In order to understand the impact of The Beatles newest single, “Now and Then”, you must understand the impact The Beatles had on society as a whole.
In 1964, the four men—John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison—landed in San Francisco with hopes of making it in the American music industry. When they walked off the plane steps, they were greeted by nearly 50,000 people waiting within the airport.
Lines of people, blocks long, waited outside the Fox Theater for their show. Fans did the same for their Cow Palace concert. As they were preparing to play songs like “She Loves You“, a din of screams ensued. Audience members would grasp onto their ears, not from the volume of the music, but from the volume of the crowd.
Eventually, the band stopped touring because of that volume, but alas the insane amount of stress of being on the road, followed day and night by fans. However, stopping their tours didn’t stop the band as a whole: they still continued to make albums until 1970 when the band officially broke up.
And now, as of November 2nd, 2023, there is more.
In the 1990’s, cassette tapes with rough recordings made by John Lennon were given to Paul McCartney by Lennon’s longtime partner, Yoko Ono. Lennon had a habit of this—putting a tape recorder in a room and recording his song ideas. Some were released with Ringo Starr, Harrison, and McCartney in the 90’s giving the songs their final finish.
But a final recording existed—“Now and Then.” With this recording, however, there was an issue. Lennon used one tape and one mic for the many elements of the song (including vocals, piano, and many other instruments). Even with the best technology available, fixing the recording was only frustrating.
But when Peter Jackson came along, it all got easier.
Jackson is best known for directing the “Lord of the Rings,” but he is also credited with creating The Beatles documentary, “Get Back.” By using machine learning, he was able to use generative AI to enhance the music and vocals, and suddenly Lennon’s voice was clear in the studio again.
All of this led to the release of a 12-minute short film and a not-so-brand-new Beatles record. Perhaps the last Beatles album ever to be released.
