A HARD DAY'S NIGHT

1964 took things to an entirely different level for the Fab Four. More studio time. Songs all over the radio. Trips to America. Feature film. The Ed Sullivan Show. Not a bad year all in all. The 3rd album (released July 10th 1964) which coincided with the first of the Beatle films was a huge improvement over their mediocre second album. They were still as efficient as ever, taking a total of 65 hours to record and mix this one. The tracks on side one were used in the film while the side two tracks were not. The band did not want the film to be overwhelmed with music, instead wishing for the boys personalities to be given time to shine with action and dialogue. They felt however that the other recorded tracks were too good to let sit around and so placed them on side two of "A Hard Days Night." This album was also notable for being the first to feature all originals and no covers. Two other things contributed to the increasingly elaborate sound. First, the band was now using a 4-track which allowed more control for George Martin and Norman Smith (the Engineer who would soon produce Pink Floyd's masterpiece "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn.") Second, George Harrison had recently acquired a 12-string Rickenbacker guitar which gave the album a unique sound.

The ratio of winners to merely passable tracks took a significant jump here over "Meet the Beatles." The title track is a classic with that ringing first chord that would make the hair of the Beatlemaniacs necks stand up for the rest of their lives. "If I Fell" and "And I Love Her" are two of those gentle and sweetly romantic ballads that can melt hearts. The latter features a rather exotic sounding dual acoustic guitar treatment, with only hand percussion. Paul's vocal is really amazing here. Side one ended with another big single in "Can't Buy Me Love." The best of the non-film tracks were "Things We Said Today" and "I'll Be Back." Interestingly both tracks have just the slightest hint of melancholy in the music, a sign that the boys were starting to think about more emotional variation than "happy go lucky." "A Hard Day's Night" night is an iconic album and nostalgically legendary for those who were teens in that era, but it was still just a good album on the upward trajectory.

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