The Beatles鈥� 鈥�,鈥� released 61 years after their first single, was bound to be significant.
But how did John Lennon鈥檚 lo-fi, 40-something-year-old cassette recording of Now and Then 鈥� deemed by George Harrison during the to revive the song 鈥� become an instant and worthy addition to the Beatles鈥� catalogue in 2023?
Beyond the salvage of Lennon鈥檚 voice from the noisy cassette, it is worth examining Lennon鈥檚 raw materials, and the strategies that made the unfinished musical sketch a Beatles鈥� song.
Personal music memo
Had Harrison told Lennon himself that the song was rubbish, Lennon might have responded, 鈥淲ell I鈥檓 not finished with it yet, am I mate?鈥�
Lennon鈥檚 original was not made for formal presentation (to a music publisher, for instance).
It was a personal memorandum to capture basic song ideas 鈥� something musicians do all the time. If they stopped there, Yesterday would be and the Rolling Stones鈥� Satisfaction would be one minute of Keith Richards鈥檚 signature riff and .
Unorthodox compositional form
The surviving two Beatles decided to finish the song in 2023, bringing in producer Giles Martin, son of George, the , and incorporating Harrison鈥檚 guitar parts from 1995. The from these sessions, marked up by producer Jeff Lynne, suggest Lennon hadn鈥檛 titled his song-in-progress.
What likely bothered Harrison most about Lennon鈥檚 recording was its unorthodox application of verse-chorus song form. In verse-chorus form, the chorus typically provides the main 鈥渉ook.鈥�
Verse-chorus songs occassionally feature a 鈥減re-chorus,鈥� which follows the verse to set up the chorus.
Another section common in verse-chorus songs is the bridge, usually a contrasting musical idea introduced only after the verse and chorus.
Delayed chorus
On Lennon鈥檚 recording (), Lennon introduced a bridge-like section where a pre-chorus would normally go. But rather than propelling the song toward the chorus, it meanders awkwardly, delaying and undermining the arrival of the chorus hook.
John most certainly would have revised this. In his absence, Martin and the remaining Beatles opted for the only solution available: cutting Lennon鈥檚 misplaced, unfinished pre-chorus/bridge and composing a new bridge.
Most Beatles鈥� songs in major keys
Now and Then plays on the . Major keys are commonly described as 鈥渂right鈥� or 鈥渉appy,鈥� while minor keys are often described as 鈥渄ark鈥� or 鈥渟ad.鈥�
Major-key songs dominate the Beatles鈥� catalogue, comprising of their recordings. Only four per cent remain entirely in minor keys, including and .
Now and Then is among the remaining 15 per cent of Beatles鈥� songs that move between major-key and minor-key sections, alongside or .
Lennon鈥檚 verse for Now and Then is among the most minor-laden sections of any Beatles song, opening with alternating minor chords. Mired in minor darkness, Lennon engages a reminiscent of Beethoven or Schubert, shifting abruptly to a major-chord refuge (on the sixth scale degree). But this ray of brightness is illusory; listeners feel the inevitable pull back to minor-key darkness.
The sound of nostalgia?
As musicologist explains, this particular compositional strategy evokes 鈥淣ever Never land.鈥�: it 鈥渧ariously radiates hope, escape or nostalgia for a lost arcadia 鈥� but it takes only a half-step drop in the bass to return the piece to harsh, unmerciful reality.鈥�
and his descending opening phrases strongly imply a melodic resolution to the home pitch (A). Following the aforementioned glimmer of major-chord brightness (on 鈥渕ake it through鈥�) and its slide down to the E dominant chord (鈥渋t鈥檚 all because of 鈥︹��), Lennon pauses dramatically.
Finally, Lennon intones the last word (鈥測ou鈥�) over the inevitable return to A minor. But rather than the expected melodic resolution down to the home pitch, Lennon clings hauntingly to a dissonant note (B) one step above, before ending with 鈥測ou-ooh-ooh-ooh鈥� 鈥� a trademark vocal ornament.
Seeking relief in the chorus
Pop convention would grant a major-key payoff at the chorus, but Lennon鈥檚 pre-chorus/bridge thwarts any such gratification. So the 2023 Beatles cut it, opting for a conventional move directly to the major-key chorus.
The reward is bittersweet. Rather than moving upward to the stable, conventional major key alternative (the so-called relative major), the chorus falls a whole step to G major. Lennon鈥檚 melody seeks to ascend, but the melodic leap (on 鈥淚 miss you鈥�) is tinged by a passing minor chord (a common strategy to evoke longing, as in the opening melodic leap of the classic .)
This is not the magical moment we have so often experienced with the Beatles, Beatle-esque strings notwithsanding. Rather than transcendence, fond remembrance settles into resigned acceptance.
Admirable guitar tribute, but not Harrison
The transcendent gesture comes with the newly composed instrumental bridge, which does move up to the satisfying relative major. McCartney鈥檚 soaring slide guitar is a beautiful invocation of Harrison鈥檚 melodic sense and phrasing. But it is unmistakably not the Beatles鈥� late, inimitable guitarist. It is hard not to hear this loss in McCartney鈥檚 tribute.
Equally painful is the impossibility of Lennon and his bandmates working his pre-chorus/bridge section into the song. It contains some of the most expressive moments on Lennon鈥檚 recording.
Their last song offers a real experience of a glorious past, but makes painfully audible what has been lost.
, Associate professor of musicology,
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