“ooooh it’s been a hard day’s night” – The Beatles
Welcome back to “Albums I Should Have Listened To Already.” Today, we’re reaching a little deeper back into history. That’s right, there’s a whole Beatles album I haven’t listened to all the way through. There’s a few, honestly. This won’t be the last Beatles album in this series. It’s easy to miss culture, I’m telling y’all. This is why this series exists.
Previous entries? Sure thing.
Naked Raygun | Pure Hell | Big Joanie
HOW I CAME ACROSS THIS ALBUM
Maybe it’s easier to talk about how I didn’t come across this album, or how I managed to avoid it. Well, when I was a kid—I guess in the year 2000, when I was 12—a compilation called 1 came out. Here’s a Reddit post about it. Now, until about age six—and my school music teacher introduced me to Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey, and most importantly, Boyz II Men—I thought the only four musicians in the world were Mozart, Beethoven, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones. My parents obviously listened to more music than that—Vivaldi and Creedence, for example—but that’s what under-six me knew. I’m pretty sure we mostly listened to Abbey Road and White Album.
By 12, I had already purchased Enema Of The State and Licensed To Ill, so I was starting to learn a thing or two about the relevant texts.
Still, I knew I needed to understand The Beatles. Along came 1, a compilation of the 27 Beatles songs that charted number one, which felt like a good starting point. Do I care about charts? No. But I will argue that Greatest Hits albums are a fine way for kids to get into decades-old bands, or at least bands that have become cultural institutions. HOWEVER. You should eventually move beyond the greatest hits, which I haven’t really done with The Beatles. I love Abbey Road, that’s a perfect record. I like White Album, and Sergeant Pepper is fine, if not as good as Pet Sounds. Still, I haven’t done the pop records, which is wild, because I love The Beatles’ pop phase.
TRACK BY TRACK
You ready to get poppy? Kick off your shoes for a sock hop? Do some pale imitations of Sister Rosetta Tharp?
A Hard Day’s Night
One of my all-time favorite Beatles songs, a perfect Beatles pop song. In and out in 2:34. Solid chord progression with the Platonic Ideal of a middle eight.1Perfect guitar solo—minor pentatonic with a little right hand flair and a 12-string guitar to keep things interesting. There’s lore behind that opening chord that’s pretty interesting. The lesson to take away from that opening chord (I can’t believe they opened the record with that chord, what heroes) is that you shouldn’t start or end songs with something obvious, if you can help it.
I Should Have Known Better
The middle eight in this song is 16 measures, for the record. I kinda want to hear Neutral Milk Hotel or Wavves cover this song.
If I Fell
This song is a great example of something I’m going to call “folksy British minor keys.” Sometimes folk singers and/or British bands will very obviously sing scales, and you can hear the boys’ choirs they grew up in. I don’t dislike it. Harmonies and melodies are good, hot take. Just feels a little boys’ choir to me. Hokey. A box of Saltines.
I’m Happy Just to Dance with You
Usually I think George songs are the best songs. He’s not credited as the writer here, just lead vocalist. Musically, this feels like a proto-Streetlight Manifesto song (complimentary). “If somebody tries to take my place / let’s pretend we just can’t see his face” is the right attitude to take about that one guy, what’shisname. White guitarist who built a career explicitly stealing the music of Black bluesmen while also going on racist anti-immigrant rants all the time? Later tried to make a move on George’s wife? Man, can’t seem to remember who that guy was. Sounds like he sucks.
And I Love Her
If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s a guitar solo that only plays the vocal melody. Can’t listen to half of Weezer’s Green Album for this reason. Otherwise, I really enjoy this song.
Tell Me Why
Oh, we’re really in the sock hop now.
Can’t Buy Me Love
Another number one single. This was an important to text in the development of yr man the shipwrecked sailor’s Socialism.
Any Time at All
Man, this is a cool one. From the lead guitar in the hook, to the chord progression in the verses, to the climbing movement in the instrumental bridge.
I’ll Cry Instead
Surprise surprise, a song where John sings lead has fuckboi lyrics.
Things We Said Today
So many minor key songs on this record! This one veers a little into hokey territory for me, but I appreciate that they’re doing more than the same three chords over and over.
When I Get Home
lololol what an opening! This song feels very much like The Beatles overheard some Black American musicians and thought “hey us too.”
You Can’t Do That
John Lennon telling a woman not to do something. Even includes the narcissists’ biggest fear, “but they’ll laugh at me!”
I’ll Be Back
Funny how, despite being called “I’ll Be Back,” there’s nothing really in this song to suggest it is an album ender. It’s a very good song! One of my favorites on the record. Not particularly conclusive, though—it just fades out after about two minutes. Put on another Beatles record, why don’t you, it seems like this one cut off.
WHAT DO I THINK?
As I said above, I love The Beatles’ pop phase. Now, from about age 17-31, I’d tell you this side of The Beatles sucked, was commercial bullshit, and I only cared about their real creative work. Now? Well, those feelings aren’t gone, but it’s more like: I love the pop Beatles, but I’d like it all a lot less if they didn’t have that experimental turn. Listening to A Hard Day’s Night, I feel the power of a two-and-a-half minute pop song. The Beatles do such a great job of being really creative within that structure. It’s like subverting sonnets—you might only have a small, compact space to work with, but you can do so much within that space. That’s why I think it’s worth studying early Beatles.
How much will I listen to this album cover-to-cover? Hard to say. It includes one of my favorites, but it doesn’t light my world on fire. It’s very solid and worth listening to cover-to-cover, but there are other half hour-long records that have built upon this one.
Sorry you got an email,
Chris
- “when I’m hooooomeee…” that part is the middle eight. Another term for middle eight is “bridge,” but here it is eight measures. Most songs need a good bridge—I contend that Adele’s “Hello” should be an A+ song, but instead is a firm C- because they forgot to write a bridge—but I like the more petite nature of “middle eight.” We don’t need a whole other song wedged between the second and third choruses (except when we do), but we do need a little variation. Try, say, eight bars of it? ↩︎