Slightly misleading article about it. I'm sure everyone's more interested in what the song sounds like, so here's that before I get to the details: Okay, now here's why I say that the article is slightly misleading. It acts like this is the first time that AI has been applied to something like that. Nope. Everything you've heard that's been recorded in the past 20+ years has had some kind of AI used to process the audio. Sometimes it's simple stuff, like punching up sounds that one wants to hear, other times it's been used to eliminate unwanted noises. That's essentially what's been done here. The original audio of John's vocals were shitty, and thanks to AI software they've been able to fix that. I know that there are people who'll talk about how this isn't really a Beatles song (despite the fact that it features all of the members of the band on the recording) because John had recorded the demo after the band broke up, and the other members performed their parts years after Lennon's murder, but fuck them. It doesn't matter if one likes the song or not, it gives us a glimpse into something we might never have heard at all. Sure, it probably doesn't sound anything at all like what they might have recorded, or John might have done as a solo artist, but so much of the things that they actually did together have been irrevocably lost, anything that we can recapture that gives us a whiff of the things they did is important. And I'm not just saying this because it's The Beatles, I'm saying this because so much music has been lost because it's ephemeral. A couple of years ago, I was listening to a podcast where a guy was talking about being at Prince's house for a party in the late 90s/early 00s. Now, Prince was such a badass that not only could he have top-tier musicians show up at his house for a party, but Prince could be "fashionably late" for the party in his own motherfucking house. So, they're all hanging out in the house waiting for Prince to show up, and suddenly the guy hears a piano being played. He looks over and it's Quincy Jones playing the piano, the next thing he knows, somebody else (don't remember who it was, but it was a big fucking name) playing a bass, then somebody picked up a guitar, then Joni Mitchell started singing, and other big names jumped in for the impromptu jam session. AFAIK, that exact group of musicians have never been recorded playing together. Some of them have worked together professionally and there are recordings of them doing that, but all of them, at the same time, just jamming and grooving with one another? I don't think that such a recording exists. Would I pay real money to hear such a recording, even if I didn't like some of the folks on it? Because, yes, a performance where everyone has practiced everything to perfection and they don't have to think about what they're going to do next is incredible, but so is just hearing insanely talented musical folks fooling around and having fun. In some ways, it's better than a polished performance because it captures the humanness of the process of creating art. I remember reading an article where the author was lamenting the fact that no one was producing a certain style of music anymore. Not that all new music was bad, just that if you happened to like this particular style there weren't any new bands making it. Well, except for one band. I'd never heard of the band before, I looked them up, and while there was nothing wrong with the music, there was also nothing surprising about it. It's sort of like seeing the song line-up for a concert by a favorite band of yours and noticing that it wasn't anything different than what you could find on their greatest hits album. In fact, when you watched the band in concert if you closed your eyes, you'd have thought that you were listening to the greatest hits album, rather than a live concert. So, not only were there no unexpected songs, but they didn't do anything unexpected with them. Which is okay, but probably not worth the ticket price you spent to see the show if you know what I mean.
It’s a very haunting song that made me feel both sad and happy at the same time. It’s a nice farewell, but I think Free as a Bird sounds the most like TheBeatles. It’s a shame that George Harrison couldn’t have had a better solo.
I’ve listened to it a few times now and it’s almost like if The Beatles wanted to do a follow up to A Day in the Life, but a modern interpretation. Well, John’s part at least.
George Harrison apparently thought the Lennon song was ‘fucking rubbish’ and didn’t want to release it. Paul’s own words. I don’t know if Harrison thought the song itself was rubbish or just the recording of it, so hard to know what he or John would have thought of this final release. It’s okay. Lennon’s voice is haunting and it does tug at the emotions a bit. At least three of the Beatles had some input in it. Not sure how much of Harrison’s contributions are in the final product but I guess this is the best they could have done under the circumstances. I like ‘Free As A Bird’ and ‘Real Love’ better.
Heh, thing is, I haven't heard every Beatles song ever, so I wouldn't know a genuine new one from one I just hadn't gotten to.
*waves to @Tuckerfan It's not a Beatles song. But, as you say, it's an interesting historical artifact that involved the four members of the band at one point or another.
For the Beatles I would put it in their B list. Of course the Beatles B list is like the A-list of most other performers. I did find it to be a bit underwhelming, but I blame that on the AI involvement. I think the Beatles would have made a production version with a bit extra. This seems to be where they would start before pouring in their spices. This is a baseline song. Not bad, just a reminder the beatles probably left better shit in the not finished category than the best of most modern artists.
I agree with @Tererune, it sounds like a B side, but the more I listen to it, the more I like it. @Tererune said almost verbatim what a guy I know said last night.
The fact that you can listen to most beatles songs over the course of time and they seem to get better with age and experience is part of the awesome that is good music. It goes along with lots of other groups also. That is what good music does. There are tons of songs I like today better than the first time I heard them. I didn't even care much for the beatles when I was young. One of the things I find amazing about music is how often musicians in their youth capture wisdom and lyrics that have a much more mature reality to them. Do they even know what they were saying at the ages they said them at?
