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A Hard Day's Night

Beatles

1964
A Hard Day's Night
Album Summary

A Hard Day's Night is the third studio album by the English rock band the Beatles, released on 10 July 1964 by Parlophone, with side one containing songs from the soundtrack to their film of the same name. The American version of the album was released two weeks earlier, on 26 June 1964 by United Artists Records, with a different track listing that included selections from George Martin's film score. In contrast to the Beatles' first two albums, all 13 tracks on A Hard Day's Night were written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, showcasing the development of their songwriting partnership. The album includes the song "A Hard Day's Night", with its distinctive opening chord, and "Can't Buy Me Love", both transatlantic number-one singles for the band. Several of the songs feature George Harrison playing a Rickenbacker 12-string electric guitar, a sound that was influential on the Byrds and other groups in the folk rock/jangle pop movement.

Wikipedia

Rating

3.91

Votes

7324
Genres
Rock
Pop

Reviews

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Wed Sep 29 2021
5

It's about damn time. 136 albums and I finally get a Beatles album. I calculated the probability and there was supposed to be a nearly 2/3 chance I should have already got a Beatles album by now. But finally. This album is underrated. I said it. Why? Just look up people's reviews on this page or on reddit or wherever. They'll say, "Oh well I prefer this later Beatles album" and of course you do, the innovation in instrumentation, songwriting, and production spirals out of control following Rubber Soul. But you can't unfairly give this a lower rating cause you have to compare it to something entirely different. Anyway... This is my favorite pre-Rubber Soul album. No covers. Full on McCartney-Lennon pop songwriting genius from start to end. There's something to love about each track. Let's start with the songs I think are perfect. "A Hard Day's Night", "If I Fell", "And I Love Her", and "Can't Buy Me Love". Between superb vocals, complex chord progressions, impactful lyrics, and a fistful of energy and punk, these songs reflect exactly why they're so loved. It's hard to even come close to mimicking these songs, even if you knew their secrets. There are some interesting quirks here and there, like how in "Any Time At All" it feels a bit empty, and yes it is supposed to have more lyrics, but it doesn't detract the power in Lennon's voice, McCartney's high pitch support, and catchy melodic tune. Even "weaker" songs like "I'll Cry Instead" have interesting chord changes and instrument choices that don't make for a dull experience. The Beatles are a pop sensation, and I swear it's really hard for me to write what I love about Beatles albums. I discovered the entire Beatles discography when I was 10, and I never listened to any other album until I was in college. I kept playing those same albums on repeat for years, and even now they're my most frequently visited. I can sing along to every song in their discography. So how can I tell this is worthy of the 5 stars? I can measure how much I like each song but how excited I am to sing along to each of them. So a song like "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" I don't feel much a push to sing along to, and likewise "I'll Cry Instead" I'm the least enthusiastic about. Is this a bias toward catchy pop songs? Well, after knowing all the lyrics to the Abbey Road Medley or the unusual picks in Sgt Pepper or White Album, I don't believe that's the case. Just the ones that really grab my attention. And with this album, more so than any other pre-Rubber Soul album I can belt all the lyrics with some degree of intense enthusiasm. There was nothing that even came close to The Beatles in the early 60s. At least later in the decade you had rock albums by Rolling Stones, Beach Boys, Pink Floyd, Love, etc... but not this early. You were dealing with the likes of Bobby Vinton and Andy Williams... who cares? This album more so than the other pre-RS displays their incredible level of innovation that everyone would follow and adapt to. It's important not to disregard these early Beatles albums. When I'm looking for classic rock n roll, early Beatles albums will always be the first place I look.

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Tue Nov 09 2021
3

Pretty good. Do these guys have any other albums?

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Wed Aug 11 2021
2

This does nothing to dispel my belief that The Beatles are one of the most over rated bands ever. Sound like a slightly updated version of the Everly brothers. I think their position in pop culture buys them a lot of good will.

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Mon May 17 2021
5

Haven't really done super-deep dives on any pre-Rubber Soul Beatles records, so this was fun - every song under three minutes and the whole record done in 30. Even the songs I wasn't familiar with were immediately catchy. Rightfully thought of as the pinnacle of this era.

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Sat Feb 06 2021
4

’m a much bigger fan of John than Paul mostly due to the Beatles post touring years. Regardless, a John dominated LP suits me just fine. Very solid album with only a  few minutes of filler.  And HDN is from the days when few bands (particularly white bands) putting out  a lot of pumping music.

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Wed Mar 31 2021
4

The first Beatles album containing only original compositions finds the greatest songwriting duo of all time still honing their craft. They won't get it perfect until Help! one year later, but there's enough on this record to show that this lot are here to be taken seriously as composers, not just mop-haired pop stars. Lennon's wicked tongue launches its two pronged attack on, 'I'll Cry Instead' and, 'You Can't Do That', fueled by insecurity and childhood resentment, which contrasts superbly with McCartney's more refined and palatable, 'Can't Buy Me Love' and, 'If I Fell'. They're on their way.

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Thu May 06 2021
5

The best of the early Beatles records, and the peak of their early pop, Beatlemania years. The quintessential pop album by the quintessential British band. First album of fully original material and every song is a winner from the opening iconic chord of the title track, to the unexpected and premature fade out at the end of 'I'll Be Back'. What's staggering is this would be most bands high point yet the Beatles would get better than this, albeit their best albums would be purely studio affairs. Much has been written elsewhere about this album, it's influence and legacy but all you need to know is that it is that good and is easily a 5 star affair.

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Sat Jul 03 2021
5

Top of the pile of the early Beatles albums, and also technically a soundtrack. John has a lot of machismo throughout the record, while Paul seems a bit more coy and smitten. You start to get a small taste of things to come as the songwriting starts to get more focused.

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Fri Jun 17 2022
5

A pretentious-free honest straight up rock pop album. Amazing what the Beatles could from the beginning. I know nowadays songs like You can’t do that are impresentable, and with good reason I guess but it’s an almost 60 year old album! Give it a break and enjoy the sound of simpler times, also, Can’t buy me love and the title track rock hard af. I wonder how this album will sound once they make the “stereo 2024 mix”, for me the top was the Mono edition from 2014

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Fri Aug 06 2021
4

While my heart lies with post-Rubber Soul Beatles, this album is probably their best showcase of their early sound. A strong and well done collection right here.

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Wed Jul 20 2022
1

1 Ah fuck here we go. I have a complicated relationship with The Beatles - in that I generally really don't care for The Beatles. However, after sitting down and giving A Hard Day's Night a good listen... Yeah not much has changed. This is The Beatles at their most bubble gum-poppy, and I just really can't say I see the appeal. Don't have much else to say on this one. Favorite songs: ???? Any Time at All I suppose

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Mon Jul 12 2021
5

Dumb beatles >>>>>> Introspective Beatles

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Fri May 21 2021
5

Possibly the best of the Beatles Pop albums. Features all time great tracks like ‘Hard Days Night’ & ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’ as well as some lesser known greats like ‘I Should Have Known Better’

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Wed Jun 02 2021
5

The quintessential Beatles album. Filled to the brim with catchy tunes and full of the energy that brought them to the top of the music world.

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Tue May 17 2022
5

The Beatles’ first record to feature entirely original compositions, and the only one written solely by Lennon-McCartney, A Hard Day’s Night finds the songwriting partnership realizing its full potential, and the band in full swing. George’s jangling guitar had an immeasurable influence on the folk-rock movement, and Ringo’s propulsive rhythms serve as a driving force throughout. Although the group would achieve a higher degree of artistic and critical success in later years, this record stands as the pinnacle of their early work, the purest form of Beatlemania to be heard, and a sign of wonderful things to come. Standout Tracks: A Hard Day’s Night, And I Love Her, Can’t Buy Me Love, Things We Said Today, I’ll Be Back

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Fri Aug 12 2022
5

"A Hard Day's Night" is the third studio album from The Beatles and the first album with all Lennon/McCartney originals. The writing and recording of the album coincided with the filming of their movie with the same name. Side one contains all songs written for and from the movie and were recorded before the filming. To complete an album, additional songs were recorded both before and after the filming. As for the music, yeah, they're all pop classics. "Sputnikmusic"'s Dave Donnelly said it best and I have nothing to add: "short, peppy, pop songs characterized by layered vocals, immediate choruses and understated instrumentation." The US version is different with songs from the George Martin's film score. I admit I would need a diagram of all the US and UK early Beatle album differences. This is the first album with George Harrison using a 12-string Rickenbacker guitar which had great influences on bands like the Byrds. Also, of note, no songs sung by Ringo and no Harrison written songs. Oh, Ringo is credited with the album'/film title with a comment he made during filming. Fun fact. Hard to critique classics and side one starts out with three bona-fide classics: "A Hard Day's Night" with Harrison's guitar starting note. Here's your short, peppy, pop. Oh, McCartney on the cowbell. "I Should Have Known Better" has that great harmonica start and those harmonies. Speaking of harmonies, the third song "If I Fell" has plenty of them and is a ballad of sorts. And, the first side ends with the first single and McCartney song and composed "Can't Buy Me Love." What I can say? Although not as hit-packed, the second side continues the great pop songs. Two favorites for me are the McCartney "Things We Said Today" with his lead singing and the harmonies and Lennon's "You Can't Do That" - I'm a sucker for cowbell. This album is an obvious classic and I admit it's the first time for me listening to it from start to finish. I've listened to their albums starting with "Rubber Soul" multiple, multiple times. Not so much their very early stuff. Well, that's changing.

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Tue Aug 23 2022
5

A John album, but Paul gets to share lead vocals with him on the perfect title track. The George song is fine, but he's not trying to take you home as much he's just looking for someone to dance with. Not much for Ringo to do, although he allegedly originated the album's title, which in turn means he originated the movie's title, where he's featured prominently. Plus I enjoy his cowbell on the title track he inspired. This is either the sixth or seventh best Beatles album, but it's a landmark album: the first one where every song was written by Lennon/McCartney. It's also 30 minutes of pure bliss.

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Tue Sep 27 2022
5

Of course like many fans I prefer the later Beatles period but this album is probably one of their best early-years ones. First of all it’s all original songs. Some of them sound even more « modern » than others from 1964. McCartney/Lennon prove their songwriting talents and their ability to create simple yet not that simple melodies. Though not as elaborated as their later period albums, A Hard Day’s Night still shows some audacious chords changes and original arrangements. Of course my favourite song is “And I Love Her” which for me could totally have been a post-Rubber Soul song. Brilliant album. Loved it.

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Wed Dec 07 2022
5

The first Beatles album with all songs written by Lennon and McCartney, the album and film combo kick started the rock and roll/folk music explosion in the 60s and opened up the door for British musicians to get big in the US. MEGA influential in other words. There's something so charming and appealing about this album. It makes me feel safe and cosy and nostalgic because all these tracks remind me of endless hours of drinking wine and working through the Beatles chord book with friends. The fact of how freaking difficult to play/complicated their tunes mostly are is confirmation of the song-writing genius, even if they sound like simple catchy songs. It sounds great, the 12-string electric guitar gives it something very unique for the time and the signature layered but very close harmonies add to those feelings and make it very distinctive. They had such a knack for writing extremely relevant and catchy tunes, this album was kind of the first time they show cased those skills after two albums of mostly rock and roll covers. A Hard Day's Night is iconic, I love the fact that Ringo always said really weird things like this and they just built it into their songs, it makes me want to be part of the group because it just sounds so nice and funny. And I Love Her is also a top banger. The artwork is excellent. This vintage photography style makes them all look like statues/busts which is cool.

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Tue Jan 17 2023
5

The Beatles were a staple of the music played in our house when I was growing up. My parents had quite a few of their albums on vinyl (my dad had an opportunity to purchase The White Album on white vinyl, but passed because the person selling it wanted like $20 for it. But yet he and my mom spent thousands on Thomas Kinkade paintings...), we would play "Birthday" on every birthday, and Beatles' lyrics were often quoted in conversation. I still listen to The Beatles every now and then, but I don't think I've ever listened to an entire album of theirs from start to finish (maybe I've listened to all of Revolver or The White Album). I definitely prefer their later works (everyone makes better music when they're on drugs, and I will not be swayed from this), but I really enjoyed sitting back and giving this album a thorough listen. John and Paul really did a great job of writing this album. The lyrics are incredibly catchy and fun to sing along too, and the instrumentation is great too. I love that you can hear so much going on instrumentally; at times it sounds like there's closer to eight people in the studio, rather than a quartet. It's easy to see how these guys started off making "typical pop music," but then evolved so much artistically over their career. Even though the instrumentation may seem rudimentary, every note is executed with perfection, and it all blends together seamlessly to make a sound that was often imitated, but never duplicated. Recently, it seems like The Beatles have been labeled as 'overrated' by a lot of people, but that's utter bullshit. No one has had the career that these guys had, and the sheer volume and quality of their catalog over less than a decade is a marvel and will never be duplicated.

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Tue Aug 31 2021
4

1. + 2. + 3. = 4. + 5. = 6. - 7. = 8. + 9. = 10. + 11. - 12. + 13. +

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Mon Jul 12 2021
5

Even though I prefer their albums when they got more progressive, I love this album. Not a bad song on it.

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Thu Apr 01 2021
5

It's The Beatles, it's woven into the essence of my being, it's always been there because Mum loved Lennon. Even when I hear songs I don't think I know it turns out I suddenly know all the lyrics, like it's part of some collective memory we all have now. It's the ultimate pop record, but above all else, it makes me smile like a fool.

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Sat Jun 19 2021
5

And it’s not even my favourite album by the Beatles. Speaks volumes!

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Thu Jan 28 2021
5

Amazing. Perfectly timed for the day. A favorite album now.

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Tue Mar 16 2021
5

First record of all originals, and it's ridiculous that there are no duds here. Encapsulates the early era heights before they start evolving.

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Wed Jul 14 2021
5

G7sus4 ¡PUM! Abres un disco dándole con todo a ese acorde explosivo y raro y lo dejas sonar para entrar con una canción cuyo título es contradictorio y difícil de entender a la primera. "A Hard Day's Night" es desde mi punto de vista el disco en el que los Beatles se dan cuenta que pueden hacer lo que se les de la gana. Para empezar, es teóricamente el soundtrack para una película que podría (y tal vez debería) no existir y de cualquier manera está lleno de hits. No solo eso, es el tercer álbum completo que lanzan tras tan solo año y medio de haber sido "descubiertos" por Brian Epstein y durante este tiempo además de grabar tres discos estuvieron en una gira por Reino Unido y Estados Unidos y filmaron la película. Y además de ser el tercer LP, es el primero en el que el no tienen ningún cover. Tener covers era lo normal en aquel entonces, un poco para llenar el tiempo y un poco para mostrar habilidades al retomar canciones que ya habían funcionado con otros. Sin tener ni un cover, el disco es totalmente suyo y les permite meter una gama muy amplia de tracks, desde algo que es casi un bolero con guitarra acústica (And I Love Her), temas con sonido de Folk aunque sin ese tipo de letras (Things We Said Today y I'll Be Back) y cosas que aún suenan al Rock 'n' Roll de la década anterior (You Can't Do That y I'm Happy Just To Dance With You). Otro detalle a notar es como sus propias letras van cambiando. Por un lado, las de estilo de Paul, que aquí son dulces y evolucionarán a ser cursis; y por otro lado las de Lennon, que ya están llenas de celos locos y agresividad que se notarán más en los siguientes discos. Para acabar, la portada. Quizá sin contar Please Please Me, todas sus portadas son icónicas y esta no es la excepción. Que por cierto no sería icónica si las disqueras se hubieran quedado con la portada diseñada para la película.

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Wed Jul 14 2021
5

Es muy complicado ser objetivo con este álbum (quizá con cualquiera de los Beatles, de hecho), pero lo intentaré. Como dato curioso, las primeras canciones que conocí de los Beatles fue por un disco llamado "Oldies but Goodies"; una compilación con algunos de sus primeros álbumes donde venían "A Hard Day's Night" y "Can't buy me love". Esas dos canciones tenían un sonido particular que jamás habría logrado interpretar hasta que leí la reseña de este disco: la Rickenbacker de 12 cuerdas. Nunca había escuchado este álbum completo y en orden, y había un par de canciones que probablemente nunca había escuchado antes, y que no me gustaron tanto: "Anytime at all" y "I'll be back". En una situación normal, eso haría que el disco no fuera 5 estrellas, pero si por otro lado se considera la importancia histórica de este disco, la decisión no resulta tan sencilla. Claro que no soy nadie para dar una opinión tan tajante, pero podría afirmar que no hay nada similar a este disco en esta época . Es rock, sin duda, pero un rock raro: mucho más complejo musicalmente que el "rock & roll", pero a al vez fresco alegre, como si fuera pop, un término que ni siquiera sé si existía en la época. También es interesante cómo lograron incorporar algo de "folk" y quizá algo de blues, pero sin perder su esencia propia.

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Tue Mar 02 2021
5

Up there as one of my favourite Beatles albums. I Should Have Known Better.

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Thu Mar 04 2021
5

Not their best, but a great album. It's crazy to know that all of their albums came over just a 7 year period. Lots of familiar songs you can listen to over and over again.

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Sat Jan 30 2021
5

Obviously going to be a five. No explanation needed.

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Tue Feb 09 2021
5

Bealtes! Always 5 stars (except maybe the Yellow Submarine album!)

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Tue Feb 09 2021
5

Briliant! A classic! What a mood lifter 😀

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Sat Jun 19 2021
5

Is there anything better, really?

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Thu Apr 08 2021
5

Love The Beatles! A classic and undoubtedly helped shape the music industry

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Wed May 12 2021
5

Great mix of completely fresh and Beatles twists on other influences

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Fri Jul 16 2021
5

The ONLY bad thing I have to say about it album is how short it is!

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Sat May 22 2021
5

Exquisitely crafted pop music.

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Tue Sep 21 2021
5

Quality songs embedded in my mind, almost didn't need to listen Very crisp production by today's standards. Refreshing

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Tue Sep 21 2021
5

this is beautiful, a masterfully crafted album. though it won't lose any of its magic without a couple of filler songs. i liked it, it is naive and romantic

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Mon Sep 27 2021
5

Love this album. Love it LOADS.

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Tue Sep 28 2021
5

A great early beatles record that it sounds good after more than 50 years .

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Wed Oct 20 2021
5

i'm not sure the beatles would ever get less than 5 stars from me. anything i could say about them would doubtless be redundant, so i'll just remain thankful they found each other, and grateful for the music they've left us.

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Wed Oct 27 2021
5

A Hard Day's Night is what can only be described as Absolute Classic Beatles. Interesting to find out that the first half of the album was a part of the soundtrack from a film of the same name. It was their first album to feature entirely original compositions. It was such a delight to listen to, it felt so comfortable and familiar to listen to, even though this is the first time I have listened to this album in full. Best: A Hard Day's Night; Can't Buy Me Love Worst: Can't pick.

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Sat Oct 30 2021
5

Early proof of genius pop songwriting. 60s pop rock'n'roll at its finest without studio experiments. Arguably the purest of the great Beatles albums.

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Tue Nov 02 2021
5

I've only recently come around to early Beatles. After all these years I think I can finally say this is a pretty great album.

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Tue Nov 09 2021
5

Recently learned the guitar solo on the title track is played slow and the recording is sped up.

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Thu Nov 11 2021
5

9/10 nice pop rock album, the main detractor is the way that all the songs run into each other

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Sat Dec 11 2021
5

For the longest it was a battle between Rubber Soul and Revolver as my favorite Beatles album. But now there's a third contender. The Beatles find their songwriter voice on this album, which I believe is their first album um of all original material. And what material it is. The songs are all excellent and the band is so damn tight. Step aside Revolver, move over Rubber Soul there's a new contender to the crown 5 🌟 🤩 ⭐

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Mon Dec 13 2021
5

Classic! Iconic! Wonderful! This was my favorite Beatles CD when I was a kid and it holds up with their 60s rock style that they mastered!

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Sun Dec 19 2021
5

Beatles unforgettable tunes live in my heart forever.

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Tue Jan 04 2022
5

Really? I don't think I need to justify this one.

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Mon Jan 17 2022
5

Possibly the best early Beatles be album, 13 originals with plenty of brash Lennon rockers and a few mellow McCartney ballads. If you don't dig this album then you probably don't dig the Beatles, man. Personal favourites are the title track, And I Love Her, Things We Said Today, You Can't Do That and I'll Be Back. Cracking stuff.

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Thu Jan 20 2022
5

Charming, powerful - both timeless and of its time. Their first record free of covers doesn’t offer too many hints of the breadth of genius that lay ahead, but a great listen all the same. And I Love Her stands out, supported by pop classics like Cant buy Me love. Beautiful

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Sat Jan 22 2022
5

The best of the pre weed smokin' Beatles albums.

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Sat Jan 29 2022
5

a hard day's night, of course

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Sat Jan 29 2022
5

El primer disc amb composicions pròpies i una nova pica en Flandes per demostrar quina era la millor banda del moment, de la década, i una de les grans bandes de la història. No hi ha un sol segon que sobri

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Fri Feb 04 2022
5

The Beatles, they play so lovely they seem Brazilians! 😍

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Fri Feb 18 2022
5

Dynamite. Not as fleshed out, maybe simpler than their other albums but some really nice moments.

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Fri Mar 04 2022
5

This album is so great! One of the best of their earlier works

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Tue Mar 08 2022
5

Finally! Some Beatles! It was of course a fun listen. And... er... rating it is pretty tricky. The thing is, "A Hard Day's Night" was one of my least favorite albums by the band. Yes, least favorite. And yes, "was". Although "And I Love Her" is the very first Beatles song that I love, as well as the reason why teenager me dived deeper into their discography despite the geo-blocks on YouTube during those times. Listening to it again, it's much better than I remember. Considering the fresh sounding tracks with infectious melodies and simple structure, it's not hard to see why these boys set the music scene on fire during their time. "A Hard Day's Night", their first all-original album, written while constantly touring and making non-music projects, is probably the epitome of their early works, their early musical force at full power. Their early works are pretty tricky to rate. But regardless of how I approach this, it doesn't change the fact that early Beatles albums have this kind of raw, infectious energy that I love. Those albums, including this one, have a few minutes of fillers and are not as mind-blowing as their later works, but I will keep on coming back to them to just sit back and enjoy some music. And because of that, I guess this album deserves a five star. Two classics and two five stars in three days, what a nice week!

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