NOW AND THEN 1995 (outtakes)

[@CosmicMapping]

I gotta say I disagree tremendously with your take on the guitar solo in the description, that’s been my favorite part of the song since I first heard it. The way it blends with the vocals harmonies, the tone, the way the strings lift everything up toward the end. It’s so ethereal and haunting, I didn’t even think it was a guitar when I first heard it, I thought it was some kind of synth. It sounds like an alien whale crying across the cosmos on a desolate journey, yearning for the quickly fading memories of love and connection that were lost eons ago. Ugh I just love it so much.

[@pasternakstudios]

The vocals of young Paul can be heard when he sings ‘I want you to be there for me’ and ‘Always you, return to me.’ It sounded very bad if I separated them from the vocals of Paul from 2023, but its clear anyway. Beyond that, elements like George’s acoustic and electric guitars were among the few things from '95 that were preserved in the song, which is why I included them in the video.

[@coolbeans1998]

I also isolated that little snippet from the documentary with George's outtake! I'm glad other people noticed that little snippet

[@pasternakstudios]

Yes! It's so cool, there must be more out there. The article from 'Sound and Vision,' which is very detailed about what was done in '95 with this song (with good sources, even interviewing Marc Mann, Jeff Lynne, and Giles Martin), says that George recorded two electric guitar tracks, with only one being kept in the 2023 track. Hopefully, if they re-release the anthologies, 'Now And Then' will use more parts from '95 to match its two sister songs.

[@FlyingPringleJJ]

Fascinating! I’m curious about the bass, is that from the short snippet we see of them playing the end of the song? Unless I’m mistaken it sounds like his 5 string used on Free as a Bird. Despite the comments from the time saying that his bass was too underwhelming in the two 90s singles, I actually find the less-melodic and more reserved basslines of the two reunion songs really spectacular. Nothing against the bass part in the 2023 version, but I would’ve loved if they’d used the 95 take out of curiosity. Thanks for compiling all this in one spot!

[@pasternakstudios]

Thank you very much for your comment. The bass is an interesting detail. You can hear it when they play John's demo (the raw one, from the cassette), complementing it in a brilliant way. Anyway, here is a fan mix that uses the only existing elements from '95 and, based on a sheet of notes from producer Jeff Lynne during the years he produced this song, gives us an idea of what it could have been: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mqCyd6uFa5imotUsi=yj-MHgDUZv6EnsWK

[@Yo-PBeats-n8n]

I'm surprised. I keep seeing this videos of alternate Now and Then Snippets. Is this a new discovery/leak or were the snippets always there, drowned by the mix? I've read the desc but I still have questions

[@ineverseeyouanymore]

Acoustic/Electric Guitar parts are from 1995 sessions (you can hear them in 2023 version) However, the bass and piano parts were rerecorded in 2022/3 becuase they sound unfinished and sloppy.

[@ineverseeyouanymore]

0:09 is the original '95 mix, it features the unused electric guitar track from George

[@truespirit2725]

Thats not a 95 out take pauls voice was far better