"Now And Then" Two Years On

The Beatles Forgotten Final Single

As the Beatles try in vain to increase market share with people under the age of 40, one wonders how they will do that with their latest release, Anthology 4. A collection of outtakes and unreleased material from the band’s heyday, this superfluous fourth Anthology set (containing material that wasn’t good enough to make it into volumes 1–3 back in the 1990s), has been given release two years after its logical companion piece, the AI single Now And Then, was released to push the revamped greatest hits compilations, 1962-1966 and 1967-1970, in 2023.

Now And Then? That title rings a bell. Of course – the John Lennon demo that was given the ultimate spit shine to pass as the heralded “Beatles Final Single.” Now largely forgotten and lost in the digital wasteland of the public’s poorly maintained iCloud storage, this Frankenstein mash up of a rough John Lennon demo from 1977 was brought to life via digital tinkering and the blessing of the two remaining Beatles. Though originally derided by George Harrison in the 1990s, Paul McCartney viewed it as his last chance to “collaborate with John.”

All the stops were pulled out to make Lennon’s abandoned demo a hit single. After Now And Then was put through the 21st Century pop music machine, the track became a viral hit in November 2023, only to fall off the charts after a few weeks when the novelty had worn off.

Were Beatles fans actually expecting a song on the level of Eleanor Rigby, Strawberry Fields Forever or Here Comes the Sun? Only a fool would expect a “classic” concocted from a rejected 45-year old demo and two 80+year-old rock dinosaurs. But the money invested in the marketing campaign was so effective that fans hastily (and clumsily) called the song “canonical” a day after its release.

Now And Then was released with an unprecedented level of media hype: A mini-documentary on how the song was built was released, followed by the single the next day, and on day three, a music video created by Lord Of the Rings movie director Peter Jackson. Thousands weighed in on social media to join the mass weep-a-thon that played out as people actually cried in their YouTube reaction videos. Thumbnails of over dramatized emotions got maximum clicks. Many held it together long enough to condemn those who didn’t shed tears as “not having a soul.”

Twenty-four months later, after advocates of the song had had a good cry, they collected themselves and moved on from the event, as if Now And Then had never happened.

Case in point: In November 2023, the song entered the Billboard Top 100 Pop Chart at #7, falling to #76 the following week and dropping off the chart entirely a week later. It fared slightly better in the United Kingdom lasting four weeks on the charts before disappearing.

This quick look at the chart action of the song suggests that the curiosity wore off immediately and the quality of the song, or the lack thereof, didn’t invoke repeated listens. For a single to place at or near the top of the chart the week of release and then drop off so quickly shows that the marketing hype simply couldn’t be sustained for more than a couple of weeks. Great songs don’t need continued marketing; they enjoy long stays on the charts because they catch fire as more and more people listen, re-listen, buy, and share. Now And Then’s chart performance suggests it was quickly abandoned by even the most devoted Beatles fans.

Separating the Song From the Video

The brilliance of the marketing campaign focused on archival video, triggering maximum sentiment and making it hard for fans to separate the song from the images in the videos. While many fans conceded that the song was not up to Beatles standards, they admitted to being swept up in a sea of wistful nostalgia, making it difficult to discuss the actual music and lyrics critically.

A Song As Boring As Its Title

The incredible speed that AI has advanced since the release of Now And Then has made a relatively new song seem dated in the worst way. The over reliance on software and “artificial intelligence” to enhance Lennon’s vocal gives the song a lack of authenticity. If the Beatles were ever anything, it was authentic.

The production team went to the moon to make the backing track into something worthy of The Beatles. The use of backing vocals from old Beatles songs and McCartney’s ultra bland guitar solo (a poor tribute to Harrison), all fell flat as they tried in vain to elevated the song to the level of magic found in lesser songs from The Beatles vast catalog. Furthermore, McCartney’s obsession with collaborating with the ghost of Lennon exposed his self absorption, spreading himself thin trying to honor both Lennon and Harrison simultaneously.

Also noticeable is the weakness of the lyrics which unveil their triteness and rudimentary rhyming, suggesting they may have been merely place holders for later editing.

Melodically is where the song falters the most with a complete lack of a hook instrumentally or in the melody. Beatles classics were “classics” because they left the listener wanting more. Now And Then is somehow lacking in every musical area all while seeming self-indulgent.

The strategy of releasing Now And Then as a part of the expanded 1962-1966 and 1967-1970 hits compilation (aka The Red and Blue Albums) was an obvious attempt to maximize the hype to pull in a younger audience, or perhaps to make sure Now And Then got done while two Beatles were still alive. Either way, it was presumptuous to add Now And Then to the Beatles 1967-70 Greatest Hits package, as if it belongs along side monumental works like Penny Lane, Something, or A Day In The Life.



Fans willingly caught up in the hysteria went so far as to call Now And Then “the perfect way to sum up the Beatles legacy.” But as time will show, a song this trite will never sum up a legacy that large.

Watch the Video Below: NOW AND THEN and How People React to It

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Pop Goes the 60s is dedicated to reviewing and presenting 60s music, both rare and popular, praised and scorned, under appreciated and underrated. This channel will offer regular commentary on the Beatles as well as other groups, both acclaimed and obscure. Album reviews, band histories, vinyl discographies, Albums That Never Were, and song samples, will all be part of a larger focus.