VOA文化艺术2023--New Beatles Song Created with a Little Help from AI

New Beatles Song Created with a Little Help from AI

A "new" song from the Beatles, with help from artificial intelligence, comes out next week.

The song, called Now And Then, will be available on November 2. It is part of a single along with Love Me Do. In 1962, Love Me Do came out as the first Beatles single.

Now And Then comes from the same group of unreleased recordings² written by Beatle John Lennon, who died in 1980. His former bandmates used some of the media to build the songs Free As a Bird and Real Love released in the mid-1990s.

Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison worked on Now And Then at the same time. But, technological³ limitations blocked their progress. George Harrison died in 2001.

With the help of artificial intelligence (AI), movie director Peter Jackson was able to solve those tech problems. He used AI to "separate" Lennon's voice from the sound of the piano used in the late 1970s recording¹. The much clearer vocals⁴ permitted the surviving members, McCartney and Starr, to complete the song last year.

The new single contains guitar work that Harrison had recorded almost 30 years ago. Drummer Starr provided new sound along with McCartney's bass⁵, piano and guitar. McCartney and Starr also sang with Lennon.

McCartney also added a string instrument piece written with the help of Giles Martin, son of the late Beatles producer George Martin.

And, they weaved in background singing from the first Beatles recordings of Here, There and Everywhere, Eleanor Rigby and Because.

"There it was, John's voice, crystal clear," McCartney said in the announcement of the new song. "It's quite emotional. And we all play on it," he added.

Harrison's widow, Olivia, said "he would have wholeheartedly" joined Paul and Ringo in completing the song now if he were still alive.

Next Wednesday, the day before the song's release, a 12-minute film that tells the story of the new recording will be made public.

Later in the month, expanded versions of the Beatles' albums 1962-1966 and 1967-1970, will be released. The later years' collection will get the addition of the song Now And Then.

The surviving Beatles have skillfully released new projects. They made remixes of old albums. They also worked with director Jackson's 2021 documentary series, The Beatles: Get Back.

This year is the big finale of new Beatles music.

"This is the last track, ever, that you'll get the four Beatles on the track. John, Paul, George, and Ringo," Starr said in a recent interview with the Associated Press.

Words in This Story

crystal – n. something resembling crystal in transparency and colorlessness

widow – n. a woman who has lost her spouse⁶ or partner by death and usually has not remarried

 

finale – n. the close or termination of something: such as

1 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

2 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

3 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

4 vocals   

（乐曲中的）歌唱部份，声乐部份( vocal的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Also look out for soaring vocals on The Right Man. 另外，也可留意一下《意中人》中的那高亢的唱腔。
• Lazy bass line, lazier drums, lush violins, great piano and incomparable vocals. 懒惰的低音线，较懒惰的鼓，饮小提琴，棒的钢琴和无比的声音。

5 bass   

n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴

参考例句：

• He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
• The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。

6 spouse   

n.配偶(指夫或妻)

参考例句：

• Her spouse will come to see her on Sunday.她的丈夫星期天要来看她。
• What is the best way to keep your spouse happy in the marriage?在婚姻中保持配偶幸福的最好方法是什么？