The Beatles' 'Now and Then' is a wistful curiosity, 45 years in the making

Let's get the most obvious critique out of the way first: "Now and Then," the song billed as The Beatles' final single, can't possibly live up to "Let It Be," "Strawberry Fields Forever" or whatever happens to serve as your personal favorite Beatles song. The song began as a modest demo — just John Lennon, recording on a boombox at home in the late '70s, with a TV on in the background — and it lives on as a modest demo that's been blown out into a credible full-band production.