PAUL MCCARTNEY SAYS THE BEATLES WEREN’T THAT GOOD when they started out. I’ve heard that first Beatles demo and, well, it sucked. I wouldn’t have signed them either. Which only says that (1) the guy who did sign them had a great ear for raw talent; and (2) there’s no substitute for experience.

On a related note, though, the InstaDaughter has been very into the Beatles lately (all her friends are into ’60s and’70s stuff now: Beatles, Stones, Cream, Kinks, etc.) and listening to a lot of those songs I’m struck again by McCartney’s virtuosity on the bass. Listen to the bass line on, say, Rain sometime. Being a Beatle, he rises above mere talk of performance skill, but, really he was amazing, particularly for the time.