How does the most popular band in rock music history both close out their recording history and celebrate their iconic legacy at the same time? Well, in early November, The Beatles accomplished both by releasing their last new recording, “Now and Then,” and reissuing their ever popular catalog compilation albums, The Beatles 1962-1966 and The Beatles 1967-1970 known informally as the “Red” and “Blue” albums (Apple/Capitol/UMe), augmented with dozens of new tracks and completely remixed in stereo.
Documentary director Oliver Murray. Credit: Courtesy Oliver Murray On November 1, a day before the release of “Now and Then,” fans were treated to a special film, a 12-minute documentary titled Now and Then – The Last Beatles Song, directed by British filmmaker Oliver Murray. The film wonderfully mixes footage from the 1995 sessions (and more recent), intermingled with loads of great archival Beatles footage, all of it beautifully restored.