More Beatles AI Music On The Way? Peter Jackson Sounds Hopeful

Though he has access to a library of John Lennon’s isolated vocal stems, we can’t help but wonder if The Beatles actually need posthumous assistance in creating another hit, or if we should just be happy with the songs that already exist.

Despite what die-hard Beatles fans may think, Paul McCartney is on board with revisiting the unfinished material that he holds near and dear to his heart.

In other words, even if the most cynical of Beatles fans think that using artificial intelligence to generate a new Beatles song may seem like a cash-grab, there is an emotional component that needs to be considered.

John Lennon and Paul McCartney were writing partners and best friends, so it makes sense that the 81-year-old Beatles bassist is enthusiastic about working again with his former bandmate.

Even if the work involves working through old tapes and working with Peter Jackson to create a new Beatles song by sifting through archival content, the possible project doesn’t seem disingenuous.

In Peter Jackson’s mind, he could strip some vocal performances from the 2021 Beatles Get Back documentary, rework the material with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, and come up with new vocal harmonies and chord progressions to create something entirely new.

Though there haven’t been any official conversations with McCartney about coming up with a another new song, it’s not outside the realm of possibility.

But the use of artificial intelligence to create a new Beatles song raises the question of whether we actually need new material from the Liverpool based band, or if they should simply just rest on their laurels with their already impressive and iconic canon of songs. Now and Then,” which featured AI-isolated vocals from John Lennon was released to mixed reviews. And although Jackson and McCartney made a sincere attempt to turn John Lennon’s demo into a more developed song, we can’t help but wonder if the Beatles front man would have wanted this song to see the light of day, or if he was okay with it never being released.

The Beatles were primary a studio band from 1966 to 1974. So it goes without question that they have plenty of session tapes for tunes that probably never ended up seeing the light of day because they got shelved in favor of other songs.

But if Jackson, McCartney, and Starr want to push the demo tapes into new territory and release a Beatles song in 2023, shouldn’t we just let the Beatles themselves make that decision?

Demo songs are often a proof of concept, but sometimes they end up becoming larger than life when revisited. Sometimes they get pulled out of the archives and further developed, and sometimes they never end up getting a proper production.

If you’ve ever written songs or played in a band, you know all too well how hard it is to let go of an idea that at one point you thought was the best song you’ve ever written, only to shelve it because you simply weren’t in the right place or time to further pursue the idea.

For all we know, we may possibly end up having the next Beatles hit on our hands, but as of this writing, we’re only in the talking stages.