There’s many examples of the Beatles’ superhuman powers of progression, but my favourite is the eleven-month jump from recording Dizzy Miss Lizzy to Tomorrow Never Knows. In May 1965, they step in the studio and straight into a sweaty, old-school rock ‘n’ roll cover, tearing through it like they’re rocking a lunchtime gig at the Cavern. Less than a year later, they head in Abbey Road and start laying down the sound of seagulls and Leslie speakers, thunderous drums and tape loops, hypnotic incantations and the Tibetan Book of the Dead. It’s avant-garde pop with no real precedent. None of their peers were imagining music could be like this let alone attempting it. What makes it truly insane is everything that happened in those 11 months. It wasn’t a period of self reflection and a bit of quality me time. Instead, they played three major tours. They’re circling round Europe, they shoot up and down the UK, they zig-zag America. The legendary Shea Stadium gig is during this tour. And then there’s the small matter of writing, recording, and releasing Rubber Soul along with its standalone double A-side single. Think about this. If the leap was Dizzy Miss Lizzy to Rubber Soul in 11 months, with all that touring on top, it’d still be incredible. Rubber Soul is a titanic artistic leap. But they did all of that: the touring, the evolution, the masterpiece album, the pop perfection of the standalone single, and then walked into Abbey Road for the first Revolver session, and John goes, “I’ve got this idea…” and work begins on one of the most revolutionary tracks in pop history. It’s preposterous. Less than a year earlier, straight-ahead 50’s rock ‘n’ roll still suits them. Now they have (temporarily) evolved far beyond it, sonic pioneers voyaging into the unknown. And the best of it is, I can say all this, and someone else can go “aye, but my favourite example is…” and pull out something else equally mind-blowing. That’s really what sets them apart. It’s like when we call Muhammad Ali ‘The Greatest’. He’s not got one signature victory on his record. He has a murderer’s row of epic wins against elite opponents. The Beatles are the same. It’s incredible feat after incredible feat. The “how did they do that?” moments stack up and up. Thats why they, too, are The Greatest.