at a glance...

Hometown: Liverpool, England
Formed: 1957

Personnel:
John Lennon -vocals, rhythm guitar, piano, harmonica, tambourine
Paul McCartney -vocals, bass, piano
George Harrison -lead guitar, vocals
Ringo Starr -drums, percussion

Related Bands:
Plastic Ono Band, Wings, The Rolling Stones, Cream, ELO, Ravi Shankar, every musical group, rock or otherwise, since 1964...

It's so easy to underestimate this album. It's not hard to overlook how great the Beatles were so early in their career, because one usually can't get past the cheesy marketing of the band at this point and the hysteria of Beatlemania. My only copy of A Hard Day's Night was my mom's which she got when it was first released. All the pictures of Ringo are cut from the back because she truly believed that one day she and Ringo would be married. But this record is revolutionary anyway. George Harrison is just starting to break out the twelve-string guitar, it's the first Beatles album with all original material, AND the title track is the first song in pop music history to end on a different chord than the one it started with. It's only 1964 and already the Beatles are showing their genius.

In addition to the gushing pop giddiness that runs through "I Should Have Know Better" and "I'm Happy Just To Dance With You," John and Paul throw down some seriously solid tunes. "A Hard Day's Night" is all about jangly guitars and Lennon's irresistible rough vocals. Coated by Paul's golden voice, "Can't Buy Me Love" is uncontainable musical exuberance. The rockabilly-tinged "I Cry Instead" gives a sneak peak at the bitingly good lyricist Lennon would become: "I've got a chip on my shoulder that's bigger than my feet/And I can't talk to people that I meet/And if I could see you now/I'd try to make you sad somehow/But I can't/So I cry instead". Props must also be given to George Martin for the arrangement of the instrumentals, which mainly serve as filler, but I swear I can picture Björk belting out a fantastically grand ballad over the instrumental of "And I Lover Her."

But it's really the feeling of the songs that makes this record great. Singing along mindlessly at the top of your lungs is guaranteed to make you feel like a million bucks. It's no surprise that the Beatles transcended the hype. They always sound like they mean what they're singing and love what they're doing, and sincerity is always strong enough to survive the stifling adoration of pre-teen girls.

If you like The Beatles, check out:
The Beatles Revolver
The Beatles The Beatles
The Beatles Help!
The Beatles Rubber Soul
The Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
The Beatles Abbey Road
The Beatles Beatles For Sale
King Biscuit Time No Style
The Beta Band The Three EPs
The Zombies The Singles Collection
The Byrds Turn! Turn! Turn!

-- Lori Latimer