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Thu, 02 Nov 2023 21:19:30 GMT

[1/7] Those of you who know me as A Serious Beatles Guy (I ran Hey Dullblog for 15 years) won't be surprised I have Thoughts today. I know Now and Then from this bootleg: https://youtu.be/E1CK4MV-zpM?si=IeSFBUYRKhKEuK1a&t=458

[2/7] It's a lovely little scrap, but today's release underwhelmed me. Before talking about N&T, I'll say I liked the Threetles tracks; I think "Free As A Bird" was the most successful, for reasons I'll explain.

[3/7] The magic of The Beatles was the mixture of all four. I firmly reject Lennon's 1970 statement that The Beatles became "me and a backing group, Paul and a backing group..." Without Paul & Ringo, "Come Together" is just a summer house for Morris Levy.

[4/7] The posthumous songs work to the degree that the other Beatles contribute, and fail when the surviving Beatles hold back. FAAB really sets its hook when Paul and George sing "Whatever happened to..." Goosepimples, and that's how I tell Beatle Music.

[5/7] Harrison's Real Love solo is great, but when the song goes back to Lennon's demo, it's inert. Lynne's production is fine when it gives dynamics, but when it's merely thickening a simple, partially worked out piano demo, it's not great, and I like ELO.

[6/7] Beatle music has a lot of ideas, tension, contrast. When the others are reverent the demos sound like what they are: half-formed ideas recorded with not-a-real-take energy, slowed by ponderous production. John needs the other Fabs to kick it in the ass, as they did.

[7/7] I'm happy to have N&T, but had I been consulted :-), I'd've told Paul "go quiet, and make your mark on it. Contrast. 'Getting better/get no worse.'" Anyway, listen if you haven't & reply with your own 2c. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AW55J2zE3N4

Thu, 02 Nov 2023 21:19:29 GMT

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Thu, 02 Nov 2023 21:05:36 GMT

[2/7] It's a lovely little scrap, but to dog-in-the-manger it, today's release underwhelmed me. Before talking about N&T, I want to say I liked the Threetles tracks released as part of Anthology. I think "Free As A Bird" was the most successful, for reasons I'll explain.

[3/7] The magic of The Beatles was the mixture of all four (yes, Ringo too). I firmly reject Lennon's Wenner-era statement that The Beatles became "me and a backing group, Paul and a backing group..." What would "Come Together" be without Paul and Ringo? A summer house for Morris Levy.

[4/7] These posthumous songs are successful to the degree that the other Beatles *contribute*, and fail when the surviving Beatles stay off Lennon's material. FAAB really sets its hook when Paul and George sing "Whatever happened to..." Goosepimples, and that's how I tell Beatle Music.

[5/7] Real Love has some energy in the production & Harrison's solo is great. But when the song goes back to Lennon's demo, it's inert. Lynne's production is fine when it gives dynamics, but when it's merely thickening a simple, partially worked out piano demo, it's not great, and I like ELO.

[6/7] Beatle music has a lot of ideas, tension, contrast. When the others are too reverent the Lennon demos sound like what they are: half-formed ideas recorded with not-a-real-take energy. Lynne's production makes it even deader. John needs the other Fabs to kick it in the ass, as they did.

[7/7] I'm happy to have N&T, but had I been consulted :-), I'd've told Paul "go quiet -- think Julia -- and make your mark on it. Think, 'What would John have done if the situation was reversed?'" Anyway, listen if you haven't & reply with your own 2c. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AW55J2zE3N4

Thu, 02 Nov 2023 21:05:24 GMT

[1/7] Some of you know me as A Serious Beatles Guy (I ran Hey Dullblog for 15 years), so no surprise I have thoughts about Now and Then. I'm not a musician, just a writer with OK ears. I know N&T from the bootleg "The Dakota Beatle Demos": https://youtu.be/E1CK4MV-zpM?si=EqSfGpvGrHcjvawR&t=458

Thu, 02 Nov 2023 21:05:24 GMT

Thu, 02 Nov 2023 20:40:40 GMT

Some of you know me as A Serious Beatles Guy (I ran the very large Beatles blog Hey Dullblog for 15 years), so you won't be surprised I have a few thoughts about "Now and Then." I'm not a musician, just a writer with reasonably good ears. I know this song best in this form, from the bootleg "The Dakota Beatle Demos": https://youtu.be/E1CK4MV-zpM?si=EqSfGpvGrHcjvawR&t=458

It's a lovely little scrap, and what's not to like about New Beatles Music? Well, to dog-in-the-manger it, it's not really Beatles Music, and you can hear it. Before talking about "Now and Then," I want to say I liked the Threetles tracks released as part of Anthology. I think "Free As A Bird" was the most successful, but "Real Love" was a fine little song. Now we have "Now and Then" as the final of the three songs on the tape handed over by Yoko, and basta cosi.

The magic of The Beatles was the mixture of the four of them (yes, Ringo very much included), something that happened when they got into the studio together. I firmly reject Lennon's Wenner-era statement that The Beatles were at any point "me and a backing group, Paul and a backing group..." Even in late-era Beatles, this is silly; what would "Come Together" be without Paul and Ringo's contribution? A summer house for Morris Levy.

To me, these posthumous songs are successful to the degree that the other Beatles *contribute* to Lennon's demos--when they are not intimidated--and they are largely unsuccessful when the surviving Beatles stay off and away from Lennon's material. FAAB, for me, really sets its hook when Paul and George sing the "Whatever happened to..." Goosepimples as I listen now, and that's how I personally tell Beatle Music.

Real Love, too, has some real energy in the production--bombast, even--and Harrison's solo is great, pure Beatles. But RL's energy slows way down when the song goes back to Lennon's demo. "Why are we listening again? Oh right, these guys were The Beatles..." Lynne's production is fine when it gives the song dynamics, but when it's merely thickening a simple, partially worked out piano demo, it's not great. Certainly not Beatle-y, and I like ELO.

Beatles songs have a lot in them; a lot of ideas, a lot of tension, a lot of surprise, a lot of juxtaposition. When the others stay back--when they are too reverent--the Lennon demos sound inert...as you'd think they would. The demo was recorded with less-than-a-real-take energy by John still working it out during a somewhat aimless part of his musical life, and that seeps into the track. When you add chugging strings and all the rest, the track grows even deader. You need the other Beatles to come in and kick it in the ass, as they always did for each other. It's unfair to expect P & R to do any ass-kicking at 83 and 81, and with the somewhat claustrophobic reverence many fans have towards John.

I'm happy Now and Then was finished in any form, but had I been consulted :-), I would've recommended to Paul and Ringo NOT to try to make it like FAAB and RL -- a Lynne-frosted Dakota-demo. The original demo, plus the circumstances of today suggests to me that if they'd gone quiet and intimate, delicate, even, and Paul had put more of his mark on it--done a classic "getting better/can't get worse" two-hander, "Now and Then" would've been more Beatle-y. Anyway, listen if you haven't, and reply with your own 2c. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AW55J2zE3N4