Then.'"[6] From there, the story was picked up and repeated by a number of music and entertainment media sources.
[edit] Lyrics
The lyrics are typical of the apologetic love songs that Lennon wrote in the later half of his career after his short break-up with wife Yoko Ono. Despite reports, for the most part, the verses are nearly complete, however there are still a few lines that Lennon didn't flesh out on the demo tape performance.[citation needed]
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Audio clip of the original "Now and Then" demo
- Paul McCartney regrets not finishing third Beatles reunion song
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
