If you were in a neighborhood bar in an imaginary world where no one had ever heard the Beatles, and that night's band was the Beatles playing their 12 best songs, would you look up from your beer and

I think the question is asking "imagine everything as it is except without the Beatles" which is impossible because they changed the past 50 years of culture to such as degree that pop music and rock music might have commercially died very quickly without them, and so a good 90% of the bands and culture that arrived since then might have never existed. In this context, the question could be asking "what if they arrived now instead of then?"

Although the question might also be suggesting that they did exist exactly just the same, except without their 12 best songs, and everything else somehow existed just the same without "Rain" and "Dear Prudence" and "Things We Said Today" etc etc which I still don't see how it's possible, but I guess it could be... And some random-ass band shows up, and in the alternate-universe they were the ones who wrote these songs and they just happened to be a new band. Well, I guess that would be pretty cool....

according to Lemmy, of all people, in the Cavern days they were the best live band ever

There is no way that this isn't true simply because of the source.

And He Would Know!

He was Jimi Hendrix's roadie and said The Beatles were the best live band ever.............

I would enjoy this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JgcwzhxTQg

since lots of bands are influnced by The Beatles, i might think they are imitators

I think i've decided that so much of what i like about them is captured in the second half of their recorded output, where they used a shitload of studio trickery. What would "I am the Walrus" be like live? I bet not nearly as good.

12 songs from their later years that would still sound good without studio trickery:

Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except for Me and My Monkey
Two of Us
Here Comes the Sun
She Said She Said
You Never Give Me Your Money
Happiness is a Warm Gun
Long Long Long
Martha My Dear
Hey Bulldog
Rain
Because
Strawberry Fields Forever (lots of the early acoustic version still sound good)

"i want to hold your hand" still sounds like the world splitting open

I bet IATW would be kinda cool live if it was all loud and heavy, a West Coast psych thing. Not sure you'd come away thinking it was a devastating classic on first listen, but I think it'd fly. I think most of the later stuff would all be great though - the studio work is wild and mindblowing but the songwriting is awesome and there are probably some things that get a little too precise or clean-sounding on record.

My ears might prick up if they played Revolution 9 tbf.