A HARD DAY'S NIGHT

To appreciate this album one must take into consideration the insane and intrusive circus that was swirling around these guys at the time. They were still riding the crest of the unbelievable wave of universal popularity that gave definition to the term "rock gods," they were about to star in a feature length movie about themselves, and the entire planet wanted a piece of them 24/7. And now, by the way, could you guys throw together about 13 brand new songs to release as your third LP and soundtrack to the movie? No, this isn't prog any more than the Monkees were but it's still an admirable and undeniably well- produced collection of pop songs that rattle around in your brain like they were born in there. Just listen to the complex chord changes going on and you'll realize this isn't just your standard five-bar blues progressions at work here. Two guitars, bass, drums and hardly a keyboard in sight! That's it. All four were working together like no other band had ever collaborated before and the result is an album that moves from one song to another with astounding ease, yet every song is wholly unlike the previous one. Any person who has ever tried to write a song will tell you that this kind of inspired, crafted-on- the-run genius is beyond belief.