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6.04pm
26 January 2017
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Was listening through this album earlier today and wanted to record a few things I observed.
– The album cover is really cool, perhaps even cooler than With The Beatles . If I ever released an album with a four piece band, I’d like to try a cover in this style.
– This is the first entirely Lennon-McCartney written album. This was pretty groundbreaking for 1964 – how many pop artists were doing the same at this point?
– It has a pretty consistent sound with the bright, jangly Rickenbacker guitar sound, and the rhythm section sounds great on this album too. Less propulsive than the other early albums, and more tailored to the more nuanced songwriting.
– And I Love Her is way ahead of its time in terms of the band taking inspiration from music of different nations, this time with a very flamenco sounding guitar part and melody, the former of which we owe to George for composing.
– When John sings ‘meee’ in the first line of If I Fell , my heart always melts.
– I’ll Be Back is a really badass album closer. I really like the descending melody and just the general message of naming the last song that. It’s like, “we just blew you away with our best album yet, but we’re only just getting started”.
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7.22pm
15 November 2018
Offline QuarryMan said
– When John sings ‘meee’ in the first line of If I Fell , my heart always melts.
For me it’s when Paul’s voice cracks while singing “vain.” Love that part so so so much.
– I’ll Be Back is a really badass album closer. I really like the descending melody and just the general message of naming the last song that. It’s like, “we just blew you away with our best album yet, but we’re only just getting started”.
Couldn’t agree more.
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11.28am
25 December 2017
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I think this is the best album they did in the earlier career.
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8.16pm
18 October 2013
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It’s the album of theirs I play the most often……It’s so jolly.
7.56am
26 January 2017
Offline PurplishRain said
I think this is the best album they did in the earlier career.
Me too. It’s just consistently great, which sets it apart from the other early ones, which usually have a couple of substandard tracks.
I've been up on the mountain, and I've seen his wondrous grace,
I've sat there on the barstool and I've looked him in the face.
He seemed a little haggard, but it did not slow him down,
he was humming to the neon of the universal sound.
3.26pm
14 December 2009
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QuarryMan said
– This is the first entirely Lennon-McCartney written album. This was pretty groundbreaking for 1964 – how many pop artists were doing the same at this point?
How many pop artists in 1964 were getting Lennon & McCartney to write their entire album for them? None! 
Seriously, though…I know that (for example) Chuck Berry’s and Bo Diddley’s first coupla albums were all-original, but those consisted largely of previously-released singles; also, those two are individuals, not bands. What bands existed in 1964 who were capable of writing and recording an all-new, all-original album? Possibly the Beach Boys or the Miracles could’ve achieved it, if such a feat had been a priority for either band at the time.
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6.06am
14 June 2016
Offline PurplishRain said
I think this is the best album they did in the earlier career.
Definitely.
1.The Beatles 2.Sgt. Pepper 3.Abbey Road 4.Magical Mystery Tour 5.Rubber Soul 6.Revolver 7.Help! 8.Let It Be
9.A Hard Day’s Night 10.Please Please Me 11.Beatles For Sale 12.With The Beatles 13.Yellow Submarine
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6.55am
10 March 2017
Offline QuarryMan said
This is the first entirely Lennon-McCartney written album. This was pretty groundbreaking for 1964 – how many pop artists were doing the same at this point?
People often look at this fact like it’s a great thing.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice that they were able to do this but i recommend you look at these statistics regarding their first 4 albums:
18 unique songs recorded (counting From Me To You , Thank You Girl , and One After 909 )
12 original
6 made for single release (4 ending up on album)
4 made for album release
2 left unreleased
6 covers
18 unique songs recorded (counting She Loves You , I’ll Get You , I Want To Hold Your Hand , and This Boy )
12 original
4 made for single release
8 made for album release
6 covers
17 unique songs recorded
14 original
2 made for single release (2 ending up on album)
12 made for album release (2 ending up on single, 1 ending up on EP instead of album)
3 covers (3 ending up on EP instead of album)
17 unique songs recorded
10 original
2 made for single release
8 made for album release
7 covers (1 ended up unreleased)
As you can see, The Beatles only recorded 2 more original songs then their 2 previous albums in exchange for 3 less covers. Not to mention, the only reason Can’t Buy Me Love and You Can’t Do That were included was because Lester included the former in the film, so if he had chosen I’ll Cry Instead , they would’ve had no choice but to include covers.
As for what other bands had done an all original album at this time, The Beach Boys ‘ Little Deuce Coupe and All Summer Long come pretty close with only 1 cover each.
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9.09am
Reviewers
17 December 2012
Offline While it is an interesting breakdown, @Dark Overlord, your argument is based on the premise that everything recorded was recorded for possible album release.
For instance, you include the results of the From Me To You session as something that could have been intended to appear on the Please Please Me album. It was a standalone single session done after the tracklisting and artwork for PPM were already done.
Just because certain things were recorded within timeframes that fit certain albums does not mean they were ever intended to be a part of that album. Lumping single sessions and album sessions together creates a false picture as we know, as much as possible, they considered and approached them differently.
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1.32pm
10 March 2017
Offline Good point but i specifically stated that some of those songs were slated for a single release and were not meant to appear on the album.
As for From Me To You , i was on the fence as to include it or not but if then i remembered that they released Komm Gib Mir Deine Hand less than a week after recording it so i decided to lump it in there although you’re right, it was never meant for inclusion on Please Please Me .
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2.16pm
Reviewers
17 December 2012
Offline See, my point would be, @Dark Overlord, while it can be useful to look at the breakdown between covers and originals in their early work, it cannot be done by lumping it together by album periods.
Another example would be the Long Tall Sally EP. Though I Call Your Name was briefly considered for A Hard Day’s Night , none of the covers were. Same with She Loves You and I Want To Hold Your Hand , recorded during the With The Beatles timeframe, were never considered for inclusion on the album.
By suggesting, as you do, that certain tracks were recorded as possibles for a particular album when they weren’t.
Until Beatles For Sale they always seemed to know what were single/EP releases, what were album releases, and what would be singles that had to also go on the album (A Hard Day’s Night and Can’t Buy Me Love being obvious examples of singles that couldn’t be left off AHDN ).
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The Beatles Bible 2020 non-Canon Poll Part One: 1958-1963 and Part Two: 1964-August 1966
5.39pm
10 March 2017
Offline Alright, even if we remove songs slated for a single release, that means that With The Beatles had 8 original songs recorded for it while A Hard Day’s Night had 11, with Can’t Buy Me Love /You Can’t Do That originally intended as the non-album single to compliment their 3rd album but was included due to the A-side’s inclusion in the film.
That’s only 3 more originals then the previous album which is nice and all but not nearly as impressive as others make it seem which brings me to my point, while it’s cool that they did an all original album, they weren’t ready for it and were only able to do it by the skin of their teeth, having to rely on both sides of a previously released single and still having to cut the album a track short to get there.
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9.16pm
4 February 2021
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Placed this album, A Hard Day’s Night , at #9 in my 13 canon album listing saying : “Pop excellence. An historical landmark for artistic self determination. Fabulous.”
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1.21pm
26 January 2017
Offline Paul Prole said
Placed this album, A Hard Day’s Night , at #9 in my 13 canon album listing saying : “Pop excellence. An historical landmark for artistic self determination. Fabulous.”
Well said… with that in mind Number Nine seems a bit low, I view AHDN as the pinnacle of the early period.
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5.25am
4 February 2021
Offline sir walter raleigh said
Paul Prole said
Placed this album, A Hard Day’s Night , at #9 in my 13 canon album listing saying : “Pop excellence. An historical landmark for artistic self determination. Fabulous.”
Well said… with that in mind Number Nine seems a bit low, I view AHDN as the pinnacle of the early period.
I have high regard for HELP! placing it at 6 above Pepper’s (7) and MMT (8) Rubber Soul I don’t regard as early period; #2 for that masterpiece.
Unless Paul McCartney knocks on my door I am unlikely to be impressed.
2.49pm
26 January 2017
Offline Rubber Soul at 2 is a placement I can get behind. I always feel like I have it too low. Usually I have it at 4, with AHDN at 5. Help ! is up there for sure, as despite my love for Pepper I would put Rubber Soul AHDN and Help above it.
AHDN is just so good, like Help ! its a perfectly constructed pop album, I just find the overall quality a little bit higher track for track on AHDN , but take either album away and the discography is incomplete. Too often these albums are discarded as ‘early Beatles movie soundtracks’ and people wanting to get into the Beatles will go straight for the later stuff. That’s fine, but I’ll be over here watching my stupid movies and singing along to the greatest songs ever written
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7.13am
4 February 2021
Offline Yep we are ostensibly on the same page. One can over intellectualise. One of the key determinants to me is level of enjoyment. This manifests itself in how often I play a piece. But it’s all at the margins. We are talking Beatles.
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