這首令人幾乎難以置信的單曲名為“Now and Then”,時(shí)長(zhǎng)4分零8秒,是披頭士樂(lè)隊(duì)在21世紀(jì)發(fā)行的第一首也是唯一一首原創(chuàng)歌曲。歌曲前奏部分先是倒計(jì)時(shí),然后伴著木吉他和鋼琴的配樂(lè),響起了約翰·列儂那明顯的嗓音:“I know it’s true / It’s all because of you / And if I make it through / It’s all because of you.”
在列儂遇刺四十多年后和喬治·哈里森去世二十多年后,披頭士樂(lè)隊(duì)終于發(fā)行了最終單曲,與該樂(lè)隊(duì)1962年的首發(fā)單曲“Love Me Do”作為雙A面單曲。
“Now and Then”來(lái)自列儂在1970年代創(chuàng)作的一批未發(fā)行小樣,小野洋子將這些小樣交給了他的前樂(lè)隊(duì)成員。他們根據(jù)這個(gè)磁帶重新創(chuàng)作了Free As a Bird和Real Love等歌曲,并在1990年代中期發(fā)行。但要完成“Now and Then”在技術(shù)上受到限制。
周三,一個(gè)名為《披頭士樂(lè)隊(duì)——Now And Then——最終單曲》(The Beatles — Now And Then — The Last Beatles Song)的短片發(fā)布,詳細(xì)介紹了這首歌的創(chuàng)作過(guò)程。保羅·麥卡特尼曾這樣描述,在原始磁帶中,列儂的聲音被隱藏;鋼琴伴奏“很難聽(tīng)到”。 “當(dāng)然,那時(shí)候我們沒(méi)有分離音軌的技術(shù)?!?/p>
這一切在2022年發(fā)生了改變。樂(lè)隊(duì)(現(xiàn)僅有兩名成員)可以利用技術(shù)修復(fù)方法。導(dǎo)演彼得·杰克遜在2021年的系列紀(jì)錄片《披頭士樂(lè)隊(duì):回歸》(The Beatles: Get Back)中,使用了相同的技術(shù)從背景音中分離出樂(lè)隊(duì)的語(yǔ)音。因此,他們可以從原始磁帶中分離出列儂的聲音,并使用機(jī)器學(xué)習(xí)完成“Now and Then”這首歌。
在6月首次公布這首單曲的信息時(shí),麥卡特尼形容人工智能技術(shù)“有些可怕但令人激動(dòng)”。他還表示:“我們要拭目以待它將帶領(lǐng)人類走向何方?!?/p>
他在《披頭士樂(lè)隊(duì)——Now And Then——最終單曲》短片中說(shuō)道:“在2023年,我們還能繼續(xù)創(chuàng)作披頭士樂(lè)隊(duì)的音樂(lè),真是太棒了。實(shí)際上我們正在嘗試最新技術(shù),這是披頭士樂(lè)隊(duì)會(huì)非常感興趣的做法?!?/p>
林戈·斯塔爾在9月向美聯(lián)社講述了列儂對(duì)于即將發(fā)行的單曲的貢獻(xiàn)。他說(shuō)道:“有傳聞?wù)f我們編造了這首歌。好像我們會(huì)那樣做一樣?!?/p>
他繼續(xù)說(shuō)道:“這將是有四名披頭士樂(lè)隊(duì)成員參與的最后一首歌。約翰,保羅,喬治和林戈?!?/p>
麥卡特尼和斯塔爾根據(jù)列儂的小樣構(gòu)建了這首歌的音軌,添加了喬治·哈里斯在1995年的一次錄音中編寫的吉他部分,以及他風(fēng)格獨(dú)特的滑音吉他獨(dú)奏。他們兩人又添加了貝斯和鼓聲。弦樂(lè)編曲得到了樂(lè)隊(duì)已故制作人喬治·馬丁之子吉爾斯·馬丁的協(xié)助,巧妙地致敬了Strawberry Fields、Yesterday或I Am the Walrus等經(jīng)典名曲。那些音樂(lè)家并不知道他們是在為披頭士樂(lè)隊(duì)的最終單曲做貢獻(xiàn),因此麥卡特尼戲稱這是他自己的單曲。
周五,由杰克遜執(zhí)導(dǎo)的“Now and Then”的官方音樂(lè)視頻,將在披頭士樂(lè)隊(duì)的YouTube頻道首發(fā)。杰克遜在聲明中表示,音樂(lè)視頻使用了麥卡特尼和斯塔爾拍攝的表演視頻,長(zhǎng)達(dá)14個(gè)小時(shí)“在1995年錄音期間拍攝的早已被遺忘的影像,包括保羅、喬治和林戈創(chuàng)作“Now and Then”幾個(gè)小時(shí)的場(chǎng)景。”
其中還使用了之前從未曝光的自制影片內(nèi)容,這些內(nèi)容由列儂的兒子西恩和喬治的妻子奧利維亞·哈里森提供,還有由樂(lè)隊(duì)原鼓手彼德·貝斯特提供的“披頭士樂(lè)隊(duì)身穿皮衣表演的幾秒鐘珍貴瞬間,這是披頭士樂(lè)隊(duì)已知最早的影像,以前從未曝光?!?/p>
杰克遜說(shuō)道:“結(jié)果非常不可思議,讓視頻在悲傷和有趣之間取得了必要的平衡?!保ㄘ?cái)富中文網(wǎng))
翻譯:劉進(jìn)龍
審校:汪皓
這首令人幾乎難以置信的單曲名為“Now and Then”,時(shí)長(zhǎng)4分零8秒,是披頭士樂(lè)隊(duì)在21世紀(jì)發(fā)行的第一首也是唯一一首原創(chuàng)歌曲。歌曲前奏部分先是倒計(jì)時(shí),然后伴著木吉他和鋼琴的配樂(lè),響起了約翰·列儂那明顯的嗓音:“I know it’s true / It’s all because of you / And if I make it through / It’s all because of you.”
在列儂遇刺四十多年后和喬治·哈里森去世二十多年后,披頭士樂(lè)隊(duì)終于發(fā)行了最終單曲,與該樂(lè)隊(duì)1962年的首發(fā)單曲“Love Me Do”作為雙A面單曲。
“Now and Then”來(lái)自列儂在1970年代創(chuàng)作的一批未發(fā)行小樣,小野洋子將這些小樣交給了他的前樂(lè)隊(duì)成員。他們根據(jù)這個(gè)磁帶重新創(chuàng)作了Free As a Bird和Real Love等歌曲,并在1990年代中期發(fā)行。但要完成“Now and Then”在技術(shù)上受到限制。
周三,一個(gè)名為《披頭士樂(lè)隊(duì)——Now And Then——最終單曲》(The Beatles — Now And Then — The Last Beatles Song)的短片發(fā)布,詳細(xì)介紹了這首歌的創(chuàng)作過(guò)程。保羅·麥卡特尼曾這樣描述,在原始磁帶中,列儂的聲音被隱藏;鋼琴伴奏“很難聽(tīng)到”。 “當(dāng)然,那時(shí)候我們沒(méi)有分離音軌的技術(shù)。”
這一切在2022年發(fā)生了改變。樂(lè)隊(duì)(現(xiàn)僅有兩名成員)可以利用技術(shù)修復(fù)方法。導(dǎo)演彼得·杰克遜在2021年的系列紀(jì)錄片《披頭士樂(lè)隊(duì):回歸》(The Beatles: Get Back)中,使用了相同的技術(shù)從背景音中分離出樂(lè)隊(duì)的語(yǔ)音。因此,他們可以從原始磁帶中分離出列儂的聲音,并使用機(jī)器學(xué)習(xí)完成“Now and Then”這首歌。
在6月首次公布這首單曲的信息時(shí),麥卡特尼形容人工智能技術(shù)“有些可怕但令人激動(dòng)”。他還表示:“我們要拭目以待它將帶領(lǐng)人類走向何方?!?/p>
他在《披頭士樂(lè)隊(duì)——Now And Then——最終單曲》短片中說(shuō)道:“在2023年,我們還能繼續(xù)創(chuàng)作披頭士樂(lè)隊(duì)的音樂(lè),真是太棒了。實(shí)際上我們正在嘗試最新技術(shù),這是披頭士樂(lè)隊(duì)會(huì)非常感興趣的做法?!?/p>
林戈·斯塔爾在9月向美聯(lián)社講述了列儂對(duì)于即將發(fā)行的單曲的貢獻(xiàn)。他說(shuō)道:“有傳聞?wù)f我們編造了這首歌。好像我們會(huì)那樣做一樣?!?/p>
他繼續(xù)說(shuō)道:“這將是有四名披頭士樂(lè)隊(duì)成員參與的最后一首歌。約翰,保羅,喬治和林戈。”
麥卡特尼和斯塔爾根據(jù)列儂的小樣構(gòu)建了這首歌的音軌,添加了喬治·哈里斯在1995年的一次錄音中編寫的吉他部分,以及他風(fēng)格獨(dú)特的滑音吉他獨(dú)奏。他們兩人又添加了貝斯和鼓聲。弦樂(lè)編曲得到了樂(lè)隊(duì)已故制作人喬治·馬丁之子吉爾斯·馬丁的協(xié)助,巧妙地致敬了Strawberry Fields、Yesterday或I Am the Walrus等經(jīng)典名曲。那些音樂(lè)家并不知道他們是在為披頭士樂(lè)隊(duì)的最終單曲做貢獻(xiàn),因此麥卡特尼戲稱這是他自己的單曲。
周五,由杰克遜執(zhí)導(dǎo)的“Now and Then”的官方音樂(lè)視頻,將在披頭士樂(lè)隊(duì)的YouTube頻道首發(fā)。杰克遜在聲明中表示,音樂(lè)視頻使用了麥卡特尼和斯塔爾拍攝的表演視頻,長(zhǎng)達(dá)14個(gè)小時(shí)“在1995年錄音期間拍攝的早已被遺忘的影像,包括保羅、喬治和林戈創(chuàng)作“Now and Then”幾個(gè)小時(shí)的場(chǎng)景。”
其中還使用了之前從未曝光的自制影片內(nèi)容,這些內(nèi)容由列儂的兒子西恩和喬治的妻子奧利維亞·哈里森提供,還有由樂(lè)隊(duì)原鼓手彼德·貝斯特提供的“披頭士樂(lè)隊(duì)身穿皮衣表演的幾秒鐘珍貴瞬間,這是披頭士樂(lè)隊(duì)已知最早的影像,以前從未曝光?!?/p>
杰克遜說(shuō)道:“結(jié)果非常不可思議,讓視頻在悲傷和有趣之間取得了必要的平衡。”(財(cái)富中文網(wǎng))
翻譯:劉進(jìn)龍
審校:汪皓
Titled “Now and Then,” the almost impossible-to-believe track is four minutes and eight seconds of the first and only original Beatles recording of the 21st century. There’s a countdown, then acoustic guitar strumming and piano bleed into the unmistakable vocal tone of John Lennon in the song’s introduction: “I know it’s true / It’s all because of you / And if I make it through / It’s all because of you.”
More than four decades since Lennon’s murder and two since George Harrison’s death, the very last Beatles song has been released as a double A-side single with “Love Me Do,” the band’s 1962 debut single.
“Now and Then” comes from the same batch of unreleased demos written by Lennon in the 1970s, which were given to his former bandmates by Yoko Ono. They used the tape to construct the songs “Free As a Bird” and “Real Love,” released in the mid-1990s. But there were technical limitations to finishing “Now and Then.”
On Wednesday, a short film titled “The Beatles — Now And Then — The Last Beatles Song” was released, detailing the creation of the track. On the original tape, Lennon’s voice was hidden; the piano was “hard to hear,” as Paul McCartney describes it. “And in those days, of course, we didn’t have the technology to do the separation.”
That changed in 2022, when the band — now a duo — was able to utilize the same technical restoration methods that separated the Beatles’ voices from background sounds during the making of director Peter Jackson’s 2021 documentary series, “The Beatles: Get Back.” And so, they were able to isolate Lennon’s voice from the original cassette and complete “Now and Then” using machine learning.
When the song was first announced in June, McCartney described artificial intelligence technology as “kind of scary but exciting,” adding: “We will just have to see where that leads.”
“To still be working on Beatles’ music in 2023 — wow,” he said in “The Beatles — Now And Then — The Last Beatles Song.” “We’re actually messing around with state-of-the-art technology, which is something the Beatles would’ve been very interested in.”
“The rumors were that we just made it up,” Ringo Starr told The Associated Press of Lennon’s contributions to the forthcoming track in September. “Like we would do that anyway.”
“This is the last track, ever, that you’ll get the four Beatles on the track. John, Paul, George, and Ringo,” he continued.
McCartney and Starr built the track from Lennon’s demo, adding guitar parts George Harrison wrote in the 1995 sessions and a slide guitar solo in his signature style. McCartney and Starr tracked their bass and drum contributions. A string arrangement was written with the help of Giles Martin, son of the late Beatles producer George Martin — a clever recall to the classic ambitiousness of “Strawberry Fields,” or “Yesterday,” or “I Am the Walrus.” Those musicians couldn’t be told they were contributing to the last ever Beatles track, so McCartney played it off like a solo endeavor.
On Friday, an official music video for “Now and Then,” directed by Jackson, will premiere on the Beatles’ YouTube channel. It was created using footage McCartney and Starr took of themselves performing, 14 hours of “l(fā)ong forgotten film shot during the 1995 recording sessions, including several hours of Paul, George and Ringo working on ‘Now and Then,’” Jackson said in a statement.
It also uses previously unseen home movie footage provided by Lennon’s son Sean and Olivia Harrison, George’s wife, and “a few precious seconds of The Beatles performing in their leather suits, the earliest known film of The Beatles and never seen before,” provided by Pete Best, the band’s original drummer.
“The result is pretty nutty and provided the video with much needed balance between the sad and the funny,” said Jackson.