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Post by pacinoyes on Nov 2, 2023 22:52:05 GMT
Well?
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Post by mikediastavrone96 on Nov 2, 2023 23:11:05 GMT
It is impossible for me right now to extricate the merits of the song from the poignancy of hearing George Harrison on guitar as John Lennon sings "I miss you."
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wonky
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Post by wonky on Nov 3, 2023 13:44:43 GMT
I think I like it better than "Free as a Bird" but "Real Love" is my favorite of the Anthology trilogy. I miss a proper George solo here but I kind of appreciate Paul's restraint on his slide guitar tribute. And it does make me want to hear AI-Lennon remixed on the other two now.
Part of all three of these is they can't really help but sound more like solo McCartney than anything else. But Paul's voice on this is eerier to hear against 70s John than the previous Anthology tracks...his "Free as a Bird" line, his voice hadn't aged like it has here. "Now and then," indeed.
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Post by ibbi on Nov 3, 2023 14:24:03 GMT
The song is fine, the weight behind the song is what makes it. Like, just speaking lyrically, it seems too good to be true that this is their last gift.
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Post by mikediastavrone96 on Nov 3, 2023 15:14:58 GMT
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Post by JangoB on Nov 4, 2023 0:45:49 GMT
While it is a bit impossible to divorce the song itself from the weight behind it, this weight is pretty much the main reason for its release anyway so it's kind of an inseparable component... and it just makes the song more powerful and beautiful. It won't be among my favorite Beatles tracks but I just can't listen to it without getting goosebumps and almost welling up.
But to me the additional poignancy of it is in the personal: my dad used to put on Beatles songs all the time when I was a kid and when I was reflecting on those moments later on, I understood that he genuinely wanted to share them with me out of his passion (and he didn't really share other art with me in that way too often). So today I felt enormous pleasure in returning the favor and sending this song to him. And what's even better is that he didn't know about it because he doesn't follow any pop culture news or anything like that - it was a surprise to him. I got to surprise my dad by bringing him the last Beatles song after he got me into them in the first place. Things coming back full circle. From now on it's not just the song's weight that I'll be hearing within it - it'll also be my dad thanking me (literally) and me thanking him (figuratively). I mean, come on.
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Post by mikediastavrone96 on Nov 4, 2023 2:26:01 GMT
After some time and listening to it on several different sound systems, I do feel I can provide a more complete reaction to the song itself.
While I quite like the song and think it fits nicely alongside the other postscript songs (though "Free as a Bird" remains the only one I would call flat-out great), I do wish there were some changes in the mixing. For as remarkable a technical accomplishment as it was to get John's vocals so cleanly, it gets buried in the mix behind the instruments and orchestration. It's particularly noticeable since the song keeps adding bells and whistles throughout that only further drown out John's lovely work. I think adding the orchestra was a nice idea by Paul and befitting for such a grand finale, but in the mix I would've preferred a bit more space so the song didn't feel so confined. I'm thinking of other John-led songs like "Across the Universe" or his own "#9 Dream" that are quite dense sonically but ensure that his vocals cut right through it instead of getting lost in the sauce like we're in the height of the loudness wars.
This post may give off a more negative impression than what I truly have as I feel like the praise I could offer to the song is reductive to the overall strength of The Beatles. Of course all the actual playing and singing is great, it's the fucking Beatles. And of course there's a heavy weighty to hearing now elderly Paul singing along with the sadly forever young John. Some songs carry with them the unbearable weight of time (Johnny Cash's extraordinary cover of "Hurt" is one of the first to spring to mind) and the fact this song has these lyrics and came out now when we're down to just two members of the most extraordinary legacy in non-classical music cannot be wrestled away, it's an intrinsic part of the piece. This is a goodbye, and it's a beautiful one even with my criticisms.
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Post by countjohn on Nov 4, 2023 2:45:54 GMT
I thought this was pretty meh to be honest and it feels like a publicity stunt. None of the "reunion" Beatles songs are that good, there's a reason John didn't record them on his own for Double Fantasy or Milk and Honey and then there's a reason this one wasn't recorded along with Free as a Bird and Real Love for Anthology. They were leftover demos. And specifically aside from the technical issues Harrison and Jeff Lynne didn't think this one was very good and didn't want to work on it when they were doing the other two. There is much worse music out there than this obviously so it's not like it's terrible but if Lennon had recorded it as a regular solo song in the early 80's it wouldn't be at all notable, the "virtual Beatles reunion" concept is the only reason we're getting a big to do, same as with the other two.
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Post by The_Cake_of_Roth on Nov 6, 2023 7:43:35 GMT
I like it quite a bit more than “Free as a Bird” and “Real Love,” which I think are fine but not really that memorable, but this is a cut above those imo. Part of it may be that I’m just a sucker for the orchestral shit and the dense texture that gives it more oomph. Paul's slide guitar solo is a lovely tribute - tastefully simple and fits really well with the surrounding orchestration (though it would have sounded more Georgian if it had been played an octave higher). Vocals are great, and I especially like the delayed resolution after the sustained note at the end of each verse (“It’s all because of you,” “”I love you,” “I know you’ll never stay”). Those kinds of aching dissonances are what make love songs.
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