- 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.
