A Hard Day's Night (1964)

The Beatles redefined what it was to be (in) a band. And they also redefined what an album was.

Bands did't write their own songs, not until the Beatles did, and from now on, all tracks on all the albums were written by one, two or more of The Fab Four. Albus too used to have one or two singles, and the rest filler. Until The Beatles came along.

Even as Beatlemania swept across Britain and around the rest of the world, no one knew how long the ride would last. A two year career is as good as many acts of the time had, so would The Beatles be any different?

As stated in previous posts, most British pop acts would make a film after a year or so of hits, usually with a young photogenic American actress for the international sales, and this is where real money could be made.

The Beatles were approached many times with proposals for a film, but went with Richard Lester. The distributor elected to go with black and white film, something that gives the film a timeless quality.

Ampification of the time was very basic. A simple amp of a few watts was OK for rehersal rooms of the back room of a pub, but in a theatre or cinema where there would be 80% screaming young ladies, The Beatles couldn't hear themselves play, let alone the audience. The only place other than fairs where music could be heard loud was in a cinema. So for many fans, the first time they heard The Beatles loud was in the cinema when they went to see this film.

Coupled with images of the band as large as the side of a house, this was heady stuff.

And on top of this, The Beatles were a gang. A gang the girls wanted to flirt with, and a gang the boys wanted to be a part of, or have something similar. Their easy going interactions with each other, and their humour, quick wits could not be acted, it was real. And this came over loudly and on the silver screens up and down the country.

The album that tied in with the film had the first side featuring music from the film, and new songs on the reverse. All tracks were written by the band themselves, and just Lennon and McCartney. Geoege Harrison also played a 12 string Rickenbacker 360/12, an instrument that would influence popular music well into the next decade. Most heard it on this album first.

Side 1

1. "A Hard Day's Night"
2. "I Should Have Known Better"
3. "If I Fell"
4. "I'm Happy Just to Dance with You"
5. "And I Love Her"
6. "Tell Me Why"
7. "Can't Buy Me Love"

Side 2

1. "Any Time at All"
2. "I'll Cry Instead"
3. "Things We Said Today"
4. "When I Get Home"
5. "You Can't Do That"
6. "I'll Be Back"

The album opens with the world's most famous opening chord. And gets better from then on it. "A Hard Day's Night" is so well known now, and yet it is clear that it was a step change from the two albums that came before. Better production, fuller sould, and a band rich in confidence. The track is one of the best moments in popular music, and yet for The Beatles they would get better and better.

Of course, nothing could etter that opening, but the familiar "I Should Have Known Better" follows, and keeps up the quality, if not the pace. Again, great production, fuller sound fills the ears.

"If I Fell" is, perhaps, the only hint on side 1 of a sound that could have come on either of the first two records. Not one of my favourites.

"I'm Happy Just to Dance with You" perks this up a notch. Though as Jools said as we listened, their subject matter for sings is rather limited. An up temp toe-tapper that rattles along and is gone before you know it. All in under two minutes.

"And I Love Her" opens with some wonderful guitar work, and is, in my opinion, a hint of the wonderful ballards to come in the following years. A song that is some 64 years old, and yet could have been recorded last week, its so timeless.

Next up is "Tell Me Why", an ensomble work, with all bar Ringo on vocals, and the way the three of them compliment each other is just literal music to the ears. A joy from start to finish. Another song about a broken heart.

Side one ends with the other worldwide hit of "Can't Buy Me Love". Can I say anything new about this? I don't think so. The song seems to define the 60s in its short running time, you can imagine all of Europe nodding their heads to this as it played on Radio Luxembourg. A great bluesy guitar break, then building to a fine finish! And we're only at the halfway point.

"Any Time at All" opens side two, with more up tempo foot-tapping, with a key change leading into the chorus. John sings, as he does on the majority of tracks on the album, slightly nasal, which is obvious on the verses, but loses it in the brighter chorus.

"I'll Cry Instead" is an amazing track. Sounding American, that might be that 12 string hard at work under George's fingers. This is probably the best "unknown" Beatle song this far to me. You can hear it's echos in music for a decade or more to come. I love it.

"Things We Said Today" sounds like two songs joined together, with downbeat verses, and upbeat chorus, matching the lyric. The upbeat part is one of those Beatle melodies that other writers and bands would kill for. And they just pulled it out of the air, and made it the tenth track on the album.

Can you imagine being in The Beatles? I mean, a song like "When I Get Home" would be a hit single for most other bands, a driving beat, strained vocals by John again, and the second longest track on the record at just over two and a half minutes. I mean, by now they were a music writing and recording machine, the world would never be the same again, and in north Kent, Jagger and Richards were listening.

I honestly thought side two would be very much in the shade of side 1, but a third in a row of bangers, "You Can't Do That" rattless along, and is another stonker. A warning to John's girlfriend about what talking to another boy would bring. A fine song, great harmonies, and so effortless.

Lennon and McCartney close the record with "I'll Be Back", taking things down a notch, and is another song about a broken love. A stripped back sound, vocal lead rather than the beat. What would the next record bring, we wonders.