The Beatles - Now And Then (1993)

I stumbled on an interesting compilation on Youtube the other day, consisting of various unreleased songs from all four members of The Beatles from their solo careers. There were demos, out-takes, and rejected recordings spanning the years from 1970, through the 80's, and ending in 1993, and while it was great to hear songs that even I, as a massive Beatles fan, was unfamiliar with, the difference in the sound quality of the demos compared to the studio recordings was somewhat grating. While researching one of the songs to find the year that it was recorded, I found that someone had posted a version of it online with a full band backing over-dubbed onto the piano and vocal demo, and as it sounded pretty good, it prompted me to try to find out if there any more of these fan-made recordings. It turns out that there are, and so I was therefore able to upgrade the solo demos to band versions of a number of the tracks, and when slotted into the studio recordings it made for a much better listen. They are mostly the John Lennon demos that have been augmented in this way, and in some cases more than once, so I've picked what I think are the best versions for this album. 

One McCartney track was given the treatment as well, but the recordings by George Harrison and Ringo Starr were all studio quality and needed no enhancement. The only demo that I've left as it was is Lennon's 'Sally And Billy' from 1970, because as well as the piano and vocal, it also had a click track on it, and so by boosting the bass it gave the whole song a bit more depth, and then I just added a fade to it (which sounds like it was his intention anyway), and it sounded fine.  All of Ringo's contributions are from his aborted sessions with Chips Moman in Memphis in 1987, where he recorded around 14 retro rock covers and original tunes, with Bob Dylan even joining him on harmonica on 'Wish I Knew Now (What I Knew Then)'. With no sign of the album appearing, Starr finally kicked his debilitating alcohol dependence eighteen months later, and he formed the All-Starr Band, touring for the first time since the Beatles quit the road. Moman had bankrolled the aborted sessions to the tune of $146,239 and had nothing to show for his investment, so he decided to issue the LP on his own CRS Records. Starr got wind of the news and offered him $100,000 to halt manufacturing, as he considered the recordings substandard, but Moman refused, believing that he stood to lose $3.5 million, a fanciful figure upon survey of Starr's moribund record sales. Starr therefore sued Moman, and the Court ruled that Starr owed him $74,354, but that the master tapes would the be turned over to Starr, and yet despite him now owning the original copies, five tracks have circulated on bootleg for some years. They certainly don't sound the result of some drunken recording sessions as was claimed in court, and so I've included three of them here. 

George Harrison's contributions mostly come from out-takes that were recorded during his 'Somewhere In England' studio sessions, where four songs were rejected by his record company as being too un-commercial. A re-recording of 'Lay His Head' eventually appeared on the flip of the 'Got My Mind Set On You' single, while two of the songs have only ever appeared on the CD which accompanied the second volume of the book 'Songs By George Harrison'. The fourth song 'Tears Of The World' was originally included on the CD that came with the first volume of the book, along with another out-take 'The Hottest Gong In Town', but that eventually turned up on the soundtrack to the film 'Shanghai Surprise', while 'Tears Of The World' was added as a bonus track to the re-issue of Harrison's 'Thirty Three And A Third' album. Paul McCartney's tracks are a couple of out-takes, an augmented demo, and a live performance of a song that was originally written in 1991, but which was only performed the once at The Liverpool Sound concert in 2008, to celebrate the city's year as the European Capital Of Culture. Although the album is bookended by one song from 1970 and one from 1993, the bulk of the tracks date from 1978 to 1987, and so the album flows nicely through the various musical styles, and if you've already heard the Lennon demos in their original form, then do check out these versions, as they've all been done with much love and respect.   

  
Track listing

01 Now And Then (1978 John Lennon demo augmented by Paul Newell)

02 Sat Singing (George Harrison out-take 1980)
03 Your School (1993 Paul McCartney demo augmented by Octavio Cavalli & Max Gonzales)
04 Hard Times (Ringo Starr, from the Memphis sessions 1987)
05 Hottest Gong In Town (George Harrison, from the soundtrack to 'Shanghai Surprise' 1986)
06 Help Me To Help Myself (1980 John Lennon demo augmented by Carlos Zabai)
07 Yvonne's The One (Paul McCartney out-take 1986)

08 Sally And Billy (John Lennon demo 1970)
09 Lay His Head (George Harrison out-take 1980)
10 I've Changed My Mind (Ringo Starr, from the Memphis sessions 1987)
11 In Liverpool (1991 Paul McCartney song played live once in 2008)
12 Grow Old With Me (1980 John Lennon demo augmented by Anton Popov & Vitaly Flippov)

13 Cruisin' Ahead (Paul McCartney out-take 1979)

14 Wish I Knew Now (What I Knew Then) (Ringo Starr, from the Memphis sessions 1987)
15 Flying Hour (George Harrison out-take 1979)

Soulseek hint - now then aiwe