The Beatles: A Hard Day's Night

The Beatles: A Hard Day's Night

1964

Parlophone Records

Format I Own it on: Vinyl & Compact Disc

Track Listing: 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   8. Any Time at All  9.  I'll Cry Instead  10.Things We Said Today  11. When I Get Home  12. You Can't Do That  13. I'll Be Back 


The Beatles third album doubles as the soundtrack to their 1964 film of the same name...



Now this is more like it! I know my Beatles posts up to this point have largely consisted of me claiming to love the Beatles and then talking about how I'm not too crazy about most of the music...Well, this one's different...

The big change here is that this album, for the first time, consists of fourteen originals and whopping  zero covers...No old show tunes or stiff interpretations of Chuck Berry! And it helps that their originals are better than ever...

On the surface it still sounds like the first two albums, but on closer inspection, it's less rock n' roll and more effervescent pop...The arrangements are starting to sport their trademark innovation...check out that crashing single chord they utilize as the intro for the title track! It's not just about music composition anymore...it's now also about the sound...The overly simplistic "You/Me/I/Her" lyrics have also been replaced by more complex (and sometimes even abstract) ways of saying "I Love You." Can't Buy Me Love" is undoubtedly about love but it's also about the value of worldly possessions...It doesn't matter how much money you have...Hell, you could be Ted Dibiase himself...

 ...and you still can't buy love...Hookers, maybe, but not love...Sure, hookers say they love you, but do they ever call you back?

Anyway, "A Hard Day's Night" finds the Beatles advancing both artistically and commercially, Beatlemania was in full swing and these guys were on top of the world and only climbing higher...Where were they going? The moon? Who knows...

Like all pre-Pepper Beatles records, there was also an abridged U.S. version...



This one was really abridged, by the way...Even the cover is abridged...It's  essentially an E.P. consisting of seven songs from the UK version, and side two features four schmaltzy instrumentals from the movie, cos I'm sure all the screaming teenage girls were just dying to hear muzak versions of Beatles hits...

 EEEEEEEEEEEE(asy listening)!!!!!!

 It seriously dilutes the impact of the Beatles big accomplishment all in the name of a quick buck...This is the dark side of tangible music...But let's not dwell on the dark side.....Or tangible music, for that matter...Let's listen to part three of some random "Beatles Years" radio show form 1998...

That was fun...Now let's check out "A Hard Day's Night" by the Beatles...Enjoy...