A Hard Day's Night (Remastered)

From the impact of their second album to the release of ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ on 10 July 1964, The Beatles’ career outside the U.K. took giant leaps forward. At the end of 1963, it had seemed unlikely that an English group playing rhythm and blues could compete in the birth place of that music. Yet during the early weeks of 1964, “I Want To Hold Your Hand“ was in heavy rotation at American Top 40 radio and rapidly ascending to the top of the US singles chart. Its success heralded the biggest commercial domination by a recording artist since Elvis Presley had rampaged through the charts in 1956. During a two-week promotional American tour in February 1964, The Beatles made three TV appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show. Their introduction to the USA changed the lives of a generation and turned the American music scene upside down.

On their return to the U.K., the group quickly recorded songs for their first film. Under intense pressure, The Beatles created a landmark album. Their astonishing triumph is twofold. First, it consisted entirely of Lennon-McCartney material when it was unusual for a group to sing their own compositions. Songwriting was thought to be best left to ‘professionals’, but in fact several songs ‘crossed over’ when interpreted by a variety of singers outside the sphere of ‘beat music’. Jazz vocalist Ella Fitzgerald made a swinging version of “Can’t Buy Me Love”. Similarly, “And I Love Her” soon attained standard status and “If I Fell” was recognised as a sophisticated ballad rooted in the classic American songbook tradition. Second, The Beatles’ blend of instrumentation and harmonies on ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ defined a new musical genre - folk-rock. The album is driven by a combination of shimmering acoustic guitars and the jangle of George Harrison’s Rickenbacker electric twelve string guitar. Inspired by ‘A Hard Day’s Night’, Roger ‘Jim’ McGuinn’s adoption of the Rickenbacker created the signature sound of The Byrds in 1965.

The Beatles had recorded their strongest album so far; one brimming with youthful innocence and optimism. The quality of their work in the first half of 1964 makes a convincing case for the beneficial effect of deadlines. There is no better example of recording artists seizing their moment and capitalising on it, but doing so without artistic compromise. The Beatles came of age with this album. — Kevin Howlett