Added to McCartney’s setlist during the Got Back tour in South America, ‘Now and Then’ carries a show with excellent originality
The return of Paul McCartney the São Paulo with the tour Got Backless than a year after his last visit to the city, gave São Paulo fans two rare opportunities – to see the evolution of the same international megatour; and being one of the first audiences to experience a new track live from Beatles.
At first sight, “Now and Then” may seem like a minor highlight of a show with six decades of classics. From the beginning with “Can’t Buy Me Love”passing Paul’s elevation in “Blackbird”until the pyrotechnic explosion of “Live and Let Die”the 82-year-old singer gave no rest to the audience at a packed Allianz, always responding at the top of his lungs. And then the new track comes on and the audience’s volume drops in attention.
Released less than a year ago, in November 2023, “Now and Then” has been called “the last Beatles song” since it came out. Made from a demo tape recorded by John Lennon in 1977, it was handed over in 1994 to Paul McCartney by John’s widow, Yoko Ono (on the same tape, Lennon had rehearsed the already released “Free as a Bird” and “Real Love”). In 1995, McCartney would begin working with the other two Beatles, George Harrison and Ringo Starr in Lennon’s incomplete and polluted recording, but the technical conditions of the time would end up making the recording of this track difficult. “George didn’t like it,” Paul told the magazine Qin 1997.
It took another 20 years for “Now and Then” to be revisited. Now with new characters on the scene – including the director Peter Jacksonwho worked with advanced restoration techniques on the series The Beatles: Get Backand the son of John, Sean Lennonwho submitted a better-preserved digital copy of the recording. Add the guitar recorded by the now-missed George in 1995; plus the participation of Paul and Ringo that complete the composition of the track and, voilathe Beatles have a new song.
“Now and Then”, however, had never been performed live until McCartney’s concert by the same singer. Got Back Tour in Montevideoin Uruguayearlier this month. Since then, he has become a fixture in the Beatle’s playful setlist, who always incorporates something new into his shows.
Far from the enthusiasm of the Beatles’ first hits, “Now and Then” is played in the show shortly after “Here Today”a song that Paul usually dedicates to Lennon’s memory in his concerts. Unlike “Here Today”, however, it renews the creative pact of one of the greatest composer duos in contemporary music – without forgetting, of course, the always talented and fundamental participation of Harrison and Starr.
In a bittersweet moment, the show’s screens bring together the four Beatles at different ages in the music video (watch below), with John and George younger and Ringo and Paul older. The ghostly nostalgia that takes the stadium by storm is echoed in the lyrics – an ode to longing, to looking from the present to the past: “Now and then / I miss you / Oh, now and then / I want you to be there for me ” (“Now and then / I miss you / Oh, now and then / I want you to be there for me”).
The show on Wednesday (16) in São Paulo also had other remarkable, funny and moving moments – including the always romantic tribute to his wife Nancy Shevellwho followed the show from the audience; or the inclusion of “All My Loving” in the setlist for the first time since 2019). But by including “Now and Then” on the tour Got BackPaul McCartney did what, for a generation, seemed impossible – contemplating the Beatles’ seemingly endless legacy as if for the first time.
Source: Rollingstone
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
