John Lennon - Free As A Bird (2023 Remaster)

A very special demo that John Lennon made in 1977, being one of his last demos recorded.

[@comedyriff5231]

This demo, Real Love, Now and Then and Grow Old With Me. Just John Lennon, a piano and a tape recorder. Some of the most hauntingly beautiful demos you´ll ever hear.

[@doctorwhoproductions834]

‘Hauntingly beautiful’ is so poetic

[@ArmanBaig]

@@doctorwhoproductions834and it applies so well. john writing his most intimate music, with good things on the horizon, just before his premature death. “haunting” couldn’t be more fitting.

[@eleonorapisarova6413]

​vďaka ❤ 🙏❤ 🙏

[@aisasia7210]

Plus She's a friend of Dorothy😉

[@gusterguy01826]

John was about to enter a new hot streak. His Double Fantasy songs were excellent, then we hear stuff like this

[@bobsaget832]

I am praying we get a remastered Free as a Bird with this new, cleaner version of Johns vocal track

[@spaceengineer1452]

And remixed. Hope they make R drums sound... like drums.

[@georgehtwells]

I think we will do soon, probably using Peter Jackson’s AI technology

[@Alef.93]

@@spaceengineer1452 It's a bit complex. Jeff Lynne is known for recording drums with a lot of ambience and with the microphone very close to the instrument. These characteristics are already in the drum recording. Unless Ringo re-records this track.

[@theneweraofmusic5578]

Yea give it another 25 years you will get it lol

[@k-asp3r754]

Why do you think Its John voice??because someone Say that..there s no evidence and doesnt sound at all like John.

[@stumbling]

I'm writing songs for the first time in my life and these old recordings are such a help. I don't feel quite so anxious about putting my own thoughts and feelings down when I can listen to a legend going through the same process. Thanks, John.

[@kegar9899]

That’s amazing !! Good luck on your songwriting!

[@robbiepeterh]

The way he seamlessly switches keys is so masterful and effortless.

[@StacheBigote]

A’s flat VI and minor iv chords serving as the literal key to the effortless key changes with the V of each key being used as bridges to get us between them. And playing off the beaten to death doo wop progression. It’s like he was saying “this old horse has more to give us” Guy was something else, man.

[@miguelangellucasmedinablac6419]

He’s just a beatle

[@beastybacon199]

at this point if the Beatles got back together it wouldn’t be 1+1+1+1=10 it would be 1+1+1+1=100

[@whitebirchtarot]

There’s somethings, so pure about John’s voice that I’ve never heard come out of any other singer. I will always miss him. 💕😪

[@evanschubert1113]

I agree. He hated his voice and I think that sums him up perfectly. What made him vulnerable is what made him most beautiful and talented

[@whitebirchtarot]

@@evanschubert1113 I love your comment. Yes, that’s it.

[@justthinking650]

​@@evanschubert1113 That's why John is so unique. His voice isn't conventional and he did many things with it.

[@orunir]

So this is the power of the song that made the three surviving Beatles cry in the studio... 😭😭

[@Tonystony1984]

100% legit new Beatles song because of it 😎😎😎

[@Tonystony1984]

Because on the cassette it was written "For Paul"

[@auramac]

Not true.

[@knockedoutloaded279]

There is guitar version with mo verses prob clearer

[@lomba36]

This is a priceless gem. Although, George's great slide guitar enhances it even more. I wish he could have soloed on Now and then as well.

[@natetheannihilnater1886]

Much better without Paul harmonizing though. I think if he came in less it would of been fine but john's melody was strong enough on its own.

[@davidjohn8743]

Man, I'd love to be able to sit at a piano and come up with this kind of stuff. Going from F# minor to Fmaj 7 is pure genius level stuff. This is one my faves of all time. Love it!

[@sallykohorst8803]

Very lovely John and we all miss you! You never should have left us. .

[@jayneethling8371]

ASOLUTE MUSICAL GENIUS DAMN I MISS HIM IM 72

[@knockedoutloaded279]

John also recorded ..when this life is done on this cassette, and its meant to be brilliant..

[@azamazasog]

Where is it? I would really like to hear it but I can’t find it.

[@knockedoutloaded279]

Unreleased

[@pastywhiteboy9393]

This is one of John’s best-ever tracks in my opinion, along with Real Love. Kind of crazy that two of the best John Lennon tracks are hidden away as demos that he never used.

[@alanoconnor4745]

He is the master

[@BrianCarnevaleB26]

Such a simple key progression creates a brilliant piece of music.

[@trollvidde]

​@@BrianCarnevaleB26 is it really a simple chord progression tho?

[@martinefrancoise6419]

Happy year dear John rest in heaven love you❤

[@RobertoZadik-en8zc]

So spiritual, sensitive, idealistic Genius, his solo career was Simply Amazin. This original version Is fantastic, oh great

[@thepoplin]

he was great but idealistic? you misunderstand him

[@danydany334]

I was very resistant to wish for a new remix of the 90s song but after hearing this and Now And Then, I’m in. This is so beautiful and a cleaner mix would do so much justice to what already is an amazing song

[@heitorp]

Makes me cry every time. Hauntingly beautiful.

[@ohdear2001]

Weirdo.

[@elizabethflorido7350]

A primeira vez que eu ouvi essa canção demo do John foi como se ele tivesse ressuscitado e nunca nos deixado. A emoção foi tanta que não parava de chorar. Lembro da sensação que tomou conta de mim até hoje. De ter falado ao telefone com um amigo e chorarmos porque estávamos ouvindo o John de novo numa inédita.

[@zaclongchar5376]

Love of John lennon is still in Millions Heart. Love you Legend.

[@mauriziocolecchia3475]

Actually I was told that the break wasn't written by John but added later by Paul. So, I am really surprised to hear it by John in 1977! It's clear that I misunderstood...

[@kewkabe]

@@HandM80 They filled out the lyrics in that middle part and changed a couple of chords as you can hear.

[@bobwingate1071]

Hey you didn't fully misunderstand. John had "Whatever happened to.. the love that we once knew?" but then drifts into "doo-doo-doo's".. Paul added the "Can we really live without each other?" etc. etc. etc.

[@uggsxx9155]

​@bobwingate1071 only because John couldn't form the lyrics cause he was at a roadblock in his writing and Paul has said this in an interview, it's amazing how they stepped in and finished this masterpiece

[@auramac]

@@uggsxx9155 BS. It was a new song, unfinished. He was exploding with new ideas in 1980.

[@uggsxx9155]

@@auramac even though my source was paul himself? John was just starting to get back into writing music when he died

[@bigfella957]

Imo John was a master at combining his playing and unique singing to create his own songs and it just flows out of him. So inspiring to be that level of songwriter

[@johnnymeyer4253]

True level: genius

[@juanprogamer8696]

Free as a bird It's the next best thing to be Free as a bird Home, home and dry Like a homing bird I'll fly As a bird on wings Whatever happened to The life that we once knew? Can we really live without each other? Where did we lose the touch That seemed to mean so much? It always made me feel so Free as a bird Like the next best thing to be Free as a bird Home, (home) home and dry Like a homing bird I'll fly As a bird on wings Whatever happened to The life that we once knew? Always made me feel so free Free as a bird Is the next best thing to be Free as a bird Free as a bird Free as a bird

[@bimbolo82]

He definitely says ‘it’s next worst thing to be.’ Listen to verse one. It’s pure Lennon, the negative wordplay. I love it. And every print out of the lyrics has it wrong!

[@charlesbrickner6006]

He does not say worst. He says best lol Also The following verse is not in this Lennon take...this verse was added in the 90s by Sir Paul McCartney: "Can we really live without each other? Where did we lose the touch That seemed to mean so much? It always made me feel so" Paul really knew how to work with John's words. @@bimbolo82

[@spottss]

@@bimbolo82 it’s best

[@johnnymeyer4253]

@@bimbolo82 I hear ya. Loud. And dry. ;)

[@psxemulator]

I always thought it sounded like he sings "it's the next best thing to've been". On this recording it really sounds like "been" instead of "be"

[@Synchronicety]

wearing this music in my heart for my mother

[@TheLovepools]

Seriously great chords.

[@kamiljanicki9393]

John's voice sound much better compared to Anthology 1 version

[@johnmc3862]

30 years of sound technology improvements.

[@johnmc3862]

Wow sound the is so clean and clear…❤❤❤

[@uggsxx9155]

My grandmas favorite song is imagine and sometimes i prefer this version of free as a bird because it was made on the same piano and has the same kind of vibe, i miss my grandma so much but i know she is free as a bird flying high

[@scarpergirl]

It wasn't made on the same piano. Free as a Bird was recorded in the Dakota in New York, and Imagine was recorded in Ascot in the UK. There's nothing to suggest that he moved his piano from Ascot to New York.

[@carmelopetti11]

Now Artificial Intelligence is doing incredible things with voices, images and imagine the amount of unimaginable things we can do now with these "free" technologies; Now I can hear Paul sing his new songs with his 60's voice range... I can listen to covers of other songs with Lennon's voice, my point is, now what is and what will be the real thing? now if we are in the era of "strawberry fields... forever?" "nothing is real"

[@NoButIGotCheezWhiz]

This is VERY clean, especially compared to what you were working with. I hope you’re proud of it! :)

[@janebrennan4691]

omg my heart both lifts and breaks 💕 the world would have been a different place had he lived

[@thomaslaukien8983]

Thank you for your work Remaster101.

[@janaparoubkova5895]

Very beautiful 🤩🤩❤️

[@ellenbeckmann4293]

Wonderfu🎼🎶🎤🎹l like Now and Then..lg Ellen from Germany ✌ ❤

[@livyintheskywithdragons]

It makes me cry buckets 🥹😭😭🦄🦄

[@vampyros1]

So glad they changed that one chord in this, which made an already great song even better.

[@musicmastersdrumtracks2428]

Unfortunately, my now and then video that I made in May was removed from youtube for "antipiracy". I looked into this and apparently its really not a mistake as the song was struck down everywhere on youtube even videos that have been up for more than a decade and only the fan-made "beatles" version can be found on youtube (nvm even the fan made versions got deleted) This could be proof that the beatles project that Paul Macca was talking about could actually be in progress right now... Enjoy this video tho! Now And Then: drive.google.com/file/d/148reDB9IUTHpIe9vvCczzyR0lX5x5Me0/view?usp=sharing

[@knockedoutloaded279]

It's happening; I hope its brilliant....

[@kewkabe]

Yes, Paul finished it up and announced it will be released later this year. Ringo also commented that he added drums and that Paul and Giles Martin came out to L.A. to add strings.

[@WorkPrintStudios66]

Do you have real love?

[@aidenmcnatt6113]

What a beautiful demo of free as a bird...only if John could have finished this with the rest of the fab 4

[@adude8046]

This is actually better in many ways to what they released. The lyrically gaps added later to the demo are just a really good example of how John and Paul filled in the blanks on each others work to get that amazing combined sound.

[@aidenmcnatt6113]

@@adude8046 yeah but it still would have been nice to hear what would of happened if John had not died

[@josiahcole3186]

recordings like this make me wonder what classics he would've written that are as huge as imagine had he lived

[@martinefrancoise6419]

Love this song so much❤

[@user-ks5df9vf4r]

enamorado de la suavidad de esta canción, gracias Lennon

[@Youngyoungsam003]

Beautiful

[@best-movieclips]

Lennon recorded this demo in 77'

[@LeoMercatore]

No, in 3’ or 4’

[@DIEGOACOSTA-yy2dl]

Temazo por dónde lo oiga, la otra versión tambn es espectacular ❤

[@mcfcxx9849]

Love these remasters, any plans on doing Real Love?

[@mcfcxx9849]

@@youtubecontributions5328 Looking forward to it

[@raymond5001]

Very nice song salute 7

[@owenklein1917]

Wow this Is first time I’ve ever heard this. I love the piano part

[@Retrograde.Amnesiac]

Beautiful..

[@DJ-bj8ku]

I can hear Julian in this.

[@donmcallister3745]

Simply hearing a working demo… of John’s makes it even more tragic… that he is gone… All the work that could have been written… if this scratches the surface at just a hint… I’m grateful for what he gave us… I just miss the possibility of what a fifty and sixty year old John would have had to say… about himself and our future and world… his observations. I miss that… voice 🌻💐🌻 🌜🌞🌛

[@evamendenhall6126]

❤ i can't describe how i feel.

[@claudia5446]

Freedom is a path we choose. Most of the times is a rocky mountain so hard to climb. At the end life is rewarding us with the best view we could have. It could be the view of the sea or a green field. Whatever it is this is pure and endless happiness.

[@gui-dd6ur]

Amazing

[@fortinrose1]

Love you John ❤

[@peabody3000]

i'm in awe of what the beatles did with this

[@maxmir3793]

What can I say: you listen to a well-known modern classic

[@josephpalen7149]

Great shot!

[@HenryTozer]

Wow. It’s amazing hearing this so clearly. Great job… will come back to this. (also I’ve recorded a piano version of John’s original demo of Now And Then for fellow Beatle fans 🤍🌍)

[@elianabessicolombo3984]

Lindo! 👏👏👏🎂😥

[@CAAB1976]

lennon = genius

[@user-ys1zc3gp9s]

I wish I was a bird!

[@ZaBucci-1912]

omaiga

[@gardenbrewing4478]

This is just so so so gorgeous 🥹

[@sisterannhasna633]

For me.. This song is the last one...before he passed away 😢

[@FBAV]

Happy 83th Birthday dear Mr Lennono

[@Elo94Tl]

thanks

[@MacBratt]

I always seem to prefer the original demo's iso what 'the Beatles' made of it.

[@knockedoutloaded279]

R hope they imp sound on all John's final demos...

[@lorenapasquetti8627]

Genio ❤❤❤❤ ci manca tanto ❤❤❤❤❤

[@erickdelacruz4978]

❤

[@leoman5946]

John 😢😢😢😢

[@aradiobox]

Great job

[@knockedoutloaded279]

Now and Then has paul and ringo singing on it...hope its brilliant

[@awii1754]

Please Real Love

[@jb20092009]

Awesome!!

[@moobutt]

Amazing. But I was really waiting for George’s solo in there.

[@softshallow7435]

Have you all not heard that they already done this demo in 1995 and was released as a single. Watch the music video on youtube.

[@melrip6468]

Que dulce por favor....❤❤❤❤

[@jeanmermoud6157]

🦋

[@LetsGoThere]

I was lucky enough to get to play a piano owned by Lennon. It was in a Hoboken NJ studio and the owner let me play it for like 5 seconds. Ha Ha!

[@acerjuglans383]

I like Jeff Lynne, but he never should've produced Free As A Bird for the Anthology. It sounded more like his song than a Beatles song.

[@nl5828]

as much as i love the beatles’ version of this song, this demo version is even better. if the lyrics were completed and the song was released when john lennon was alive, i can’t help thinking this song would have been regarded as a classic, on a par with imagine. sadly wasn’t to be 😞😞😞

[@lucacello]

That's Real Last Song by Beatles

[@smsoarescunha4688]

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@quackk_kk]

Why John didn't put those on double fantasy i will never know, it's such a beautiful little song, much better than most of DF imo

[@davidvasquez8658]

Better than Yokos stuff (sorry)

[@yascanzi3380]

sadness

[@johnmc3862]

‘Now and then’ is sadder.

[@makarypaul9831]

Royalty

[@fehl593]

Haunting yet biblical.

[@multiversogeek142]

It's not biblical

[@patatoa]

Wish they'd straight up re-do it

[@sebastianfitzptraick7395]

Not sure why the remaining Beatles felt the need to finish John’s songs for him. The demos are still my favourite versions.

[@cosmiccollectiblesent]

Isolate the vocals to clean even further, redo the piano note for note and with the exact timing and you have the penultimate version of this song.

[@skoto8219]

What does your day-to-day life consist of such that you end up with this kind of posture at age 37, in 1977?

[@skoto8219]

Rather lovely song though

[@gabrielmoreno9455]

Livre... como um pássaro. É a melhor próxima coisa a ser. Livre como um pássaro. Ah, ah, ah... em casa e seco. Como um pássaro indo para a casa eu voo. Como uma pássaro em asas...

[@magalirobinson9355]

:)!

[@anialopatiuk2467]

❤😂

[@user-gt6ug2lq1k]

最後にあの建物は何かな❔と😢😢😢　もしかしたら🎵

[@TanMan16]

Nah I love this tho

[@nevermore1963]

😮😮😮😮

[@kenabelson4554]

Give us Peter Jackson's software! Make it open source. What a wonderful world it would be!

[@Mx6xt_]

I remember my ex who I met at music college, she said the Beatles are overrated. Some people just don’t get it do they. Beatles? Overrated? They don’t go in the same sentence.

[@nl5828]

i understand why she is you ex! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 (sorry, too soon?)

[@nevermore1963]

אני בוכה בהיסטריה. קולו האישי נוגע באינטימיות של הנשמה. כאילו ג'ון כאן כחלק ממני. ככה זה היה צריך לצאת לאור. מניחה שג'ף לין עיבד את זה יותר מדי. אין לי מילים אני המומה.❤

[@PastnPixel]

i feel his demo kinda better, it's more raw just John's voice and his piano

[@shachafroitman1561]

Better than the beatles version