The Beatles - Now And Then - The Last Beatles Song (Short Film)

Of the loves of my life none has been as strong as my affection for All Things The Beatles. I have strong memories as a six or seven-year-old belting out Beatles tunes with my siblings on my grandmother’s porch in San Gabriel after an older sister got in a heated discussion with an uncle about whether their music was any good. Around then I remember the one time going to watch a baseball game with dad and the siblings and we got there too early or something, and while walking around we passed a record store where either A Hard Days Night or Meet the Beatles was on display in the record store window.

Fast-forward to the early 1980s, I’d been playing and writing music since my teens and was still trying to figure things out and I couldn’t seem to get enough of listening to The Beatles. The obsession got to the point where when one of my high school Jesus-freak friends was visiting commented, “Isn’t that [old] water under the bridge?” Whatever. I gave up on my own songwriting and would consume whatever new re-release in whatever new format was trickled my way. I can’t tell you how many times or versions of the White Album I’ve purchased. Sargent Peppers, The White Album and eventually Let It Be “Super Deluxe” box sets… During the Summer of 2017 driving across the US, listening to the deluxe box set of Sargent Peppers, all the different tracks and different versions of the songs as they worked toward the songs we knew was an eye-opening experience. I was so onboard when Peter Jackson announced that he was putting together what would become the Get Back mini-series using new technology to clean up the audio tracks and present a more balanced version of what had been the Let It Be movie. When an IMAX simulcast version of the Rooftop Concert was shown in theaters in January 2022 I put on my mask and joined the theater full of mostly boomers to re-experience the magic of the Beatles last public performance.

Beatles Deluxe Box Sets and Books and poster

When I watched the 12-minute documentary about the creation of this latest Beatles released I felt the importance of what was being shared. I’d read the negative comments shared in the Lefsetz Letters mostly criticizing what they felt was another McCartney hagiography of this demo recording that should have never seen the light of day. Watching the documentary, part of me had a sense of what we lost when John died and then when George died. I’ve seen some artists performing in their prime and then again forty-years later… as much as I want to be supportive of their legacy and whatever drives them to continue to share their music, at the same time I decided not to see a couple artists/bands because I wanted to remember them from an earlier time and not tarnish those memories. But this is a bit different. I’m the fan that still has Beatles posters on my walls and bought all of those deluxe box sets…. No one is going to persuade me from enjoying this track or from sharing it with others. That said, I’m posting the audio only version of the song (below) because I found the VEVO video versions a bit too uncanny valley and a little distracting with John dancing and being silly. I’ll link the video version below but would suggest listening to the song first (after the short documentary above). I love that we have the technology to take a recording that couldn’t be used in the 1990s and clean it up so that the surviving members can sing with their friend one last time. Enjoy (and love one another).