House of Mirth

Back in the balmy Nineties, when the three surviving Beatles collaborated on the Anthology project, they used a pair of John Lennon's home demos to record "Free As A Bird" and "Real Love." At the time, they considered working on third demo. It's possible that "Now and Then" would have been the strongest of the three singles. The song boasts one of those wistful, minor-key melodies that were a specialty of Lennon's. There were, however, a couple of obstacles. The recording itself was marred by a persistent hum. Digital wizardry can easily remove hiss, clicks, and other high-end interference. But this was different: on the bootleg versions of the demo, it sounds as if the composer is shaving with an electric razor. And George Harrison was reputedly lukewarm about spending any more time in the studio with Paul McCartney--they had mended their personal relationship but left the professional one in a rickety state.

Well, it now appears that McCartney will take a second shot at the demo. According to this story in Undercover, the ex-Beatle is "gearing up to record his parts" on the unfinished track (which, according to the article, dates from the twilight era of the Fabs). Perhaps the project is a kind of consolation for Macca during his wretched, post-Heather-Mills interval. If so, I hope it helps. No word on whether Ringo will pitch in.