And appraising the Beatles today by looking at the music in isolation somewhat misses the point. To understand the impact they had on music, and on culture and even society as whole, you need to understand the context. What they did in the 1960s really sets them apart from pretty much every band before or since, regardless of whether the tunes sound good to today’s ears. I’m reminded of Philip Larkin’s proposition than sex didn’t exist before 1963…
Good point, we’ll made, etc
He is past it as a performer, but you can’t disregard everything he did as a musician and song writer. Just look through the Beatles back catalogue and see how many of their songs have been absorbed into our culture, to the extent that a lot of people don’t even realise that they’re Beatles songs.
His Wings stuff wasn’t bad either – Band on the Run, Live and Let Die, etc.