WAS IT GOOD THAT THE BEATLES BROKE UP?

WAS IT GOOD THAT THE BEATLES BROKE UP? This article, based on unpublished interviews Ray Connelly had with John Lennon forty years ago, suggests that it was a good thing that the Beatles broke up. His argument is that: “By killing the Beatles before they could disappoint us, as they inevitably would have done when music fashions changed and the band’s later albums didn’t quite live up to the ones we still love Lennon froze them for ever at their peak.” This argument is the same one that I have been objecting to in recent posts. More art is better than less art. Having HAMLET and PARADISE LOST is a good thing and having more Beatles music would almost certainly be a good thing. To hell with music fashion. And albums that fell short of the brilliance of the existing Beatles albums could still be awfully good. On the other hand, the proposition that we’ll never know can’t be rejected. I have linked previously to this site, which has thoughtful and enjoyable analyses of each of the Beatles albums as well as the individual albums of Lennon, McCartney and Harrison. Presumably if the Beatles had stayed together, we wouldn’t have most of those individual albums.