Reviews : Music
'A Hard Day's Night' continues to impress
Classic Lennon, McCartney soundtrack 'stays true to decade'


By Natalie Griffin,
Writer
January 20, 2012

Every year, a plethora of artists become known through their fast-paced pop hits as people's diverse musical taste evolves. However, I must remain true to the classics. That is why I was drawn to the 1964 album A Hard Day's Night by The Beatles.

I was attracted to The Beatles when I came across a song of theirs on the internet. Prior to listening to the album, I had not been partial to any music pertaining to that specific style. Of course, I knew who The Beatles were; I just had never been interested in them.

I was not interested at first, but, after listening to one of their songs, I found myself singing it quite a lot. My family, unbeknownst to me, were very big fans as well. As I sang the band's songs, I would hear the occasional echoing harmony from a parent or sibling. Then I realized I was becoming a fan, and not too long afterward, I found myself excitedly downloading their music. I jumped when I had the opportunity to buy this album from a friend.

This particular album is the soundtrack for The Beatles' first feature film A Hard Day's Night. This is the first collection of songs by The Beatles to be entirely written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney alone.

When I first received the album, I had relatively high expectations. I had already been a Beatles fan, so I believed that this album would possess the structure and sound of their other albums.

The album has 13 tracks and features the talents of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. The album is really short, and altogether runs for around 30 minutes.


I really enjoyed the album; my favorite song on the composition is sung by Lennon and is titled "I'll Be Back." The music is constructed to sound like a slow and classic love song, and the lyrics harmonize perfectly with the music: "You could find better things to do / Than to break my heart again / This time I will try to show that I'm / Not trying to pretend."

Another favorite on this album would be the song "Can't Buy Me Love," sung by McCartney. The songs meaning is in it's title, money cannot buy love. However McCartney seems to be willing to give or buy anything to please the girl he wants: "I'll give you all I've got to give / If you say you love me too / I may not have a lot to give / but what I've got I'll give to you."

The positives of the album is that it definitely stayed true to the decade. If you want to to listen to something from the mid-sixties, this is the perfect choice.

The downsides to the album is that the songs are quite short in length. The song "I'm Happy Just to Dance with You" is probably my least favorite track; it is also less than two minutes long. It is catchy, but very repetitive. I recall hearing Lennon repeat the same line for three minutes, and that being the whole song.

This album is my second favorite work of The Beatles, next to Abbey Road. This album came shortly after the release of their movie, and launched The Beatles into success. This album helped inspire other musicians and launched the following year into a rock movement.

This album flowed together well and the songs to me seemed to tell a story. The story the songs create are entertaining and coherent with each other. I think this is a great album and is a great definition of what music was like in the '60s. It would be a perfect buy and the short length and catchy tunes make you want to listen to it over and over again. This album is a great one, and it will not disappoint.

A Hard Day's Night is available on Amazon, iTunes and most local music stores.

For more music reviews, read the Jan. 18 article, Pianist delights audience with world-renowned skills.



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