When we talk about this band, we are necessarily talking about the most enormous, transcendental and unsurpassable milestone in the history of contemporary music. Perhaps, together with the arrival of the Internet and the fall of Communism; the Beatles are immaterial heritage of Humanity. I don't know anyone who hasn't heard a song of theirs, or at least, who doesn't consider them as the best or in the top 3 of all times.... I myself, grew up listening to them every weekend with my father. They are everywhere...
A few days ago, the last two members still alive of the mythical Liverpool band, together with Lennon's widow and Harrison, released the song "Now and Then". As the story goes, it was the last piece of a total of 3 songs that Yoko Ono provided in the 90's to the three Beatles who were still alive at that time and wished to compose a last honorary album (which they did). At that time, "Free as a bird" and "Real Love" were the songs that saw the light of day.
Both (songs) had music videos, one better than the other, (I'll leave the two clips for you to decide, but the melancholy full of beatlemania that we can see in "Free as a bird", still makes my skin crawl) and at that moment everybody thought it would be the end; that the Fab Four had already reached their limit. John had been cruelly murdered a decade before (December 1980) and the magic that only these incredible musicians could have had had already given all it could offer us? How wrong we were.
More than 30 years in the future, in the midst of the AI (artificial intelligences) debate, that third piece in song form, which in the 90's could not be released because Lennon's voice and the piano-laden musical background and vocal arrangements were impossible to segment according to the music editing advances of that time, made it impossible for the full 3-song set to see the light of day. As I mentioned, we were only able to witness 2 out of 3....
Years passed, technology not only evolved in a way that has transformed absolutely everything, but made it possible, already without George Harrison and John Lennon (both dead), for the Beatles to reunite once again. "Now and Then" is not only the last song we will ever hear from them, it is the definitive legacy of a band that changed absolutely everything. Generational fans, that is, those who share age with the members of the Beatles, count 80 years and older...
And in each and every one of the music billboards where there is a record, including streaming platforms and music consumption apps, the download, visualization and reproduction figures are gigantic... What does this mean? That the Beatles are not only unbeatable, but timeless? It's a tradition that is passed down from grandfather to father, and then to the grandchildren.... We will all love them, and I don't think we can ever let anyone surpass them. Not even epic artists like Michael Jackson, The Rolling Stones or Prince.
Speaking with total honesty, of the last three Beatles songs, "Now and Then" is my least favorite. Which does NOT mean that it is a bad song. If not, that compared to the melodic poems that are "Free as a bird" and "Real Love", I simply cannot betray my passion, my taste, my subjective appreciation of what I consider captivating. This last song has the essence of Lennon. That romantic and sensitive touch of his solo works. Typical of the era of romance with Yoko Ono. I like what the Beatles have done, and I respect the fact that AI helped make this milestone possible. One last show for the greatest 4 that ever lived.
