Now and Then (John Lennon song)

"Now and Then" (sometimes referred to as "I Don't Want to Lose You" or "Miss You"[1]) is an unfinished song by John Lennon, recorded in 1978 as a solo piano/vocal demo. After his death, it was considered as a third possible reunion single by his former band, the Beatles, for their 1995 autobiographical project The Beatles Anthology, following "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love".

"Now and Then"
Song by John Lennon
Recorded1978
StudioThe Dakota (New York City)
Length4:56
Songwriter(s)John Lennon
"Now and Then"
Song by The Beatles
Recorded20–21 March 1995
Studio
Songwriter(s)John Lennon
Producer(s)Jeff Lynne

Lennon wrote "Now and Then" in the late 1970s. He recorded the unfinished piece of music in a demo form at his home at the Dakota Building, New York City, 1978. The lyrics are typical of the apologetic love songs that Lennon wrote in the latter half of his career. Despite reports, for the most part the verses are nearly complete, though there are still a few lines that Lennon did not flesh out on the demo tape performance.

The Beatles' version

In January 1994, Paul McCartney was given two tape cassettes by Lennon's widow Yoko Ono that included home recordings of songs Lennon never completed or released commercially. The songs on one of the tapes included the eventually completed and released "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love". The two other songs on the other tape were "Grow Old With Me" and "Now and Then".[1] 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.

Producer Jeff Lynne reported that sessions for "Now and Then" consisted only of "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."[2] An additional factor behind scrapping the song was a technical defect in the original recording. As with "Real Love", a 60-cycle mains hum can be heard throughout Lennon's demo recording. However, it was noticeably louder on '"Now and Then", making it much harder to remove.

The project was largely shelved due to Harrison's dislike of the song. McCartney later stated that Harrison called Lennon's demo recording "fucking rubbish."[3] McCartney told Q Magazine in 1997 that "George didn't like it. The Beatles being a democracy, we didn't do it."[4] An unnamed participant in the sessions told the Daily Express: "George just didn’t want to rework it because it’s not a matter of putting some vocals, or a bit of bass and drums to finish it. With this, you have to really build the song."[2]

Bootlegs and reports

Throughout 2005 and 2006, press reports speculated that McCartney and Starr would release a complete version of the song in the future. On 29 April 2007, the Daily Express reported that the song might be released to coincide with the Beatles catalogue being released for the first time via digital download.[2] Additional reports circulated that same year[5] that 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 Starr,[6] and utilising archival recordings of Harrison's guitar work.

The only (official) available recording of the song is Lennon's original demo. In February 2009, the same version of Lennon's recording was released on a bootleg CD, taken from a different source, with none of the "buzz" which hampered the Beatles recording of the song in 1995. The overdubs added in 1995 by the other surviving members have yet to surface.

A popular mix that surfaced in 2007 called the "1995 edit" consists of Lennon's original demo along with instrumental overdubs (maybe by an artist who goes by the name "iamaphoney"). It is not confirmed that this mix does contain the work that the three surviving members of the Beatles recorded in the 1990s.[7]

During a Jeff Lynne documentary shown on BBC Four in 2012, Paul McCartney stated about the song: "And there was another one that we started working on, but George went off it...that one's still lingering around, so I'm going to nick in with Jeff and do it. Finish it, one of these days."[8]

See also

References
  1. Badman, Keith (2001). The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After The Break-Up 1970–2001. Ominibus Press. p. 517. ISBN 9780857120014.
  2. Goodman, Chris (29 April 2007). "Beatles Back to Where They Once Belonged". Daily Express. Retrieved 22 December 2009.
  3. YouTube video: "The Last Lennon/McCartney Song? (Now And Then)."
  4. "Paul McCartney". Q Magazine (129). June 1997. p. 108.
  5. www.inthenews.co.uk Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  6. "Now And Then". The Beatles Bible. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  7. "Now and Then ready to be released". Beatles News. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  8. "Mr Blue Sky: The Story of Jeff Lynne and ELO". Music Stories. 5 October 2012. BBC. BBC Four. Transcript Preview.

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