Now and Then song from John
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Interesting article from Ultimate Classic Rock...didn't see this posted anywhere else so putting here....
@UltClassicRock: Hear the John Lennon demo that nearly became the Beatles last song: http://t.co/PPbCRaqIaR http://t.co/XiVvAnwNSX -
Apparently, George nixed it. Paul wanted to do it. IMO, much better sound quality & better words/melody than Free as a Bird. They could have done a lot with it.
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I reckon they'd have had to conjure one hell of a bridge and harmonies to bring it alive. It is very flat at times. Yet there is a seed. I do hope Paul gets to finish it off. Even if just because it was left "For Paul." But I can also envisage George thinking, and more so saying it was underwhelming.
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it's a sleeper
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Reckon it's like most of the Dakota demos, pretty dreary, to be honest. Probably best it wasn't completed. Grow Old With Me is lovely though. Disappointed Lynne made John's vocal on Free As A Bird WORSE than what"s on his demo!!! If only Nobody Told Me was held back until Anthology. Imagine that studio quality track augmented by The Beatles!
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It's a bonus track on the unoffical CD "Last Licks Live: The Complete Rooftop Concert". It's tracklisted as "Now and Then (New Version)". What new version means I don't know, but it sound like an attempt to 'prepare it' for release. It's okay but not an extremely memorable song to my ears.
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I vaguely recall they began work on it but gave up. George nixed it but I think the demo was affected by a constant buzz or something running along John"s vocal.
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moptops:
I vaguely recall they began work on it but gave up. George nixed it but I think the demo was affected by a constant buzz or something running along John"s vocal.
"Boys, are you buzzing?" "No, thanks, we've got the car."
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Nancy R:
moptops:
I vaguely recall they began work on it but gave up. George nixed it but I think the demo was affected by a constant buzz or something running along John"s vocal.
"Boys, are you buzzing?" "No, thanks, we've got the car."
I was actually thinking of that while typing my post! And somehow I recall rattling it off a few months ago in a post somewhere. Easier to interpolate into a discussion than chat about why Ringo likes to keep his head in railings...or the royal house of Hanover using "the wheel."
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moptops:
Reckon it's like most of the Dakota demos, pretty dreary, to be honest. Probably best it wasn't completed. Grow Old With Me is lovely though. Disappointed Lynne made John's vocal on Free As A Bird WORSE than what"s on his demo!!! If only Nobody Told Me was held back until Anthology. Imagine that studio quality track augmented by The Beatles!
Nobody Told Me.... Too good to be true for that to be left over... A real cracker, that song. Although George likely to say, "We're not messing with that!"... It's a great song. Love it. Always a good song to sing when one's having a bad day, not necessarily when wandering past the office of the boss. I continue to grow more fond of Grow Old With Me. Saddens me though hearing it. I trust my memory isn't belying me here, but I always found it perplexing that "Real Love" was being touted as new, when it was clearly on the Imagine movie Soundtrack many years earlier.
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toris:
moptops:
Reckon it's like most of the Dakota demos, pretty dreary, to be honest. Probably best it wasn't completed. Grow Old With Me is lovely though. Disappointed Lynne made John's vocal on Free As A Bird WORSE than what"s on his demo!!! If only Nobody Told Me was held back until Anthology. Imagine that studio quality track augmented by The Beatles!
Nobody Told Me.... Too good to be true for that to be left over... A real cracker, that song. Although George likely to say, "We're not messing with that!"... It's a great song. Love it. Always a good song to sing when one's having a bad day, not necessarily when wandering past the office of the boss. I continue to grow more fond of Grow Old With Me. Saddens me though hearing it. I trust my memory isn't belying me here, but I always found it perplexing that "Real Love" was being touted as new, when it was clearly on the Imagine movie Soundtrack many years earlier.
Correct. Not even Paul, George and Ringo were aware of that. Furthermore they were pushing FAAB as never before heard - again, it was circulating for years amongst collectors and first aired on The Lost Lennon Tapes radio series! For the diehards the surprise wasn't the song - it was anticipating what they'd do to it.
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I've been listening to this song a lot recently, and I think it would be a very poignant tribute if Paul and Ringo ever worked on it and released it to commemorate what would be John's 75th birthday in October. I think the song deserves an official release at some point.
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I thought I had posted about this song. Well I love it. It has a lot to work with, wish someone would do it the honor.
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moptops:
Reckon it's like most of the Dakota demos, pretty dreary, to be honest. Probably best it wasn't completed. Grow Old With Me is lovely though. Disappointed Lynne made John's vocal on Free As A Bird WORSE than what"s on his demo!!! If only Nobody Told Me was held back until Anthology. Imagine that studio quality track augmented by The Beatles!
Lynne should have been taken out and shot.
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Squid:
moptops:
Reckon it's like most of the Dakota demos, pretty dreary, to be honest. Probably best it wasn't completed. Grow Old With Me is lovely though. Disappointed Lynne made John's vocal on Free As A Bird WORSE than what"s on his demo!!! If only Nobody Told Me was held back until Anthology. Imagine that studio quality track augmented by The Beatles!
Lynne should have been taken out and shot.
I wanna buy you a drink!
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Awwww, bullshite! Jeff Lynne did a GREAT job. BTW, I love Grow Old With Me. It was our wedding song, we used the Mary Chapin Carpenter version, which is quite beautiful.
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RMartinez:
Awwww, bullshite! Jeff Lynne did a GREAT job. BTW, I love Grow Old With Me. It was our wedding song, we used the Mary Chapin Carpenter version, which is quite beautiful.
It's a gorgeous song.
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I didn't much like Grow Old With Me. I really did like Free As a Bird, and I loved Real Love. Sadly both these songs were turned into ELO tribute songs (as was Flaming Pie) by Lynne, which was a real shame. Still they retain moments of greatness, despite the production.
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Squid:
I didn't much like Grow Old With Me. I really did like Free As a Bird, and I loved Real Love. Sadly both these songs were turned into ELO tribute songs (as was Flaming Pie) by Lynne, which was a real shame. Still they retain moments of greatness, despite the production.
That damned awful drum sound he gets. To this day I'm amazed that John's vocal on the cassette demo is better quality than what appeared on the released version! Second: Real Love was speeded up so much it detracts from the beauty of the original song. Still - both released versions were ok'd by The Beatles. But....
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John's voice on the cassette is not better quality. It is just easier to hear on its own. Those cassette demos are actually REALLY bad, sonically. Instead of trashing Jeff Lynne, you should thank him for doing such a great job with what little he had to work with. The songs are cool, and all you REALLY hear added are Ringo's drums, Paul's bass, George's guitar, and a lot of overlaid vocals, ala ELO. Or not. More like what you hear on Abbey Road, and Sgt. Pepper's, which was the template for early ELO. Truth is, what we got is about all you can do with those recordings. Sorry folks, but that is about what the Beatles would have sounded like had they stayed together, or reunited, which is what Free As A Bird and Real Love are: the Beatles reunion we all waited for. Kind of.
