Help (Single) 1965

1. Help
- Title track and pre-single for the band's forthcoming album of the same name, and also the name of their forthcoming second film.
- Released in July 1965.
- Written mostly by Lennon, with McCartney helping with a few odds and ends.
- The lyrics reflect Lennon's difficulty with coping with the success of the band and his own general insecurities.
- One of Lennon's favourite Beatles tracks that he wrote, mainly because he felt it came more from the heart than a lot of others he had written. He also liked it because it wasn't written for any purpose other than as an outlet for his feelings.
- In later years Lennon said he regretted not recording it at a slower tempo. He tried to record it at a slower tempo at the time but George Martin and the rest of the band felt it needed to be faster since it was slated as the next single.
- The single version and the album version have slightly different lyrics, and the American version starts with an instrumental intro.
- Lennon plays a 12-string acoustic guitar on the recording and does the lead vocals. McCartney and Harrison provide backing vocals, and Ringo plays a tambourine track as well as his usual drum stuff.
- Took 12 takes and runs for two and a half minutes.

2. I'm Down
- B-side to Help!
- Written by McCartney.
- One of the more energetic Beatles song, very much influenced by 50s R+B artists like Little Richard.
- An alternate take exists where the song is played at a slower tempo and without the backing vocals.
- The lyrics are very much a tongue-in-cheek swipe at Lennon's lyrics for Help! from McCartney. It's somewhat fitting that they should appear on the same single together.
- The band often closed their live set with this song throughout 1965, and McCartney purposely wrote this song for such a purpose (they had previously often closed their set with Long Tall Sally, which has a similar structure/feel).
- McCartney sings the lead vocals, with Lennon and Harrison providing the backing vocals. Lennon also plays the organ on the recording (the first time he would do so), and Ringo plays some bongos.
- Took 7 takes and runs for two and a half minutes.

Bad Boy (US-only track) 1965

#. Bad Boy
- Features on the US-only album Beatles VI, released in June 1965.
- Was eventually released onto the UK market as part of a compilation album a year and a half later (December 1966).
- Originally written, performed and released by Larry Williams as a single in 1959.
- The band recorded the song on Williams' birthday, the 10th of May.
- Lennon sings the lead vocals.
- Recorded in the same session as Dizzy Miss Lizzy during the making of the Help! album. Both were intended as US-only tracks, but Dizzy Miss Lizzy ended up getting included on Help! due to a shortage of material.
- This is one of the only official Beatles studio recordings that isn't found on one of their official UK albums, singles or EPs.

Ticket to Ride (Single) 1965

1. Ticket to Ride
- Released in April 1965, and later featured in the Help! film (originally titled Eight Arms to Hold You) and on the album of the same name.
- Written by Lennon, this remained one of the Beatles tracks that he was most proud of (especially the double-time ending).
- McCartney claims to have written about 40% of it but Lennon disputed this and responded that McCartney was only responsible for the way Ringo plays the drums in it.
- Popular myth/folklore has it that the song was originally titled Ticket to Rye (as in the train station Rye) and that the title was changed so as not to confuse American fans. I doubt that's true, but it's pretty funny either way.
- This song was 'heavier' sounding than any other Beatles songs before it, especially in terms of the drums and the drone-style bass.
- This may be due to the fact that it was the first time the band layed down all the rhythm tracks before building on top of it with melody and vocals. A lot of Beatles fans see this song as the first in their 'middle period'.
- Lennon plays a 12-string acoustic guitar on the recording, and McCartney contributes both guitar and bass tracks. Harrison doesn't play guitar at all on the recording, instead just singing some harmony vocals.
- Ringo provides handclaps and tambourine alongside his drum track. Multi-talented!
- Some footage of the band performing this song only survives thanks to the fact that it was included in it's entirety as part of a Doctor Who episode broadcast in 1965. In the episode the Beatles were originally due to appear as old man-versions of themselves, suggesting that they were going to be around for a long, long time. Brian Epstein vetoed the idea as 'silly' and this archival footage was used instead.
- Later, in the 70s, Lennon claimed that this was the first heavy metal song of all time and that he, by association, invented heavy metal. One of his more arrogant and ridiculous claims.
- Runs for three minutes, and took 2 takes. This was the longest running Beatles song to date.

2. Yes It Is
- B-side to the Ticket to Ride single.
- Written by Lennon, and possibly about his deceased mother.
- Took many takes to complete, and is the song the band spent the longest amount of time to record throughout all of 1965.
- Of the songs Lennon wrote for the Beatles, this was one of his least favourite.
- Harrison makes interesting use of a volume pedal to get some weird-ish almost violin-like sounds out of his guitar.
- Yes It Is features a higher level of harmonising from Lennon, McCartney and Harrison than usual. Harrison's vocal contributions in particular would become more frequent from this point on.
- Ringo adds a tambourine track alongside his drums.
- Runs for two minutes anf forty seconds, and took 14 takes.

Beatles for Sale (Album) 1964

- The fourth studio album recorded by the band, released in December 1964.
- Many regard this album as the point where the band started putting a bit more effort into their lyrics. Lennon becomes more introspective and McCartney moves towards storytelling.
- The band started working on this album only six days after they finished the A Hard Day's Night album.
- The constant touring and promotional work was starting to wear the band down a bit by this point, hence the inclusion of a couple of covers on this album after having previously made the switch to all-originals for A Hard Day's Night.
- Three of the covers were recorded within 5 takes on a single day.
- McCartney described the songwriting process at the time: management would give them a week before recording to start writing some new material. McCartney would go round to Lennon's house and they'd sit down to write a song each day, usually taking roughly 3 hours.

1. No Reply
- Written by Lennon. Most of his songs on this album would have a similarly downbeat-feel, though this particularly song was actually written during the making of A Hard Day's Night (and was presumably left off that album due to it's less than joyful tone).
- Lennon considered offering it to Tommy Quickly after it was rejected for A Hard Day's Night, but eventually decided to keep it for himself.
- Lennon intended to sing all the parts but his voice was failing at the time, so McCartney took on the higher-melody bit in the bridge section.
- The song doesn't really have a chorus yet was still considered strong enough to open the album.
- Both guitar tracks are acoustic. Lennon recorded some handclaps and McCartney provided the
cowbell.
- Originally written with a waltz-like beat, though this abandoned prior to recording in favour of the bossa nova-styled rhythm.
- Runs for just over two minutes, and took 8 takes to record.

2. I'm a Loser
- Lennon wrote this song mid-flight whilst the band was on tour with Jackie DeShannon in the U.S.
- Having recently met Bob Dylan, Lennon shows the D-man's influence here in his tone and lyrics (most specifically the use of the word 'clown'). The song also shows the growing influence that country music was having on the band (mainly courtesy of Ringo, who was a huge country music fan).
- The lyrics reflect Lennon's insecurities regarding the fan reaction the Beatles were experiencing at the time.
- Was going to be released as a stand-alone single in the UK until Lennon came up with I Feel Fine, which was used instead.
- Lennon plays some harmonica on the recording, as well as providing an acoustic guitar track and the lead vocals. McCartney does some harmony vocals. Ringo added in a tambourine track to go alongside his drums.
- Runs for two and a half minutes, took 8 takes to complete.

3. Baby's in Black
- Another track written by Lennon, though McCartney co-wrote some of the melody.
- The song was written while the band was on tour in Australia and New Zealand, with McCartney most likely responsible for the guitar solo (which was a little beyond Harrison's playing ability at the time).
- The song has 6/8 time (very few Beatles songs have timing along these lines) and is played slower than the usual speed - giving the impression of a waltz.
- It's considered fairly likely that this song is about Astrid Kirchherr, the girlfriend of Stuart Sutcliffe (the band's first bassplayer, who died of a brain hemorrhage in 1962 whilst the band was playing Hamburg).
- Lennon and McCartney sing the bulk of the vocals together, and sang them into the same microphone at the same time for the recording (McCartney's idea). This has since made it hard for anyone else to sing on their own as it's difficult to tell who is doing which harmony.
- Harrison had difficulty mastering the solo during recording, resulting in multiple takes.
- Ringo does some more tambourine work in addition to his drums.
- The band often performed this whilst on tour from 1964 up until they stopped playing live in 1966.
- A live-version of this was released as the B-side to the Anthology-related single Real Love in 1996.
- Runs for just over two minutes and took 14 takes to finish.

4. Rock and Roll Music
- One of six covers used to 'fill out' the album. The band opted to cover mostly rock and R&B standards that they had been playing live for the last few years.
- Originally written and peformed by Chuck Berry.
- Lennon does the lead vocals, pushing the range beyond Berry's more even delivery. The Beatles version is also played in a different key to Berry's.
- The band changed the lyric "If you wanna rock with me" to "If you wanna dance with me".
- Released as a single in some countries (but not the UK or U.S.). Got to #1 in Australia and Norway.
- McCartney, Lennon and George Martin all play the same piano part for the recording.
- After this song was recorded the band decided to start including it in their live set again.
- Runs for two minutes and took only 1 take to complete.

5. I'll Follow the Sun
- Written by McCartney.
- A downbeat ballad, McCartney apparently wrote this when he was 16. Owing to the band's more rock-orientated reputation he didn't feel comfortable reworking it for the band until their 4th album (when they were desperate for material).
- There is a recorded version of this song from the band's earliest days (1960), featuring Stuart Sutcliffe on bass. The original version is a bit more skiffle-ish and has a different bridge.
- Lennon and McCartney both provide acoustic guitar tracks, McCartney does the lead vocals while Lennon harmonises with him.
- Ringo slaps his knees for some added percussion.
- McCartney still performs this song live, and has done so as recently as 2007.
- Run time: 1 minute and 45 seconds. Took 8 takes.

6. Mr. Moonlight
- A blue standard written in the early 60s. The earliest recorded version turned up in 1962 as a B-side to a minor single by Piano Red.
- The band started performing this during their Hamburg days.
- Lennon does the main vocals.
- The Beatles version is probably the most well-known version.
- Many Beatles fans allegedly consider this to be the worst song the band ever recorded. I'd like to refer such people to some of the Beatles tracks Ringo sung between 1965 and 1968...
- Features an organ solo. I think McCartney might have played this.
- Harrison was originally to have played a slide-guitar solo but this was abandoned during recording in favour of the aforementioned organ solo.
- Harrison provides some percussion on an African drum, and Ringo's percussive sounds were played on a guitar case.
- Runs for two and a half minutes and took 8 takes.

7. Kansas City / Hey Hey Hey Hey
- This is the last track on Side 1.
- Kansas City is a blues track originally recorded by Little Willie Littlefield in 1952. Hey Hey Hey Hey is a 1958 Little Richard track that was originally released as the B-Side to Good Golly Miss Molly.
- Little Richard often performed these two songs together as a live medley, which is why they feature as a medley here (and were played by the band live as such).
- McCartney does the lead vocals for both songs, with Lennon and Harrison providing backup.
- McCartney really went for it with the vocals as he was aware that the recording levels had been set rather low.
- Harrison plays an african drum on the recording in addition to his lead guitar duties. George Martin provides the piano track.
- Runs for only two and a half minutes, and took 1 take to lay down.
- A second take was attempted but the band ended up going with the first version.

8. Eight Days a Week
- Opening track to side 2 of the album.
- Written by McCartney and Lennon as a possible title track for a 2nd Beatles movie (the idea being that the movie could be called Eight Arms to Hold You... no doubt a reference to the band's four members. The movie ended up being called Help! instead).
- Like A Hard Day's Night, the title 'Eight Days a Week' is another Ringo-ism.
- Along with No Reply, Baby's in Black and I'm a Loser, it was a possible candidate for a UK-release single. I Feel Fine presumably took the place of all these possible singles.
- It was however released as a single in the U.S. anyway (with I Don't Want to Spoil the Party as the B-side), where it reached #1.
- Lennon sings the lead vocals, though McCartney wrote the bulk of the song.
- Harrison plays multiple guitar tracks.
- The band never performed this song live, and didn't think very highly of it.
- Outtakes of the recording reveal the level of experimentation the band was heading towards... there are 6 alternative versions that showcase very different arrangements. Eventually, for the released version, an intro was dubbed onto the final take from an alternate version.
- The first known recorded song (ever!) to feature a fade-in. To this day, very few pop songs feature such a thing.
- Runs for two minutes and 45 seconds, and took 15 takes to complete.

9. Words of Love
- Originally written and performed by Buddy Holly in 1958.
- The band performed this live throughout 1961 and 1962. Lennon and Harrison would harmonise the vocals when they played it live.
- The Beatles performed many Buddy Holly songs live in their early days but this is the only cover of his that they ever recorded in the studio.
- Lennon and McCartney do the vocals for the recorded version. The song is very close to Holly's version.
- Ringo plays two instruments on this track - drums, and percussion achieved by paying on a packing case (to try and emulate a similar sound on another Buddy Holly track, Every Day).
- This is the last song recorded for the Beatles for Sale album, and was purely chosen to make up the numbers.
- The original mono mix of this track runs for 9 seconds longer than the stereo mix.
- Runs for just over two minutes and took 3 takes to finish.

10. Honey Don't
- Another cover, this was originally a rockabilly track written and performed by Charles Perkins. He initially released as the B-side for his 1956 single, Blue Suede Shoes.
- The band used to perform this in their live set for their Hamburg days, with Lennon providing the lead vocals.
- Ringo actually asked Perkins himself if the band could record this song for the album. Perkins was chuffed and immediately gave them permission.
- Ringo sings the vocals for the recorded version. It features an early Ringo trademark - before each of the two solos he calls out to George (Harrison). It's kind of funny, and it's allegedly something he took great pleasure in doing. The first time he says, "Rock on George, one time for me!" and the second time it's "Rock on George for Ringo one time!" despite the fact that it happens twice in the song.
- All four Beatles covered this song again at some point in their solo careers.
- Runs for almost three minutes and took 5 takes.

11. Every Little Thing
- McCartney wrote this in the hope of having it released as a stand-alone single after A Hard Day's Night. It wasn't to be, and was held over for inclusion on Beatles for Sale instead.
- The lead vocals are sung by Lennon. It's one of the rare occasions where Lennon sings a song primarily written by McCartney. McCartney does some harmony vocals.
- The lyrics are about McCartney's then-girlfriend, Jane Asher.
- It took several takes to record this as the band (McCartney in particular) kept goofing off.
- Features a timpani drum (that big epic sounding drum in the chorus), played by Ringo.
- It's possible that the guitar solo is played by Lennon (the style is more Lennonesque than Harrisonish), though it's almost definitely played on Harrison's actual guitar.
- George Martin plays the piano on the recording.
- Runs for two minutes, took 9 takes to finish.

12. I Don't Want to Spoil the Party
- Written by Lennon, this is another step towards country music territory for the band.
- Was left off the U.S. version of the Beatles for Sale album as it was thought to be too depressing.
- Featured as the B-side on the Eight Days a Week single.
- Lennon sings the lead vocals, with some harmonising from McCartney.
- More Lennon lyrics about insecurity and frustration.
- Ringo adds in a tambourine track to go with his drums.
- Runs for two and a half minutes and took a whopping 19 takes to complete.

13. What You're Doing
- Written by McCartney.
- One of the few Beatles songs to start with a drum intro, this was influenced by the song Be My Baby by the Ronettes.
- There's no real chorus, it's all verses and bridges.
- George Martin plays the piano.
- Features some odd rhyming patterns (McCartney rhymes two-syllable words with pairs of one-syllable words and lets them run over into the next part of the phrase).
- The lyrics almost certainly concern Jane Asher.
- Some earlier takes featured a slightly different version of the song, with McCartney and Lenon both singing lead and the lead guitar a full octave higher.
- The song's innovative style (achieved mostly in the studio) is an early precursor to the band's Rubber Soul - Revolver period.
- Runs for two and a half minutes, and took 19 takes to finish. The reason it took so long to finish is due to McCartney's insistence at getting the song's level of perfection exactly to where it was in his head.

14. Everybody's Trying to be My Baby
- Last track of the album.
- Originally a Carl Perkins adaptation of an older song by Rex Griffin. Songwriting credit for this track is still in dispute to this day.
- Harrison does the vocals. Poor old George, put at the end of the album!
- The band often played this in their live set at the time.
- The false ending on the recording is something they used to do with the song live in their Hamburg days.
- Harrison later performed the song with Perkins himself in 1986.
- George Martin plays the piano track.
- Runs for nearly two and a half minutes, took only 1 take.

I Feel Fine (single) 1964

1. I Feel Fine
- Released in November 1964, and written while the band was working on their next album, Beatles for Sale.
- Written by Lennon, he based it on a riff he had written by for the background of another song, Eight Days a Week, which would feature on their forthcoming album.
- This song marks the point where the Beatles would start using guitar riffs prominantly in their songs.
- Lennon didn't think much of this song to begin with, but after jamming on it with Ringo he felt it could be an A-side.
- The song bears a slight resemblance to a Bobby Parker cover the band used to perform back in 1961, this may be where Lennon originally got his 'inspiration' from.
- Lennon sings the lead vocals, with Harrison and McCartney providing harmonising. McCartney provided the barking sounds near the end.
- Lennon plays the riff and the guitar solo, with Harrison relegated to rhythm work.
- This song also marks a point where the band started experimenting with recording techniques and using different sound effects to push the boundaries of what could be put into a song. Here the band uses feedback as part of the song's intro... Lennon would remain proud in the following years that the Beatles were the first band to put feedback into a studio recording. It sounds absolutely magic.
- The feedback was originally an accident... Paul let the note ring out on his bass. Lennon had a semi-acoustic nearby and it's pickup picked up the bass note, so he leaned into his amp to cause it to feedback and distort. The result sounded cool so Paul got George Martin to splice it onto the front of the song.
- The guitar riff is actually played on an acoustic, with an effect added to make it sound more electric.
- Took 9 takes, runs for two minutes and twenty seconds.

2. She's a Woman
- B-side to the stand-alone single I Feel Fine.
- Written by McCartney as an attempt at doing something Little Richard-ish, he was obviously still jazzing on from his success with Long Tall Sally. The song was intended from the get-go as a B-side for I Feel Fine, and also because the band wanted a rockier song to play live in their set.
- The vocals are sung in an unusually high register for the band (as McCartney was trying to get to that Little Richard sound). McCartney also double-tracked his vocals.
- The lyric 'turn me on' referred to marijuana.
- Some alternate takes and live versions of this song feature an extended outro.
- McCartney plays the piano on the recording.
- Ringo plays a chocalho (a shaken Brazillian percussion instrument) on the recording.
- 6 takes, runs for 3 minutes.

US single cover

A Hard Day's Night (Album) 1964

- The third studio album recorded by the Beatles, released in July 1964.
- This album also functions as a soundtrack to the film of the same name, a now-acclaimed comedy/musical starring the band as themselves. Some songs featured on the album weren't included in the final cut of the film.
- This is the first Beatles album to feature all-original material.
- It's also the only Beatles album where Lennon wrote the larger amount of songs.
- Ringo doesn't sing on any tracks on this album.
- As mentioned in my write-up for the Can't Buy Me Love single, George Harrison had recently gotten his hands on a newly-invented 12-string rickenbaker guitar. This guitar is what is mostly responsible for the warm, twangy sound that this album has. Harrison's guitar work on A Hard Day's Night is also largely responsible for the influencing the sound of another highly influential band, the Byrds.

1. A Hard Day's Night
- The opening and title track of the album.
- The title comes from a Ringo-ism (IE. One of the endearingly nonsensical things that usually came out of his mouth, often said without him even realising that they didn't really make sense).
- One account says that the director (Richard Lester) heard Ringo say it and promptly used it as the title of the film. Another account is that the band nominated it for the title. Either way, Lennon took inspiration from this phrase to write a song that would fit it. Prior to Ringo's words the film was probably going to be called Beatlemania.
- Lennon wrote the song in one night, eager to be the one to write the A-side of the single that would be released alongside the album (at this stage he and McCartney were very competitive [in a healthy way] and it's here that Lennon starts to dominate the songwriting for a while). He wrote it on the nearest thing at hand, the back of a greeting card.
- McCartney wrote the bridge, and also sang this part as Lennon couldn't hit the high notes.
- George Martin plays piano on the recording.
- The solo and outro feature Harrison playing his rickenbacker in conjunction with George Martin accompanying the notes on piano at half speed (which was then sped up to match the recording).
- At the time of recording McCartney was still a bit unsure of what to play on bass, and the various surviving takes reveal some subtle experimentation and variation as a result.
- Released as a single in the UK on the same day as the album.
- Capitol Records in America had rights to the music but not the soundtrack (as the film company owned the rights to the soundtrack) so A Hard Day's Night is just one of eight tracks from the album to be released as a single in the U.S., with Capitol Records keen to release as many singles as they could from in it in order to cash in (as they couldn't release the entire album itself).
- The first Beatles song to win a Grammy.
- Music analysts and fans were divided for many years over what exact chord rings out at the beginning of the song. For the guitar nerds reading, different camps cited the following chords: G7add9sus4, G7sus4 and G11sus4. Harrison finally confirmed that it was actually an Fadd9 in an online chat in 2001, though he also said he that didn't know what bass note McCartney plays in the ring out at the same time (most people think it's a D). Both Lennon and George Martin also play in the ring out.
- Here's some lolzworthy extra analysis courtesy of Wikipedia...
Jason Brown, Professor for the Faculty of Computer Science at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, whose research interests include graph theory, combinatorics, and combinatorial algorithms , announced in October 2004 that after six months of research he succeeded in analyzing the opening chord by de-composing the sound into original frequencies using a mathematical technique known as the Fourier Transform. According to Brown, the Rickenbacker guitar wasn't the only instrument used. "It wasn't just George Harrison playing it and it wasn't just the Beatles playing on it... There was a piano in the mix." Specifically, he claims that Harrison was playing the following notes on his 12 string guitar: a2, a3, d3, d4, g3, g4, c4, and another c4; McCartney played a d3 on his bass; producer George Martin was playing d3, f3, d5, g5, and e6 on the piano, while Lennon played a loud c5 on his six-string guitar.
- Runs for two and a half minutes, and took nine takes to complete.

2. I Should Have Known Better
- Lennon wrote this song after he met and became a huge fan of Bob Dylan. This song is a primary example of Lennon putting more effort into his lyrics as a result of being influenced by Dylan.
- One of the last Beatles songs to feature harmonica. Recording was actually postponed for a day after Lennon became upset over this harmonica part. The song was subsequently 're-arranged' slightly to fix the issue.
- Lennon plays both an electric guitar track and an acoustic guitar track for the recording.
- An orchestral version of this song was arranged by George Martin and featured on the U.S. soundtrack version of A Hard Day's Night.
- This song appears as the B-side to the U.S. single for A Hard Day's Night, and also appears as the B-side for the 1976 UK re-release single of Yesterday.
- I Should Have Known Better was also released as a single on it's own in some European countrites during 1964.
- The Beach Boys covered this song for one of their albums in 1965.
- This song initially took 3 takes to record, but due to Lennon's aforementioned disatisfaction with the harmonica part it took a whopping 22 takes to re-record the next day, with a final running time of two minutes and 40 seconds.

3. If I Fell
- Primarily written by Lennon with some help from McCartney.
- The intro was added at the last minute, after about 10 takes of recording the song.
- If I Fell is notable for it's unusual structure at the time (including the aforementioned stand-alone intro) and the subtle chord changes that mark it's progression (the song uses varying and unpredictable types of D chords and doesn't really have a verse-chorus structure).
- The harmonised vocals were sung by McCartney and Lennon into one microphone together (ooh la la).
- Lennon plays an acoustic guitar on the recording.
- Some re-released versions of this song on compilation albums over the years have accidentally featured alternate takes where McCartney's voice strains and/or cracks.
- Allegedly Kurt Cobain's favourite Beatles song.
- Featured as the B-side on the U.S. single for And I Love Her.
- Released as an export-only single in the UK with Tell Me Why as it's B-side.
- Released as a single in Norway, where it reached #1.
- Runs for two minutes and 20 seconds, and took 15 takes to complete.

4. I'm Happy Just to Dance With You
- Written by Lennon.
- Sung by Harrison, with some backing vocals from Lennon.
- Lennon wrote it specifically for Harrison to sing, and later disparagingly said that he would never have sung it himself, suggesting that very little effort was put into it.
- Even taking the above into account, there is at least one strange chord used in it - being the B7th that appears in the chorus.
- One of the first Beatles songs to feature Ringo using a syncopated rhythm, something that would later become his signature on certain more famous Beatles tracks.
- Included as the B-side on the U.S. single for I'll Cry Instead.
- Runs just under two minutes and took four takes to record.

5. And I Love Her
- Written by McCartney.
- Lennon once claimed to have written the bridge but McCartney has gone on record to say that he wrote the entire song, including the bridge. Other sources indicate that Lennon probably did write the bridge as the original composition didn't even have a bridge and it was added after George Martin suggested it mid-recording (and Lennon apparently returned with a bridge after only half an hour).
- McCartney has vocally claimed the rather dubious honour of being the first person to title a ballad with only the second half of a sentence. I know the Beatles had a lot of 'firsts' but that's just being ridiculous... it's almost as silly as Lennon's assertion that he invented heavy metal.
- And I Love Her probably marks the first big radical style-shift for the band, with the song having a very pronounced flamenco/latin American sound. Despite this, it still sounds resolutely Beatles-ish, and I guess therein lies the success.
- McCartney sings the vocals on his own, with some double-tracking.
- The song changes key just for the solo, which Harrison plays on a special Flamenco guitar.
- The first Beatles song in a minor key to end on a major key.
- Both Harrison and Lennon play acoustic guitars, with Harrison adding in some percussion on the claves (similar to clapsticks). Ringo plays bongos. Originally the song was performed in a slightly more electric fashion but the decision to go all-acoustic was made during recording.
- Different releases feature different versions of this song. Sometimes McCartney's vocals are double-tracked in the chorus, and sometimes the song ends sooner (depending on the edit).
- Released as a single in the U.S., with If I Fell as the B-side.
- Runs for two and a half minutes and took 21 takes to finish.

6. Tell Me Why
- Written by Lennon, most likely while he was in New York.
- Written in the style of the Motown girl trios Lennon was so fond of, as can be heard in it's all-in pace, doo-wop style chord progressions and the falsetto segment of the vocals (I love the falsetto bit!)
- Was the last song to be written for A Hard Day's Night, when it was realised there was one more spot on the album to fill.
- Lennon sings the lead vocals, with backing from both himself and McCartney & Harrison.
- The version of this song that features in the A Hard Day's Night film, whilst exactly the same in every other respect, runs at a slower speed.
- Two and a half minutes, 9 takes.

7. Can't Buy Me Love
- Released as a single prior to the album. See full song info here.

8. Any Time at All
- The first song of Side 2 of the album.
- Written mainly by Lennon, who also does the lead vocals.
- Lennon was later a bit dismissive of it, saying it was derivative of his previous song It Won't Be Long.
- The bridge was suggested and composed by McCartney. It was originally intended to have vocals but the band ran out of time (!) and so the bridge was kept as an instrumental break instead, with McCartney bringing the piano to the fore as a substitute.
- The song didn't really have a beginning or an ending, so the snare crack at the beginning was dubbed in at the mxing stage from an alternate take, as was the song's final chord.
- McCartney plays piano on the recording, as well as his usual bass duties. He also sings backing vocals along with some extra backing vocals from Lennon.
- Runs for just over two minutes, 11 takes.

9. I'll Cry Instead
- Written by Lennon.
- One of two songs from the album that didn't make the final cut of the movie, though the 1981 theatrical re-released would reinstate this song over the top of an introductory photo montage.
- For film-editing reasons, this song was recorded in two parts that could be easily put together depending on however long the accompanying scene went for.
- One of the band's earliest forays into the rockabilly/country & western genre (to add to the effect, McCartney does a walking-style bass line and Harrison plays his guitar track on a "Country Gentleman" Gretsch guitar)
- Lennon provided both an electric guitar track and an acoustic one. Ringo also added in some tambourine over the top of his drums.
- Released as a single in the U.S., with I'm Happy Just to Dance With You as the B-side.
- The version of this song featured in the U.S. market was slightly longer than the U.K. version.
- Joe Cocker recorded a cover of this in 1964 not too long after it came out and released it as his first single.
- Just under two minutes, 8 takes.

10. Things We Said Today
- One of only three tracks on the album primarily written by McCartney.
- McCartney wrote this on an acoustic guitar while on a cruise in the Caribbean. The lyrics are about his girlfriend at the time, Jane Asher.
- Lennon plays piano on the recording, along with his usual guitar duties. McCartney also adds in an acoustic guitar track as well as bass.
- The song segues from a ballad in minor to a more major-orientated rock song for the bridge. People in the 60s would slow-dance for the verses and then do quicker, more rock-orientated dancing for the faster bit.
- McCartney revisted this song and included it in his live set for his 1989 world tour.
- Featured as the B-side on the A Hard Day's Night single in the UK.
- Runs for two and a half minutes, and took 3 takes.

11. When I Get Home
- Written by Lennon.
- Another early Lennon song influenced by the black girl group The Shirelles.
- Lennon shifts from minor to major for the parts where the song changes, an effective but groundbreaking trick that the band was starting to use more and more.
- Lennon sings the lead vocals, with McCartney and Harrison providing harmonising. McCartney also plays the cowbell on the recording.
- Billy Joel used to cover this song in his early band, The Hassles. They even recorded it at their first recording session in 1967.
- Runs for two minutes and fifteen seconds, took 11 takes to finish.

12. I'll Be Back
- Written by Lennon.
- Based around the chords used for the popular Del Shannon hit Runaway (a song that George Harrison's supergroup The Travelling Wilburys would record in 1990), though I'll Be Back admittedly sounds very little like it's source material.
- Originally written in 6/8 timing as a waltz-like tune, though this was abandoned in favour of the more typical 4/4 timing during recording when Lennon found it too difficult to sing. Early takes of the original version can be heard on the Anthology albums, including a more rocked-up electric guitar version.
- Even in 4/4 the song still has a strange structure, consisting of two and a bit verses and two seperate bridges.
- Another minor and major switcheroo tune.
- Lennon and Harrison play acoustic guitars for this one, with McCartney providing harmonising to Lennon's lead vocals. McCartney also plays the cowbell, again.
- This song seems to fade out before it's finished and hence ends the album on a rather melancholy note.
- Runs for two minutes and twenty seconds, 11 takes.

Long Tall Sally (EP) 1964

- A 4-track EP, this release only features one original song.
- This is the band's first official EP of previously unreleased material.
- The title track is the band's famous cover of Long Tall Sally.
- The EP is made up of three covers and one original track, all of which were recorded during the A Hard Day's Night sessions.
- Some of the songs were repackaged with other early Beatles tracks as an album for the U.S. market.

1. Long Tall Sally
- Originally recorded by Little Richard in 1956, it was a big hit for him. Little Richard's trademark "oohs" are to blame for the many times the Beatles did this in their earlier tracks.
- McCartney sings this in a higher key than even Little Richard himself. The song had already been covered by a lot of other artists and the Beatles wanted to set their version apart from the tamer previously-recorded versions, hence the higher register for the vocals.
- It has a great energy to it, but besides that there isn't much else to say.

2. I Call Your Name
- This is the only original Beatles song to be featured on the Long Tall Sally EP.
- Written mainly by Lennon, who had been working on it as early as his pre-Beatles days. He originally wrote it for Billy J. Kramer, who used it as a B-side for his 1963 #1 single Bad to Me.
- Lennon was unhappy with Kramer's version and the fact that it had been relegated to B-side status so the band recorded their own version of it for this EP. If Kramer had used it as a single then the Beatles would probably have never even recorded their own version.
- The bridge-section of the song sees the Beatles try their hand at a bit of ska for the first time. Ringo chucks in some cowbell.
- Ringo Starr recorded a tribute version with the help of Tom Petty, Joe Walsh (The Eagles), Jeff Lynne (ELO) and session drummer Jim Keltner for a television special commemorating the 10th anniversary of John Lennon's death.

3. Slow Down
- Originally written and performed by Larry Williams, this 12-bar blues number was the B-side of 1958 hit single Dizzy Miss Lizzy (which the Beatles also covered a bit later).
- The vocals were provided by Lennon. George Martin overdubbed some piano accompaniment three days after the band recorded it.
- The band often played this in their live set during their Hamburg days in 1962.
- This was released as a B-side on the U.S. single Matchbox.
- An earlier version was recorded by the band in 1963 for the BBC.
- Took 5 takes to record and goes for nearly 3 minutes.

4. Matchbox
- This is a rockabilly/blues song originally released by Carl Perkins in 1956. It has been reworked by various bluesmen since, though the Beatles version is fairly closely modelled on Perkins own original arrangement.
- The Beatles used to play this live as early as 1961. Original drummer Pete Best used to do the vocals.
- Lennon also did the vocals for it live at least once. A recording of him performing it in Hamburg during 1962 still exists.
- For the studio version the vocals were passed on to Ringo, making this his third recorded vocal performance for the band. Not surprisingly, Ringo gets the words wrong to at least one line. He had previously sung it with the band for an earlier BBC recording as well.
- George Martin played some piano for the recording, and Harrison played his new 12-string rickenbacker (previously heard on the Can't Buy Me Love single). Lennon did the guitar solo.
- Carl Perkins himself was present during the recording of this and three other songs (Slow Down and two songs from A Hard Day's Night). Apparently he made the band a little bit nervous (Ringo referred to him as 'Mr. Perkins'), though they did all jam together on three songs Perkins' often featured in his live sets. Unfortunately though, no recordings exist of this.
- As previously mentioned, this was released as a single in the U.S. in 1964.
- McCartney often still plays this in his soundcheck when performing live, even as recently as 2007.
- Took 5 takes to record, and runs for just under 2 minutes.

U.S. album

U.S. single