Tis Better To Have Loved And Lost Than To Never Loved At All. Alfred Lord Tennyson –– Part 3

Today I have a real treat for you. No cover songs, in fact, for the first and last time, the Beatles had the approval to produce an LP entirely filled with Lennon/McCartney compositions. Yes, it’s a new week, and that signals the next album. A Hard Day’s Night, released July 10, 1964, the same day as my favorite Dodger Ron Fairly’s birthday, and the day before my birthday. The official soundtrack plus an incredible assortment of fresh songs made available at the record shops almost eight months since With The Beatles rolled out of E.M.I.’s packaging department. Okay, are you ready to divvy up today’s list as to which are mutual love vs. one-sided love? Then read on!

3^rd LP: A Hard Day’s Night. (Mutual Love / 7 vs One-Sided Love / 6)

Track 1 –  A Hard Day’s Night. A mutual love song by John, based on the lyric portrayal the singer knows even after a long hard day on the job when most men would be exhausted, ready for sleep, he will feel just great once home by finding the things his lover does for him. He no longer minds working all day, since now he has money to buy her gifts, and it’s so worth it, because, in return, she gives him everything. Therefore, he no longer moans about his shift, aware she’ll hold him tight quite soon, making life wonderful. Background Fun Facts: Written on the evening of April 13, 1964, after learning the title of the boy’s first film. The producer, Walter Shenson, insisted the movie needs a song to match the motion picture heading. Remember, Elvis used the same strategy–– like in 1961, Blue Hawaii. 1962, Follow That Dream. 1964, Kissin’ Cousins, Viva Las Vegas, and Roustabout. See what I mean, and the earlier films starring Elvis also received matching songs beginning with his first, ‘Love Me Tender,’ a huge hit on the music charts. The next morning, John played the made to order composition for Shenson and presto, it won the Grammy that year. ‘A Hard Day’s Night,' soared to #1 just as ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’ had done prior to the film’s premiere. Believe it or not, part of the original lyrics that finished off the first verse went as so, ”But when I get home to you, I find my tiredness is through, and I feel alright.” A few days later, a last-minute recording schedule brought the musicians into the studio to lay down the all-important final song. Dick Lester, the film director, had a mission of his own and insisted something blockbuster was required to open the film. Although Lester’s presence inside the control room wasn’t appreciated, there can be no denying he caused a major leap into stardom for the boys. A good example is the lad’s initial challenges for the right blast-off chord. Lester argued the sound didn’t pack enough punch and it kept getting rejected. “More cinematic!” shouted the director. George Martin tweaked a couple of odd suggestions this unwelcomed filmmaker proposed, and Wala, the most tremendous, iconic, and brilliant sound emerged, able to send chills down your spine. Another vital component Lester demanded, was the ending must include a fade-out so as to segue-way into the motion picture's first scene. Imagine how much this song could have lost had not the pushy visitor stand firm, barking orders.

Track 2 – I Should Have Known Better. A mutual love song by John, based on the lyric portrayal the singer knows when he tells his girl he loves her and asks her to be his one and only, she tells him she loves him too. Background Fun Facts: Written in Paris between January 15 and February 4, 1964, hidden away at the George V Hotel. A request for a piano brought into their suite helped our songwriters with the task of composing new songs for their first giant screen film production. Any downtime inside the hotel, Bob Dylan’s Freewheelin album filled the room, a gift to Paul by a French DJ after a radio spot interview. The album inspired John to include the harmonica in his new song. John’s hat seen in the film also copied Dylan. This particular song started the one-note melody line craze for John, as heard in the verses. One-note melody lines also surfaced within verses of ‘Help’ and the bridge on ‘Girl.’ Did you know that John couldn’t really play the harmonic without taking a breath on all four measures during the introduction? When listening to the unedited recording, the harmonica stops on the fourth measure in dire straights to a much-needed inhale of air. George Martin simply grafted a repeat of the third measure onto the fourth, and no one was the wiser unless a customer purchased the stereo version of which engineers forgot to correct. A blooper that lasted until 1982 when the graft was added to the album titled Reel Music, however, those engineers spliced measure two instead of measure three to fill in the gap. True fans can hear a slight difference.

Track 3 – If I Fell. A one-sided love song by John, based on the lyric portrayal the singer needs assurance that if he gives his heart to a new girl, she will love him more than his current girlfriend or wife.  He wants to dodge fresh heartache pain knowing how sad it will be if their new love dies in vain. Background Fun Facts: Written between January 15 and February 4, 1964, during the concert series at the Olympia Theater in Paris, France. According to John, this was his first attempt at what he called a “ballad proper,” and the first ever Beatles song touching on the taboo subject of a love triangle, (And that she will cry when she learns we are two), taken from verse three. A clever harmony unfolds after the solo introduction that blends beautifully by John dropping lower notes rather than follows Paul’s melody using a standard third synchronization. J & P insisted on recording their vocals together into the same microphone for a much tighter connection. Some excited consumers buying stereo copies have noticed Paul’s voice cracks on the last note within the second bridge on the word, “vain” ––a fix recording engineers only attended to on the mono editing process.   

Track 4 – I’m Happy Just To Dance With You. A mutual love for dancing song by John & Paul, based on the lyric portrayal the singer confesses there is really nothing else he’d rather do than to dance with his partner. Dancing with her is all he needs, and before the dance is through, he believes he will love her too. Background Fun Facts: Written between January 15 and February 4, 1964, inside their Paris George V hotel room. The song was given to George Harrison as a way to feature his spot in the film. Undeveloped Harrison was working on a new composition titled, ‘You Know What To Do,’ but lacked commercial appeal, hence, J & P to the rescue. A hard lesson to learn for the youngest Beatle who made sure he had a marketable tune for the second film.  Track 4 was the last movie soundtrack song recorded before high-tech cameras began shooting on March 2, 1964. The boys were called in special on March 1^st to get it done, and it was a Sunday, a most uncommon work day in the studio up till then. Just Like the tune ‘Can’t buy Me Love,’ Lennon gave ‘I’m Happy Just To Dance With You’ an introduction phase spoiler of the bridge before the first verse.

Track 5 – And I Love Her. A mutual love song by Paul, aided by John on the middle bridge section, based on the lyric portrayal the singer gives her all his love and she gives him everything tenderly, including kisses. The singer also boasts, “A love like ours could never die.” Background Fun Facts: Written between February 22  and February 24 1964_, directly after the very successful concert tour of America. Paul originally composed it on his own in the basement music room of Jane Asher’s parents posh 8-bedroom home on Wimple Street, but when time came to record it, George Martin felt it much too repetitive and needed something of a change in the middle. Lennon shouted across the soundproof room into Paul’s microphone, “Okay, let’s have a tea break.” J & P worked on it at the piano and within thirty minutes, wrote a beautiful middle part using just four bars––genius. McCartney referred to it as his first ballad that actually impressed himself, and John equally impressed considered it Paul’s first ‘Yesterday.' So much was John enthralled, he borrowed the phrase, “gives me everything,” and used it in the rushed requirement for an essential song titled, ‘A Hard Day’s Night.’ Did you know, George played all those stunning guitar runs and rising key change instrumental solo on his prized Rickenbacker 12-string during the preliminary few days of taping? Midway through the sessions, Ringo switched from drums to bongos, and this helped to prompt George to switch from his 12-string electric to his Jose Ramirez acoustic guitar with nylon strings––again, genius must run in the all for one mates.

Track 6 – Tell Me Why. A one-sided love song by John, based on the lyric portrayal the singer complains as to why his lover lied to him and left him all alone after giving her everything he had. (There’s that same phrase “gave everything” again.) Background Fun Facts: Written in America during their first U.S. tour, mid-February 1964. Someone informed John the movie needed another upbeat song and because each Beatle received a transistor radio, the fellows got an enormous earful of the American pop stars’ music. Many of the African America girl groups influenced John to knock off in a single afternoon, ‘Tell Me Why’ installing those old rock and roll, often used set of chords progression of C –Am – F – and G and integrated a power-punch 3-part-harmony. I’m sure you can guess which famous singer motivated all three musicians to sing falsetto near the last few bars on the bridge. Once more, to comply with the quick demand for the film’s title song, John borrowed the word “moan” from Track 6. (All I do is hang my head and MOAN – So why on earth should I MOAN, cause when I get you alone, you know I feel okay. 

Track 7 – Can’t Buy Me Love. A mutual love song by Paul, based on the lyric portrayal the singer desires a companion who is more interested in love over material things. Background Fun Facts: Written between January 15 and February 4 1964 and one of just three tunes recorded outside of London, to cash in quick on the financial wave ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ brought to Capitol Records, who almost released Roll Over Beethoven as the follow-up single had it not been for the swift wit of George Martin to rent a studio and bang out Paul’s new hit rocker. The day after its release in the States, the single sold over a million copies and debuted at #27 on the pop charts. A week later, rose to #1. By the way, the other two songs recorded in Paris were the German versions of ‘She Loves You’ and ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ as a way to say Thank-you to Deutschland. A mysterious unknown drummer added overdubs to the stereo mix on March 10, 1964, and clearly differs from the mono version. Impossible this drummer could be Ringo, he was busy on the set filming scenes for director Richard Lester. The unknown drummer turned out to be engineer Norman Smith, who played just a few bars on the high-hat cymbals to correct a ripple crease after the original tape had spooled incorrectly. A new precedent had also emerged during the recording of this song; Paul insisted all guitar solos be pre-defined and well-rehearsed before tape machines rolled. No more adlib differences for George as in live shows. And finally, John has declared numerous times it’s his favorite song in the film.

Track 8 – Any Time At All. A one-sided love song by John, based on the singer repeatedly offers his devotion toward a particular love interest, yet receives neither positive nor negative female responses from his constant inquiry. A weak robbery from John’s ‘All I’ve Got To Do’ song on track 2 from the last album. Compare both sets of lyrics for yourself. Background Fun Facts: Written in Tahiti vacationing with George and Pattie during May 1964, however, brought to the studio unfinished. After seven attempts to record the song, the fellows knew something was amiss, so, within a ninety-minute rehash, Paul completely changed the instrumentation solo switching to the piano and that fixed the issue. Two mono mixes unfolded for the song, one used in the States and the other released in England. Paul’s piano received a louder presence in his home country compared to America. This tune was the last played by Ringo before entering the hospital due to tonsillitis. He was miserable throughout the entire recording session with a severe sore throat.

Track 9 – I’ll Cry Instead. A one-sided love song by John, based on the singer is livid since losing the only girl he had, and if it were up to him, he’d try to make her sad somehow, but he can’t so he’ll cry instead. Background Fun Facts: Written April 1964 specifically for the run amok field scene in A Hard Day’s Night. Unfortunately, Lester didn’t like it. The lyrics didn’t play well with the chap’s zany romp and reused ‘Can’t Buy Me Love,’ which had been set aside for the police squad chase scene. John’s wife, Cynthia defined the song as a cry for help by her husband. She explains, “It reflects the frustration he felt at the time. He was the idol of millions, but the freedom and fun of the early days had gone.”  You can bet there is no denying John felt cheated ‘I’ll Cry Instead’ got the boot, but at least his song made a hit as a single in America three weeks before the movie premiered. An oddity to note––the mono version has four verses, while the stereo mix uses only three verses. Weird! Another mix-up––even though the film director scraped this title, the song still showed up on the United Artist Soundtrack LP.

Track 10 – Things We Said Today. A mutual love song by Paul, based on the lyric portrayal the deep in love lucky singer asserts his girl promises to be his until the end of time. Background Fun Facts: Written with acoustic guitar in May 1964, inside the cabin below deck of the rented yacht, Happy Days cruising the Virgin Islands with Ringo and Maureen. Composed by inspiration through the tight relationship with Jane Asher, who also was aboard ship. The bond between these two often resulted in long periods of separation due to both professions, a rudiment force to the spot-on lines, “You say you will love me if I have to go.”  And “Someday when I’m lonely wishing you weren’t so far away.” John included a simple overdubbed piano part on both bridges of the song but removed during the final mono mix. However, the stereo mix version left a tint of piano caught on the open mics used during Paul’s double tracking vocal and Ringo’s tambourine.

Track 11 – When I Get Home. A mutual love song by John, based on the lyric portrayal the singer can’t wait to return home to be with his lover and love her till the cows come home. He even bets he will love her more till he walks through that door again. Background Fun Facts: Written in Tahiti on vacation during May 1964 with George and Pattie. Recorded on the 2^nd of June, 1964 and the final song to meet the deadline for inclusion with their third LP. Again, two mono mixes took different paths, one for England’s Hard Day’s Night album, and one for America’s Something New album. The U.S. mix showcases a bit higher volume to the piano overdubs by Paul, especially on the bridge, and the UK mix produced louder cymbal crashes. Unfortunately, both mono mixes incorporated John’s vocal from his original take, and he doesn’t quite reach the bridge note the minute he sang, “when I walk,” but on the stereo mix, John stays right on key and hit the note proper, obviously taken from an alternate take. Lennon’s influence to write such a song came from Marvin Gaye’s, Can I Get A Witness, and Wilson Pickett’s early records, to which the Beatle labeled this song as “a four-in-the-bar cowbell song.” The only problem with his notation stems from the fact no cowbell appears in the studio performance. The percussion instrument instead saw invitations on ‘You Can’t Do That,' I Call Your Name,' and of course, ‘A Hard Day’s Night.' Perhaps John got confused.

Track 12 – You Can’t Do That. A one-sided love song by John, based on the singer's troubling, over the top issues with trust between him and his love interest, plus an explosive jealous streak that can destroy their marriage just by her talking with another man. That’s not love; that’s captivity. Background Fun Facts: Written in Miami Beach, February 1964 specifically for the boy’s first film. An interesting but subtle change among verse 1 and verse 2 displays the melody line on 1 has quarter notes, yet the melody line on 2 has eighth notes.  A documentary dedicated to the making of A Hard Day’s Night feature film proves the song finally made it onto the big screen during the live concert scene near the end of the picture. Rolling cameras captured all the composition’s action, and youngsters brought into the large decorative indoor arena heard the tune played while screaming their guts out, but alas, ‘You Can’t Do That’ couldn’t avoid the cutting room floor and got sliced from the movie. Director Lester didn’t like it and dismissed it on the grounds the film’s running minutes had climbed higher than United Artist wanted. Upon returning from America, the lads were excited to unfold this song in the studio and did so on George Harrison’s 21^st birthday, February 25. The minute the rhythm track had received a thumbs up, overdubs took shape with Paul playing the cowbell, and Ringo helped fattened the percussion section with more bongos. The very next morning George Martin and his engineers diligently fine-tuned a perfect mono mix of ‘You Can’t Do That’ and Can’t Buy Me Love’ then rushed them off to Capitol Records in Hollywood, California, for the newest, high in demand single. This herald the first time a Beatles’ 45 rpm single found itself in the hands of American teens and pre-teens before the fan-base followers in Great Britain. Almost two weeks later, Martin experimented with a stereo mix of all the show tunes, but never felt satisfied. He also added and recorded his own piano arrangement to the mix on May 22^nd, but according to rumors, even the Beatles never heard the outcome, and his idea fell into oblivion. On June 22^nd, Martin oversaw an accepted stereo mix of the entire album. By the way, John plays the guitar solo in the middle, and George used his brand new 12-string to start the song off with a hard driving beat and overshadowed all the instruments on its unrivaled sluggish finale.

Track 13 – I’ll Be Back. A one-sided love song by John, based on the lyric portrayal the singer has suffered a broken heart, separates but still loves her madly and believes she misses him just as much. Therefore, tries to reconcile only to find she will break his heart again, nevertheless, he’ll be back a third time, a fourth, etc., etc. at the mercy of her affection. Background Fun Facts: Written in Tahiti, May 1964 and highly influenced by the same chords from 1961's #1 hit song ‘Runaway,’ by Del Shannon, which the Beatles covered in their live shows during 61 and 62. In 1963, Shannon appeared on the same evening program with the Beatles at the Royal Albert Hall when the 5,272-seat concert venue presented a special titled, “Swinging Sound 63”. Shortly afterward, the celebrity offered to release a Lennon/McCartney composition in America. The result was, ‘From Me To You,’ topping at #77 on the Billboard singles hit parade­––the first song by J & P to make the top 100 in America. YouTube makes it possible to experience the sound-a-like arrangement rendition. Attempts were made to record the song in waltz time. However, John complained the effort was just too hard to sing using a 6/8 tempo and reverted to the original 4/4-time signature. Check out ‘Anthology 1’ to witness the debacle. Youngest Beatle George lucked out on the three-part harmony, having to deal with just one single note a la McCartney style like Paul sang his verses on, ‘Please Please Me.’ Two mono mixes came from the control board by Martin, one for Britain, the other America. America’s version is a tad slower and received noticeable more reverb.

The winner goes to mutual love by one count, as close as a 50-50 tie can be. And that completes our full run through for a mighty awesome album many consider timeless. Face it, people. Beatles music, as a whole, surely fits into the timeless category. Next week, watch for Part 4, where I’ll dissect as best I can, the LP, Beatles For Sale. And as always, your comments and corrections are most welcomed.