News Paul McCartney says he used AI to complete one final Beatles song

[The Nth Doctor]

BBC reports that Paul McCartney utilized AI to complete the final Beatles song.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the technology had been used to "extricate" John Lennon's voice from an old demo so he could complete the song.

"We just finished it up and it'll be released this year," he explained.

Sir Paul did not name the song, but it is likely to be a 1978 Lennon composition called Now And Then.

It had already been considered as a possible "reunion song" for the Beatles in 1995, as they were compiling their career-spanning Anthology series.

Sir Paul had received the demo a year earlier from Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono. It was one of several songs on a cassette labelled "For Paul" that Lennon had made shortly before his death in 1980.
​

I'm not sure how I feel about this. If AI is used exclusively to clean up the original audio and fill in minor gaps in "Now and Then," that could be acceptable.

After that, it's a bit dubious and always with an asterisk. Although, I guess the same could be said about the Anthology releases of "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love."

Another concern, one that's not fully addressed in this article, is how George's voice is used, especially since he was critical of the original demo of the song.

 

[Haggis and tatties]

It will be Now and Then, as George was unhappy with the quality of John's recording being used for the song back in mind 90s, but maybe AI will now be able to fix all that, but i am sure Geroge actually worked on it for some kind of backing track, but at some point it was agreed that it was just not going to work with.
This is the actual raw recording done by Lennon at his piano in 78, so it will be interesting to hear what AI has done.

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[Owain Taggart]

Another candidate could be Grow Old with Me. This was also a Lennon demo, which Ringo has since covered, which features McCartney playing Bass in the track, and even a George Harrison tribute with a few bars of Here Comes the Sun. I've seen an AI rendition of it that attempts use both versions (I assume this is the way it was done) to simulate all 4 singing it. I'd heard that there were plans moving forward for a reunion and that they were planning on using this song, but after Lennon's death, the plans were scrapped.

One thing about AI though is that I don't find it convincing, The trouble with AI, at least currently with how they're able to do it, is that it mostly seems to try replicating the original song with another voice replacing the vocals, but with the original singer's idiosyncrasies in place, and it just sounds so off to me.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

The use of AI may be controversial, but in the end...if a Beatle says it's ok, then by definition, it's freaking ok.

 

[Haggis and tatties]

In 50 years time they will be watching new episodes of AI generated TOS while waiting for the next new Beatles AI album while playing the next AI produced Secret of Vulcan fury 3 game on their AI designd and made ocular implant. lol

 

[Nerys Myk]

I await the TOS soundtrack created by the Beatles

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I await the TOS soundtrack created by the Beatles

Were they Trek fans? I'm genuinely curious about that.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Were they Trek fans? I'm genuinely curious about that.

Not that I'm aware of. But I'm a fan of both, Hence...

 

[The Old Mixer]

Given that John reportedly spent his househusband years in second half of the '70s as a major TV junkie, I'd be surprised if he didn't have occasion to catch some Trek in the height of its daily syndication heyday.

And FWIW, Paul was into comics.

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