The Beatles - A Hard Day's Night (1964)

Note: the CD I listened to was the 2009 stereo remaster.

If I never see the movie again, I'm okay with that, but this sorta-soundtrack album is classic early Beatles, full of Lennon-McCartney short, poppy originals. And when I say short, I mean 13 tracks in 31 minutes. In the end, the brevity doesn't matter when the songwriting is this catchy. The opening chord is legendary and immediately identifiable, then it just gets better from there. The lads were in their early 20s when this was produced which is mind-blowing to me. I work with young adults in their early 20s every day so I'm fully aware of their normal priorities. In any case, this group was not only focused, but talented and influential: the unique chord progressions were beginning to appear and Harrison's 12 string work on this album set the stage for the folk-rock sound of the decade, to give but two examples. The first great Beatles album to be sure, but there were better things to come.

Update: In 2017, it was ranked at #164 on Pitchfork's list of the 200 Best Albums of the 1960s. And in its 2020 list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, Rolling Stone ranked A Hard Day's Night at #263.

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #1 (14 consecutive weeks, July 25 - Oct 24, 1964)
• Billboard Pop CD: #1

Tracks:  It is so hard to pick out favorites because I find myself singing along to every single song on the disc (warning: if you're ever in the car with me, I usually sing the harmony lines as if they were the melody and don't give a care). It's obvious to me that I'm too familiar with these songs to play favorites but I will go as far to say that I prefer side one to side two, but just so.

This "Enhanced CD" comes with a lackluster 4 minute "mini-documentary" on the making of the film. Haven't seen it? You're not missing much.

For more information on the brief life of the CD longbox,
go visit The Legend of the Longbox.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD:  Can't pick one out today. When an album was released before your birth and you never recall a time when you didn't know all the songs, it's too tall an order to fill.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Love (2006)
Let It Be... Naked (2003)
Anthology 2 (1996)
Anthology 1 (1995)
1967-1970 (1973)
1962-1966 (1973)
Abbey Road (1969)
The Beatles (1968)
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
Revolver (1966)
Rubber Soul (1965)
Help! (1965)
Please Please Me (1963)