Following the Beatles' early 1964 tour of America, it fast became apparent to the band that they had become more popular than they could have ever imagined - and their popularity was only continuing to rise. For their next project, the band decided to do a film that demonstrated that spoofed their feelings on their life as celebrities. What resulted was the film A Hard Day's Night, produced by Dick Lester. The soundtrack to the film became the band's fourth studio album. Read on for my review.

This was the band's first LP to feature nothing but original songs - there are no covers whatsoever. It's also the first of the band's albums on which a particular member of the band dominates - in this case, John Lennon. Of the thirteen songs here, he wrote ten (although George Harrison sings one), and Paul McCartney wrote the other three. First of all, let's look at Lennon's material, which makes up the majority of the album. The title track is straight-up pop-friendly sixties rock that you'd expect the band to shell out in this era. The opening guitar strumming is priceless. When I Get Home, You Can't Do That, and Any Time At All are other pop-friendly rockers that John wrote for the album - all of which are excellent. The rather popular Tell Me Why, featured toward the end of the film, is one of the band's finest pop-style tunes. But the album isn't all about pop-style stuff. If I Fell is one of the band's first true original ballads, and it's a damn fine one too. I'll Be Back is a sort of half-ballad that closes out the album, and it's another great song. Lennon's vocals are top notch through and through. I'll Cry Instead is an extremely catchy song, despite it being a last-minute addition to the film. And then, of course, is I'm Happy Just To Dance With You. This is a Lennon composition, but George Harrison sings - and his vocals are very good here. It's a shame the band didn't use more of his material or let him sing more often - it's a mistake that would ultimately lead to him being dissatisfied with the band later on. McCartney's three compositions are very good as well. Although And I Love Her is NOT one of his stronger tunes, the other two he wrote make up for it. Can't By Me Love is, by far, the most popular song on this album - and it's damn catchy too. The last of his compositions is Things We Said Today, a sort of half-ballad. Though very different from other Beatles songs, it's an excellent song nonetheless. In the end, this is a damn fine pop-rock album. I wish they would have had Ringo singing on a song, but I'm not complaining.

THIS TEXT REFERS EXCLUSIVELY TO THE STANDARD AMERICAN ISSUE OF THE ALBUM, RELEASED IN THE EARLY NINETIES. In the early nineties, when compact discs were becoming the mainstream format of the music industry, the record company released every original United Kingdom Beatles album in America! Back in the Beatles' prime in America, the original albums from the early days were NOT released here. Rather, the record company of the day just threw together "compilations" that fused album tracks with hit singles - NOT the real albums that fans wanted. At long last, the REAL albums are available here, the way the band wanted us to enjoy them. The record company even did fans one better, and released two Past Masters CDs, which compiled all of the singles-only tracks from England! Unfortunately though, the record company wasted an opportunity, in a sense. Many of the band's albums could have been combined, (one release could have been Please Please Me/With The Beatles, one could have been A Hard Day's Night/Beatles For Sale, etc.,) but they didn't do this. That's a real shame, because it would have been a better value for customers - and since places jack up Beatle album prices anyway, the record company really SHOULD have done it. Bonus tracks and expanded liner notes would also have been nice. Oh well, we can't have it all. But these are just complaints about the issue of the album - they have no impact whatsoever on the way I feel about the album.

A Hard Day's Night is a damn fine album through and through, and is arguable the finest album of the band's pop period. If you're a Beatle fan, this album is just waiting to be added to your collection. Don't hesitate to make the purchase - by holding off on buying it, you're only hurting yourself.

A Hard Day's Night is GREAT to find! Not to be missed!
The strong opening note of the CD album grabs the listener's attention-although it doesn't take much extra effort to KEEP the listener's attention as this CD is one of The Beatles' finest outputs of music. The first seven songs are from the movie (now on DVD) of the same name; the collection of songs and ballads on this album is striking and reflects the youthful excitement and optimistic energy of the early Beatles' work.

A Hard Day's Night is the first song and this is a phrase coined by Ringo as he reflected on a previous all-nighter pulled by the band when they were under great pressure to turn out some hits. He is known to have said that the foursome had worked through "a hard day's night;" and thus the main line of the title song (as well as the title itself) was born!

Of particular note is the moving ballad "If I Fell." The ballad is beautiful and shows a man's (not just a woman's) vulnerability in a romantic relationship.

The sound quality is excellent and the cover pictures are photographic stills from the end of the movie of the same name.

This Beatles CD is indeed full of the "classic songs" another reviewer refers to and I highly recommend it as a must-have for any Beatles fan as well as lovers of this type of music. Moreover, this is an excellent starting point for those of us who are more accustomed to the "traditional" sound of the crooners or other music genres if these listeners want to get a first class introduction to early 1960s rock.

So good, it's hard to believe
Although they were gigging, recording singles, writing, *and* filming a movie, the "Fab Four" were able to put out what was undoubtedly their absolute best record yet - "A Hard Day's Night". Their first two LPs left them with quite a track record, but this release takes everything that was good about them and amplifies it ten-fold, while taking anything that was remotely sub-par about them and obliterating it entirely. All the Beatles albums are five-star classics, but this one is the first of five albums that I call the "Platinum Series" of Beatles albums. To qualify for a Platinum Series album, the album has to be a straight-through perfect listen. Not one track can be even ever-so-slightly sub par. Every song not only has to be brilliant, but it has to be just as good as the song before and after it. That is what happens here - the whole record flows like honey and not a solitary note is out of place. A big part of the reason why this album achieves that title is because every song on here is an original. The covers were the only thing dragging "With the Beatles" down, so they just got rid of them. And, remarkably, every track is a masterpiece. Even so, I suppose I could pick "the best" songs. The title track is excellent, as is the impressively sophisticated "If I Fell". "I'll Cry Instead" features some of their best lyrics to date, and "I'll Be Back" is a masterpiece in every possible aspect. From that list, it's clear that this is obviously John's album (unlike the McCartney-driven later works), but Paul lets loose with his own excellent tracks. "And I Love Her" is wonderful (with an incredibly infectious bridge) and "Can't Buy Me Love" features some great and original chord changes. I suppose if I absolutely *had* to gripe about something, it's that Ringo doesn't get to sing anything. But that doesn't stop the album from earning my "Platinum Series" title. Overall, "A Hard Day's Night" is the best Beatles album to date, and one of the best Beatles albums in general.
~ John Ballantyne

First all original Beatles album
I'm not as keen on this one as their first two! But then there are many songs I love, like If I fell, And I love Her, I should have known better, Can't buy me love and the title track! I have always loved If I fell, it has such a beautiful melody and harmony. And I love her is a really sweet sort of song. Also a fantastic melody. The same can be said of I should have known better. Can't buy me love and Hard days night are spirited and fun. I personally don't dig the rest, but a must have as The Beatles were moving away from pop and into more unusual territory.
Strummmmm! That dramatic guitar chord that kicks of A Hard Day's Night (album, song, movie) still jumps right out at you, slaps you in the face, and jump-starts your heart. And you know what? Both the music and the film are still as crisp and lively as they were in 1964. Of course, only the first seven songs are actually in the movie (and they are the strongest of the bunch, from the rousing rock & roll of the title track and the hit single "Can't Buy Me Love," to the beautiful ballads "If I Fell" and "And I Love Her"). But nobody's going to complain about having songs like "I'll Cry Instead" and "Things We Said Today" in the second half of the record; they sure don't feel like leftovers. Yet another high-point for John, Paul, George, and Ringo--four fab fellows who hit the highest heights imaginable. --Jim Emerson
Same as USA Version.