an insult to the beatles' legacy

 It's been a couple days since the release of "Now and Then," the Beatles' latest last song ever. Judging by what I am seeing on the intertubes, most people -- or at least most of the people who are stating their opinions -- love it. To be sure, there are some naysayers, but it appears that they are in the minority.

And I share that minority opinion.

I think the following may be helpful in case anyone wants context to help decide how seriously to take my opinion. First, I have to acknowledge the Beatles' greatness -- as among the most successful and influential bands in rock history. That said, they are not among my favorite bands, though I do love a lot of their music. I have a general familiarity with their body of work, though I don't have an encyclopedic knowledge of it.

It may also be helpful to briefly review the history of the song -- in case there's anyone who's reading this and doesn't know the history. Thirty or so years ago, when preparations were being made for the Anthology albums, the three then-surviving Beatles took rough demos that John Lennon had been working on when he died, cleaned them up, added their own touches and created two fully-produced records. The results, "Free As a Bird" and "Real Love" were released on Anthology 1 and Anthology 2. A third song, "Now and Then," wasn't completed at the time. The official reason is that the tape was in too poor condition to be usable. But now, with improved technology, they could isolate and clean up Lennon's vocals. So, in 2023, it has been revived and "completed" for inclusion on a rerelease of the old 1967-1970 compilation.

The biggest problem with "Now and Then" is that it doesn't really feel like a complete song. It's seems that John had an idea for a song and was playing around with it, but never really finished writing it. And whatever lyrics Paul added don't really flesh it out enough to make it feel finished. So, in the studio, the went and added all sorts of layered arrangements and strings onto this fragment. But there's no catchy hook or anything to grab the listener's attention. It's just a whiny little idea that never got completed. And the overdone arrangement doesn't even really sound like a Beatles song. I wasn't crazy about "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love," but they always sounded like they were legitimate Beatles songs.

And this makes me wonder why so my people love "Now and Then." I do realize that taste is an individual matter, and some people can like something that I don't. But I think there's something more at work here. There are a lot of people who are emotionally invested in the idea that the record is great -- a gift to Beatles fans who reasonably thought that there would never again be new material from the band. They want to love this. And so they do.

But I'm saddened by the whole thing. This is an insult to The Beatles' legacy.