Now and Then ~ The Beatles
For those who have finally stopped weeping from hearing The Beatles reunited on “Now and Then” — a brand new song by the Fab Four that was was released Thursday — well, the waterworks are about to begin again.
The Peter Jackson-directed video, which dropped from the heavens Friday morning, is a flood of feels along a nostalgic, time-traveling trip that, true to the tune’s title, captures The Beatles “Now” and “Then.”
When you first see present-day Paul McCartney and the eternally cool Ringo Starr — rocking a Ringo Starr T-shirt because, well, he can — all of a sudden surrounded by their late bandmates George Harrison and John Lennon in all their youthful glory, you’ll be reaching for a box of tissues.
And trust us — one Kleenex will hardly be enough when you also see Harrison and Lennon sharing a mike in matching raincoats, Harrison in 1995 (when he laid down his guitar parts for “Now and Then”) trading licks with his “Sgt. Pepper”-era self, and Lennon goofing with the string section recorded in secret under the watchful eyes of McCartney and producer Giles Martin (son of “fifth Beatle” George Martin).
The Beatles in the “Now and Then” video. 3
The Beatles come together again in the video for “Now and Then,” a song written by John Lennon in the ’70s.
With “Now and Then” having been written and sung by Lennon in the ’70s, seeing him again throughout the video — 42 years after he was murdered in 1980 — is especially haunting.
As all of the iconic images flash — from their career to their childhoods — there is a sense of joy that sweetens the wistful with the whimsical.
Paul McCartney surrounded by his younger self and George Harrison in the “Now and Then” video. 3
Paul McCartney is surrounded by both his younger self and late Beatle George Harrison in the “Now and Then” video.The Beatles/YouTube
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Gone is all that breakup-bound tension from 2021’s “The Beatles: Get Back,” the sometimes tedious documentary that was also directed by Jackson, who makes his music-video debut here.
They are a band of brothers again.
Ringo Starr and John Lennon in the “Now and Then” video. 3
Ringo Starr (left) gets to jam with late bandmate John Lennon once again in The Beatles’ new “Now and Then” video.The Beatles/YouTube
And by time it ends with The Beatles taking a bow in matching leather suits — in what is the earliest known footage of them — that’s the way you’ll want to always remember them.