This is a compilation of each and every part (that exists) of Now And Then, the 1995 version. Although we have Jeff Lynne’s written word on what composed the primary version of Now And Then in terms of instrumentation, it’s just that, writings, and we can’t hear such snippets and discarded parts in the final version.
Jeff notes:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/12mEu7OedbRQPlZ6HO9V_mpPGaC9doEdt/view?usp=sharing
The little we have comes from the documentary about the creation of this song, where we can briefly hear what could be considered discarded takes or rehearsals of it. This part caught my attention, but Ringo’s voice drowned out the background instrumental with his voice. I took the trouble to completely separate the documentary with artificial intelligence and wow, the little there was very interesting to listen to. It’s interesting to see that they might have planned to double the piano with George’s guitar, as well as finish the song similar to what Paul did, but instead of “bouncing” his bass, they did it with George’s guitar (which proves that there might be more significant parts of George’s guitar). Additionally, we can briefly hear what I believe is a bass line from the anthology version (but I’m not sure).
Also, exploring the separated tracks, we can find vocals from Paul possibly from 1995, but I really doubt this. I mean, the vocals are there and can be easily heard, but it doesn’t match the information we have about the early versions of the song, where I believe they only worked on a simple instrumental until finally abandoning it, without time to record additional choruses or lyrics. This could perfectly fit with the rumors that Paul was working on the song in 2002, then shelved it again until finally finishing it in 2023.
But at the same time, I doubt it because there are videos of the Now And Then sessions where Paul is singing certain parts of the song while playing the guitar with George. He might have tried it, but I can’t confirm anything for now. Anyway, I think it’s a great addition to a version of the song that we might take a long time to hear (seeing the surprises and gifts they’ve given us, nothing is impossible). Beyond that, what we have is in the song, being the acoustic guitars of George and Paul, and George’s rhythm guitar.
I also added conversations from the Now And Then sessions (heard in the promotional trailers and the end credits of the documentary), where they say very interesting things that give you an idea of how it might have sounded.
Now And Then is a great song, but Paul’s electric harpsichord takes away depth and authenticity compared to its other two sister songs. Why didn’t he use a Steinway grand piano like in the anthologies? Besides the guitar solo that doesn’t match the song, it’s a shame George didn’t record anything; he surely would have surprised us. It’s a beautiful song, the piano doesn’t matter much, but that guitar solo bothers me. They should have done something similar to Here Comes The Sun, purely instrumental.
Anyway, if you know where to find more parts from 1995, I would appreciate it if you let me know to expand such a collection.
Capitulos:
00:00 Drums.
00:09 Piano/Guitar echo.
00:23 Paul vocals (1995/2002)
01:10 Acoustic Guitars.
05:06 George’s rhythm guitar.
08:05 Bass
08:30 Conversation in the studio.