The second ‘new’ Beatles recording made for the Anthology project, ‘Real Love’ was based on a piano and vocal demo recorded by John Lennon in the late 1970s, and completed a year after ‘Free As A Bird’.
The song began variously as ‘Real Life’ and ‘Real Love’. Lennon recorded a number of demos of both songs, on piano and acoustic guitar, the lyrics to which varied each time.
At least six takes of ‘Real Love’ were recorded by Lennon in 1979, one of which was eventually used as the basis for The Beatles’ single.
Other versions of the song have also been released: in 1988 the Imagine: John Lennon soundtrack album began with a guitar-and-vocal recording, of significantly better quality than the one used in 1995. This also appeared on the Acoustic album, released under Lennon’s name in 2004.
The John Lennon Anthology box set, from 1998, contained a piano version taped in 1980, which was also included on the highlights disc Wonsaponatime. The song was also included on the 2005 compilation Working Class Hero: The Definitive Lennon.
In the studio
John Lennon’s original demo was recorded on a piano, with a drum machine accompaniment, at his home in the Dakota building, New York City. A cassette containing the song was given to Paul McCartney by Yoko Ono in January 1994, along with ‘Free As A Bird’, ‘Grow Old With Me’, and ‘Now And Then’.
The sound quality of ‘Real Love’ was poor, and took considerable preparation in Jeff Lynne’s Hollywood studio before overdubs could be added.
The problem I had with ‘Real Love’ was that not only was there a 60 cycles mains hum going on, there was also a terrible amount of hiss, because it had been recorded at a low level. I don’t know how many generations down this copy was, but it sounded like at least a couple. So I had to get rid of the hiss and the mains hum, and then there were clicks all the way through it. When we saw the graph of it on the computer, there were all these spikes happening at random intervals throughout the whole song. There must have been about 100 of them. We’d spend a day on it, then listen back and still find loads more things wrong. But we could magnify them, grab them and wipe them out. It didn’t have any effect on John’s voice, because we were just dealing with the air surrounding him, in between phrases. That took about a week to clean up before it was even usable and transferable to a DAT master. Putting fresh music to it was the easy part!
Sound On Sound, December 1995
McCartney later said that the remaining Beatles enjoyed working on ‘Real Love’ less than they did ‘Free As A Bird’, due to its degree of completeness in its original form.
[‘Free As A Bird’] was really like working on a record with John, as Lennon/McCartney/Harrison, because we all chipped in a bit on this one. George and I were vying for best lyric. That was more satisfying than just taking a John song, which was what we did for the second, ‘Real Love’. It worked out great but it wasn’t as much fun.
The extra recording took place at McCartney’s Sussex studio with Lynne producing. McCartney played the double bass originally used by Bill Black on Elvis Presley’s ‘Heartbreak Hotel’, as well as a conventional Fender Jazz electric bass.
Harrison is said to have been dissatisfied with the results of ‘Real Love’, and declined to take part in a third recording, ‘Now And Then’. That led to ‘A Beginning’, an unused orchestral piece recorded in 1968 as an introduction to ‘Don’t Pass Me By’, to be the lead track on Anthology 3.
Chart success
‘Real Love’ debuted at number four in the UK singles chart on 16 March 1996, selling 50,000 copies in its first week. However, its failure to perform better was widely felt to be linked to BBC Radio 1’s refusal to add the song to its playlist.
The decision was widely criticised. Paul McCartney wrote an impassioned article for the Mirror newspaper, published the day after Radio 1 announced the exclusion.
The Beatles don’t need our new single, ‘Real Love’, to be a hit. It’s not as if our careers depend on it. If Radio 1 feels that we should be banned now, it’s not exactly going to ruin us overnight. You can’t put an age limit on good music. It’s very heartening to know that, while the kindergarten kings of Radio 1 may think The Beatles are too old to come out to play, a lot of younger British bands don’t seem to share that view. I’m forever reading how bands like Oasis are openly crediting The Beatles as inspiration, and I’m pleased that I can hear The Beatles in a lot of the music around today. As Ringo said to me about all this, who needs Radio 1 when you’ve got all the independent stations?
The Mirror, 9 March 1996
In the US, ‘Real Love’ entered the charts on 30 March, peaking at number 10. It sold 500,000 copies in four months. The song’s parent album, Anthology 2, topped the charts in both Britain and America.
The ‘Real Love’ single was accompanied by a video directed by Kevin Godley. It featured studio footage filmed in 1995, along with archive shots of the group from the 1960s.
The CD single contained three exclusive b-sides: ‘Baby’s In Black’ recorded at the Hollywood Bowl in August 1965; a new mix of ‘Yellow Submarine’ featuring a spoken word introduction and more sound effects; and an alternative version of ‘Here, There And Everywhere’.
I personally think that Real Love was better than Free as a Bird. Real Love was one of Lennon’s greatest songs.
Ringo also did Backing vocals in this song
Paul played a Harpsichord in this song
Was it a harpsichord or a dulcimer?
@Coco, since you ask – and no-one else has taken the trouble to reply, for some reason:-
A HARPSICHORD is a keyboard instrument – keyboard stringed insrument (acoustic, of course) and was predecessor of the piano. The piano was invented by the Italian musical instrument maker Bartolomeo Cristofori (1655-1731) around 1700, and he had – originally – been really merely trying to improve the ‘loudness’ dynamic range of the then popular keyboard instrument the harpsichord, of which he was already a maker (that is why he called it a ‘gravicembalo col piano e forte’ (in effect: ‘a harpsichord with soft and loud’)); later abbreviated to pianoforte, and in more recent centuries,just piano.
The harpsichord was one of the many almost obsolete musical instruments to be sucessfully revived by, among others, the Dolmetsch family (themselves instrument makers, and perhaps most famous for their revival of the European lute and of the recorder family), in the early twentieth century.
Anyone who is a harpsichord player (and I have played them a lttle myself) knows well that not only has a it a much sweeter (I would say) and more subtle – certainly ‘lighter’ – tone that the modern piano (although there was not so much difference in tone between the harpsichord and these early (i.e. eigtheenth century) pianos – whose tone was very different from that of the modern piano; and modern resurrections of these kinds of instruments there now are too – often referred to by their advocates as ‘fortepianos’ – to distunguish them from the modern piano.
The principal differenece is in the way in which the strngs are set in vibration. In the piano, of course, the strings are struck by hammers, activated (on a modern piano, the action mechanism is quite heavy and complex) by the keys, of course.
In the harpsichord, by contrast, the strings are not struck at all, but plucked (by plectrums). The action is mechanical also, but more subtle in tone than striking the strings. To get dynaimcs of loudness and changes of tone qaulity on a harpsichord, you use the pedals (which have a TOTALLY different function to those on a piano) to bring in what are, in effect, aditional (or to take these out) ‘sympathetic ‘(or harmmoinc) strings. At least, you have these options on any decent sized modern harpsichord. Rather than get too technical here, I should perhaps leave it at that on describing the harpshichord?
The DULCIMER is a stringed instrument also. And, in this case, the strings are struck with – hand-held – stick hammers. It is a much smaller instrument than the piano or harpsichord (although there is a large Hungarian version of this known as the Zimbalon). The most common form of the dulcimer is a Greek instrument originally. Do not confuse this instrument with the APPALACHIAN or MOUNTAIN DULCIMER – a small, lap-sized, North American folk stringed instrument in which the strings are PLUCKED.
Does this help??
Just a wee postscript to my above. really. If many folks already know exactly what a harpsichord is, and what a ducimer is, then okay. In case anyone didn’t – well, I thought it might help to clarify. But the point is that they are different instruments altogether and, under normal circumstances, dfferent enough for one not to possibly confuse the two different sounds. However, i can find no recording of this track with eiter in evidence. Does somenone know something here that I don’t? Perhaps someone can give me a link here??
Edward, thank you for your verbose history lesson on the two instruments. But I still don’t know what the instrument is after the first chorus of “.. only to be alone”
It sounds like you are not hearing the same version. The official video has George’s guitar licks after the first “only to be alone” chorus.
Perhaps we are only hearing this version in the states?
Harpsichord? Are you sure? I hear it too but I thought it was a dulcimer. It’s right after the first chorus of …”only to be alone”. And it’s never mentioned in any notes regarding the recording.
I hear it every time it’s played on the Beatles channel on SiriusXm. The official music video does not have it and replaces it with George’s guitar.
It sounds complete (as well as being a great melody), unlike “Free…” which sounds like a piece of something that the writer never finished and someone else dredged up years later and put their own imprint on it.
Agreed!!
I have to agree with Rob, but I’d also say that I prefer Lennon’s original demos to the version recorded with his fellow Beatles.
I agree, as well. I heard the version of Real LIFE that appeared on a John Lennon podcast — albeit in segments — and it seemed to me a much more honest and moving song.
And to echo comments made regarding Free As A Bird, the Jeff Lynne arrangement did no one any favours, It just made them sound like ELO. A shame George or Giles Martin didn’t work on it.
the problem i have with jeff lynne is a lot of his own music has that same monotonous drum beat which he put on both beatles efforts
He compressed the bejeezus out of em. Also, it was pretty monotonous drumming.
B.S. It sounds like the Beatles and Lynne is the one who allowed it to be so. Without his work, it would never have been releaseable.
And as for Giles, I wish he would quit f-ing with the Beatles’ catalog. That includes that “Love” garbage.
Does anyone know why they used the poor quality demo instead of the much clearer guitar/vocal version from the 1988 Imagine: John Lennon soundtrack album? This has always intrigued me
I guess they were obliged to use the specific track given to them by Yoko Ono.
They could used take 4.
Technically some of ELO’s songs sound like Beatle songs.
Real Love is a great song. It’s amazing how Paul could fill in the vocal parts that were faded on the original tape and sound so much like John. Georges guitar work was some of the best guitar work I’ve heard in years. Poor Ringo was so limited on what he could do with his drumming on the Real Love and Free As a Bird because of the drum machine used on the original recordings. Both great songs though.
Someone is going to have to explain something to me – since Yoko was willing to give Paul a copy of the song, and I assume she had to approve the recording, why did she give and why did Paul accept, such an inferior version when there were better versions out there?
Anyone have any insight into this?
Paul had no prior knowledge of Real Love let alone if one version was better than another.
He mentions this in the Anthology series.
As for Yoko offering that particular version of the song…who knows…
All right; one theory:
passive aggression. The professional widow wanted to be seen to be helpful whilst hoping they’d fail.
And when they didn’t fail, I imagine the merry widow shook her fist to the skies and raged,
“Curses! Foiled again!”
Ok – here’s the irony – I was going to make the same point as Deadman but I might be over the top – but that is EXACTLY my theory.
if that is true, then why did Paul & Co put up with it? The cleaner version was already out there, wasn’t it?
Yes, there was a far better (acoustic guitar-based) version on the Imagine documentary soundtrack album (1988).
Yeah, a quarter-century after John’s death and Yoko’s still trying to sabotage a Beatles reunion – even a virtual one – for her own inscrutably evil purposes. Or some people would have us believe. Me, I have no problem with her wanting to keep the superior version in its pristine state while sacrificing a rougher version for the Threetles to screw around with. I think the most respectful (to John’s memory) move would’ve been for her to NOT allow John’s songs to be exposed to that kind of posthumous gimmickry, especially for what was basically a marketing move. (But just imagine the outrage from the Yoko-haters if she went that route!) And I don’t blame her for possibly expecting the worst, considering how uninspiring “Free As A Bird” came out. (I quite liked “Real Love” fwiw.)
I mean seriously, the woman can do no right in some people’s eyes.
Believe it or not but Yoko ALWAYS resented Paul, George, and Ringo for NOT accepting her into the band as a real Beatle. (Yoko knows how to hold a grudge forever.) She craved it, John could not obtained that for her in the group he initially created as the Quarrymen but co-founded as the Beatles with Paul and George as it’s “leader”.John wanted to quit the band anyway, and she became all for that since she wouldn’t be a real member. She has been competing with The Beatles legacy with a John and Yoko legacy ever since and with the Lennon/McCartney legacy with a Ono/Lennon legacy,(no contest on that one!) even requiring John adopt her last name giving her the prime 1st name dominance. I kid you not.
There’s your “sweet Yoko can do no wrong” for you.
Oh? You know Yoko personally? You personally know what she thinks and feels toward the others and why? Interesting……
The internet is full of “know-it-alls”.
It is no secret that Yoko HAS ALWAYS resented Paul, George, and Ringo for not wanting her in The Beatles. What’s the matter with you? Do you work for Yoko? Rushing in with your ‘Captain Save Yoko’, from the mildest of criticism, all offended on her behalf. Look how long it took her to give Paul those tapes, when John wanted and meant for him to have them. The tapes with those songs, labeled clearly “For Paul”. She is the queen of passive/agressive especially toward Paul, whom she knew John loved. Yoko never wants to share John’s love with anybody!
It’s no secret: that’s JustYourOpinion.
Yes there is the Imagine docu and soundtrack with Real Love on it.
BUT did the other Fabs see the movie and hear this version of the song?
As for Yoko–enough of the reissues!
Usually just before Christmas.
One thing that is quite clear to me, is that over the years, regardless of their personal squabbles each of them always kept close tabs on what the others were doing – especially musically.
In any interview when one is asked about another’s newest record they’ve always heard it.
So I am 100% sure that at least ONE of the other three had seen the Imagine movie and at least ONE of them had to know there was a better version of Real Love.
In Barry Miles’ Paul McCartney Bio (Many Years from now)which is based on interviews Paul gave to him from 1991-1996, Paul talks about a scene from the Imagine Film (The bed-in scene in which this a*****e-cartoonist tries to provoke John etc) – so he clearly must have known the Imagine-Version of “Real Love”. Maybe they used the other demo, because it was more complete or had a better (or different) structure: the guitar demos have this bridge (“I don’t expect you to understand…”), which is very similar to the one John had used for – I think – “Hold On”. But the quality of these demos is A LOT better, there is no doubt about that. But I think after dealing with “Free as a bird” (which must have been a nightmare for the working crew – to fill John’s vocals in exactly etc), “Real Love” was like cruising in comparison.
I never have seen the Imagine movie , but according to Jeff Lynne when redoing these tracks they have to have a raw recording, maybe that’s why they went with the fourth take. I read that on the internet when they redid an Elvis Presley song on one of the Traveling Willbury albums
Which Elvis Presley song did the Travelling Wilburys cover?
They put up with it because they loved John Lennon. The tapes of songs Yoko gave to Paul, John had written ‘For Paul’ on them and look how many years it took Yoko to give Paul what John wanted him to have. In other words those tapes belonged to Paul. Not Yoko giving them to Paul saying “See what you can do with these”
She is extremely passive/agressive.
Couldn’t agree more.
JustYourOpinion. You have no facts, knowledge, or substance to back you up. Period.
(Now we’ll get another “you work for Yoko” reply? Let’s see if you can actually back up JustYourOpinion. )
Von, I don’t think I’m a Yoko hater – however at the same time, she’s no Saint Yoko either.
If we were looking to her to be respectful of John’s memory, we wouldn’t have all the overpriced artwork she’s been hawking – especially where SHE ADDED color and John’s chop to artwork that NEVER had either on it. And then she ups the price for the color and the chop mark – I mean c’mon these are facts. She is the Mastress of marketing John’s legacy to be sure.
I don’t think she’s evil, she’s just Yoko.
Let’s remember Anthology’s main purpose was to get George and Ringo financially solvent – especially George.
Thank you Robert, I wasn’t aware of George and Ringo’s financial problems. Or of Yoko’s artwork-manipulations, which indeed sound dubious at best, disrepectful at worst.
I still don’t buy the theory that Yoko’s got some nefarious agenda to trash the Beatles legacy.
And thank you Von – and I agree with you in that I also don’t think Yoko had a “nefarious agenda to trash the Beatles legacy” however, I do think her temperment is such that she stills see the Beatles legacy as a threat to the John and Yoko legacy.
It makes no sense but I do believe that’s how she thinks.
I agree absolutely: Lynne was the wrong choice as a producer for these songs – they sound overproduced and just like typical ELO songs. I love the demos in their original untouched versions, there is so much sincerity and authenticity there – they should have kept their fingers off these historic tapes. Or included both the originals AND the overdubbed versions. But I think they really screwed up on Free as a bird (John’s voice sounds so noise reduced it’s almost unlistenable), Real Love is a bit better, but the decision to speed up the tape half a step makes John’s great voice sound a bit like he’s one of the chipmunks. My question: can anybody tell me, which take of Real Love was released on the John Lennon Acoustic Album? Thank you.
I respectfully disagree with the comment that Jeff Lynne was the wrong producer. If my history serves me right John Lennon was a Phil Spector fan and had him produce a few of his records.(Wall of Sound)
What’s Jeff Lynne got to do with Phil Spector?
(I thought Lynne did a good job too – anyways, he didn’t overload the thing with a dozen ELO-style vocoders.)
In the previous comment that I was commenting on, I got the impression that the person said that Jeff Lynne overproduced the last two Beatles songs. I was comparing Jeff Lynne to Phil Spector because I thought John Lennon liked the way Phil Spector produced being famous for the Wall of Sound. Jeff Lynne in my opinion had some similarities. I think John Lennon would of liked the way the three remaining Beatles did these two songs. By the way I think Jeff Lynne did a good job too.
OK, now I get it!
Well, one major difference between Spector and Lynne is that Lynne, generally, didn’t like much echo or reverb on his mixes. Overuse of those was Spector’s stock and trade.
I think the answer to your question might be the sixth take for the Acoustic album That’s the impression I got from wikipedia
I recall an interview from when ELO first started where they discussed the heavy influence of I am the Walrus and wanting to expand on it…so clearly Jeff Lynne was a long time fan. Real Love is a really nice track, but it’s not a Beatles record to me. This should have stayed as a Lennon solo. Lynne’s vocals come through too strong and that alone make it sound ‘non’ Beatles.
The quote was actually Roy Wood’s, but Jeff has forever been on record as a Beatles disciple. But in my opinion, RL sounds much more like a Beatles record than FAAB, which has always grated on my ears.
I feel Harrison’s guitar work on “Real Love” took style and tone cues from Lennon. After the solo, Harrison’s guitar takes on a Double Fantasy “I’m Losing You” influence. I have pondered if Harrison was paying tribute to Lennon’s solo career guitar work throughout “Real Love.”
On Double Fantasy, Lennon did not play lead guitar on any tracks. His obvious lack of musical skill was covered up with a cast of no less than 37 musicians. A very good songwriter though he was, he never developed past rudimentary skills on any instrument, unlike McCartney, Harrison and Starr
Lack of musical skill, aye? Give me a break, he was no Clapton, but he could make a guitar “f-ing howl.” The riffs and his lead work on Get Back are Blues 101, relatively simple stuff technically but used so effectively.
Ask Clapton. John was always putting down his own guitar playing but Eric thought he could play just fine, he just had this shyness. Donovan even has cited John’s ability as being quite good. But when you’re in a studio you want to get the best sound and normally you want it quickly. To do this you let more proficient people do it.
Check out Earl Slick’s comments on youtube. He mentions that John Lennon was a fine guitarist!
I always thought “Real Love”
was released b John on one of his earlier albums.
That it was an oversight by Yoko and the remaining Beatles thinking it was a new unfinished song.
I’m so glad to see all these obviously true beatle-freaks on here agreeing with me, because I haven’t gotten a lot of agreement with people I’ve spoken with on this issue – I think “Real Love” is not only far superior to the over-hyped “Free As A Bird”(still a good song) but one of the best songs John ever wrote, and one of the best love songs ever written. The pre-chorus “No need to be alone…no need to be alone”, the way his voice sounds there…it’s just incredibly beautiful with a hint of sadness that only Lennon could convey in that way of his. I find it interesting that “Real Love”, “Grow Old With Me” and “Free As A Bird” are I think inarguably some of his best post-Beatles work. It’s like he was rediscovering his 60’s muse right at the end…I don’t have to say how tragic that is. Take into account things like “Watching The Wheels”, “Now and Then”, “Nobody Told Me”, all written ’78-on. He hadn’t been on a role like that since his first two solo albums. I think a lot of it had to do with his house husband years, he finally accepting and understanding his place with the Beatles and reconciling his feelings for that time in his life(that recent Lennon biography mentioned how in the sessions for “Double Fantasy” he would often refer back fondly to Beatle days, or compare sounds he wanted to things they would do, all things he reportedly was not comfortable expressing before). Oh, and then there’s that tantalizing scrawled “For Paul” on the the tape that Yoko gave to Paul…I have a strong feeling they would have worked together again, specifically on some of these wonderful songs and who knows what else. Oh what might have been!
Yeah…it’s sad to think about it – we’ll never know how much great music has been lost (apart from losing John AS A PERSON). Did John write “For Paul” on that Tape or was it Yoko (or Fred Seaman)? This is interesting, because I read in an interview with Jack Douglas that John honestly considered writing with Paul again (in that interview Douglas also said there were plans for a “true” Beatles-Reunion, meaning John and Paul writing together, making an album AND DOING CONCERTS AGAIN). I’m sorry, I can’t give you a link…I read it somewhere on the web (and to be honest: I thought it was – let’s talk Beatles-style – RUBBISH!). But of course I WANTED to believe it. And it might be true: John had become so proud of “The Bs” that he even collected Beatles-memorabilia of all kind! He “admitted” that in 1974 (doing promo for “Walls and Bridges”). I ask myself if George would have agreed to reunite…even if John AND Paul (and of course Ringo) had been willing to do it. But that’s just my fantasy going mad…(I hope someday you’ll join me!). Isn’t that amazing how important they STILL are? Let’s hope John knows…where ever he is.
I heard somewhere that towards the end of the Lost Weekend Lennon was planning on heading to New Orleans to join up with Paul in the studio, but that was scuttled as him and Yoko got back together and the house husband years began instead…
This is likely to be true although I can’t vouch for the time-frame. I do have it on good authority I can’t cite that John and Paul were indeed serious about trying to do something together, but not as Beatles. The ’80s were very possibly going to boast new Lennon/McCartney songs. That makes John’s death that much harder for me to take knowing how close we were to seeing this happen for real.
I agree with George – this version of ‘Real Love’ is not good. It’s a great song, but to try and force the bad quality into the mix did not work for me. Whereas Beatle recordings always boasted glitches being left in that no one ever notices or are simply thought to have been intended – this recording sounds horribly like what it was – a bad quality recording forced into the stream.
As to the question as to whether the P,R & G ever saw “Imagine” (the film), the answer is ‘yes.’ I’ve got an article around here somewhere (LA Times, I believe) noting the following: “Paul watching and singing harmony, George watching thoughtfully while Ringo sobbing openly.” Back then, the Times was a great newspaper…and the account seems pretty much what I would expect. Later brethren and sisters, Riffking
Anyone else here a ukelele at the end of this track? Should it be added to the list?
The Threetles’ version of Real Love is much better than Free As A Bird. I particularly enjoy George’s lead guitar.
That said, I still think the acoustic guitar demo on the Imagine soundtrack is the best version.
There’s almost definitely either a banjo or a ukulele after the solo. Very evident around 3:24, 3:25
I really don’t care what your arguments are but I simply enjoy listening Free as a Bird and Real Love where I actually think its length had to be a few seconds longer… they fade the song out in a beautiful George solo…
I had absolutely no interest in anything other than what the Beatles produced, all together, in their Beatle years in the sixties… until I heard this song. It’s just plain beautiful. Even if it sounds like a brushed-up demo– which it is– it’s a very GOOD brushed-up demo. It’s… well… Beatlefull.
I believe that Yoko may not have had the rights to or sold away the rights to the version in the Imagine documentary. Glad they did it
I love this song but…WHY OH WHY did they speed it up? There’s versions on Youtube with it brought back to the original speed and it is simply beautiful.
I agree–to me the feel seems better in the not-sped-up recording.
Actually, I much prefer John’s piano version, the one that was released in 1998 on John Lennon anthology. I think “Real love” should have been left alone, no need to add any layers on it, As it was released on Anthology 2, I find it overloaded with unnecessary arrangements. And Jeff Lynne had never been a Lennon’s favorite!
As I write this I’m listening to Beatles Radio and the song real love is playing with John playing the piano. It is truly one of his finest works. And let’s remember that regardless what anyone thinks about Yoko Ono she (for reasons that remain speculative to everyone but her) provided the music that enabled the remaining Beatles (Threetles is catchy but not the best word to describe the remaining three) to pay tribute to John by finishing the arrangement of his work and no one was more qualified than the three to know how to finish his music. I am greatful that the music was arranged for the Beatles because that song could have been arranged with John solo. It was a virtual reunion that made it possible for the Beatles to sing together. And we all benefited from that reunion. So I say thank you Yoko Ono for making the reunion possible and I don’t care as to your motivation because in the end the world heard from The Beatles again because of you.
I definitely prefer the heartbreakingly innocent version from the Imagine documentary. Upon listening to Real Love on YouTube where the original speed is restored to the Jeff Lynne Threetles version, it’s obvious why they sped it up. Although I think it sounds much better slower, it’s more melancholy. I imagine them wanting a happier song about Real Love to release so they increased the speed. The original song is more introspective, sad, and filled with longing. The Threetles injected a forced positivity that ended up dividing fans.
This is an impeccable composition by Lennon and I prefer his own version before “The Beatles´” version
Such an achingly beautiful song. For me it’s always had a White Album-y kind of feel. Maybe because I first heard it through John’s solo, guitar-based version (hear here):
Is it possible the reason George disliked Real Love wasn’t because of the song itself, but because he was getting tired of dealing with McCartney in the studio?
In Anthology there are moments of real reminiscing and joy among the Threetles. But during the impromptu jam (Blue Moon of Kentucky especially) Paul starts to play and George sighs ‘okay…just one more though.’ And he sometimes seemed frustrated by Paul talking over him when they’re talking of the Hamburg days around the table at Friar Park.
It’s possible George was simply getting tired of churning out backing tracks to older John songs, as he refused to work on Now and Then. I could be speculating but it does feel like Hari was running out of patience working with Paul
No. You ARE speculating.
This song is one of my favorite ones. The first time I’ve heard Real Love I was amazed. I don’t know why, but for me it’s like the absolute Farewell Song, more than Let it be or The End. A very sad, but beautiful goodbye. Goosebumps every time.
I agree. I always enjoy hearing this one. And though it wasn’t meant to be, it’s a great exclamation point to the Beatles’ history.
This is literally my second favourite Beatles song. I think it is extremely underrated.
Ok, I’ll bite – so what’s your favorite?
An absolutely beautiful song. Perfectly encapsulates the “Summer of Love” feel of the Beatles circa 1967. Whether you love it, loathe it or are undecided – it remains THE LAST time all four Beatles would be on record together. Sadly with George’s passing in 2001, the Beatles are just Paul and Ringo now. Just imagine though what a bitter sweet ep Free As A Bird, Real Love, Now and Then and Grow Old Along With Me would have been!
“Harrison is said to have been dissatisfied with the results of ‘Real Love’ and declined to take part in a third recording.”
“Is said” is not a valid source and in fact is, by definition, hearsay. I hope no one believes this as actual fact because it cannot support itself with a genuine quote. In fact, there is no evidence that Harrison was unhappy with “Real Love” which caused him to not want to make a third recording from another John Lennon demo, “Now and Then”.According to Paul McCartney, they considered working on that but George simply did not like the song. Paul said that George kept saying, “This is rubbish.” George refused to work on a third recording because he didn’t think the song was worth their time and effort.
I still stand by what I said three years ago, however I must amend by stating, Now and Then IS ACTUALLY the last time we will ever have the Beatles together again. As with Real Love and Free As A Bird, Now and Then is the culmination of 60 years of the Greatest Band of All Time………Ladies and Gentlemen……The Beatles!! TA Lads