Paul McCartney & John Lennon - Finishing "Now and Then"

Yea I agree with all of this except real love which I never liked, FAAB is good though except for the horrible Lynne sound.

Now and then I think will be the high of highs to go out on.

Time will tell.

 

That may be, but the end result of Real Love was far superior to Free As A Bird. (In my opinion).

 

You won't get any argument from me.

 

A thought that just crossed my mind: the end of FAAB is a totally new piece of music from the Beatles, completely unrelated to John's demo, so that's probably why they made sure to include a sound clip of John on it. I wonder how that part came about, what the creative thought process was. I love the ukulele.

 

Perhaps that's the sum total of All For Love.

 

Is it George just riffing on uke based on the final chord of "freeee" at the end? Then he just adds a little ending to it. Always loved that little touch.

 

It's been a while since I watched it, but doesn't George play something very similar/exactly like that riff in those segments where the Threetles are hanging out in the backyard with ukes?

 

Is it just me -- after having first heard it via the TV Anthology -- I think the ukulele should have ended cold like in the video (minus the added smattering of applause) rather than fading out like the released version.

 

Only tangentially related but I can't find a thread for it, what the heck is going on here?

John Lennon demos being auctioned. 1967 Dear Prudence?!

 

In keeping with that logic, and maybe call me crazy, but don't I remember a member of the Anthology team saying years later that the ukulele on the end of FAAB was actually Jeff Lynne's sole contribution? (In the Lynne documentary, maybe?)
I know I saw (or read) an interview where a principal recalled that Lynne had asked to (anonymously, even), "make an appearance". And strumming one of Harrison's ukes was the compromise, rather than having him play earlier in the track as a 5th band member, which didn't seem quite right.
Anyone else remember hearing this? Or are we in Bladerunner territory and this is a "borrowed memory" I'm having?

 

I could have sworn that Jeff Lynne was also on snare drum. ;-)

 

Is it me or is there a uke at the end chorus of Real Love as well?

 

Always sounded like a banjo ukulele to me, I’m sure George owned one

 

I didn’t know there even was such a thing. Whatever it is, good old Wikipedia doesn’t list it; unless it’s an EQ’d acoustic with a capo way up high.

 

Banjo ukulele - Wikipedia

 

Very cool; I learned something new.

 

I don’t believe he is and I think he was very upset about it, if memory serves

 

Whether you like them or not FAAB and Real Love have become iconic, they have superseded any contemporary solo Beatles perhaps!

 

My understanding/recall is that he sings on the "freeeeee" at the end along with Ringo, mixed lower...

 

FAAB is my favorite, more than RL. Of course they are both great songs. They need a 2023 mixing treatment, so that they can improve and become even better and more magical. Just like N&T (I hope).

 

Is that in regard to George appearing in the FAAB video? The video director talked about how George wanted to play the stage entertainer at the end. The director turned him down, but expressed regret at the decision (especially after Harrison’s passing), since the cameo was so brief and only seen from behind.

Great to speculate about that ethereal and quirky outro though; it was such a Beatles moment.

 

I interpreted it as a Beatlesque false ending or whimsical ending as they had done so many times before.

 

IIRC the director said he later learned it was George playing the ukulele at the end, and if he had known that at the time, he would have enthusiastically had George play that part in the video.

 

I never knew that. Interesting