Amidst their growing popularity and wild hysteria from adoring fans, the Beatles released their third album, A Hard Day's Night , on July 10, 1964. The album's opening chord, accented by George Harrison's new Rickenbacker 12-string guitar, sets a powerful opening sequence that is followed by prominent instrumentation and stellar musicianship of the Beatles. Unlike their previous records, this album consists solely of original compositions by the songwriting duo John Lennon and Paul McCartney. The decision to exclude rock and roll covers, deeply rooted in previous albums, led to a new mainstream pop sound. The release of this album coincided with the Beatles' release of their feature film also titled A Hard Day's Night, released four days previously on July 6, 1964. The opening sequence of the feature film reflects the candid reality of the Beatles' success. This film provided a cinematic glimpse of mass hysteria to convey the height of Beatlemania. Although scripted, the depiction of the madness surrounding the Beatles, with the girl riots and constant screaming, accurately depicts the Beatles' impact on teen culture. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned"?Get the original essay Unlike the American version, A Hard Day's Night was not released as a soundtrack to the feature film. The first side of the record featured songs from the film while the second side featured new original songs not included in the film. Similar to the liner notes of an album, the film gives a person more food for thought while they listen to the album. The performances of certain songs throughout the film create a visual in the mind that they can reimagine by listening to the same song again on the album. While the film described the frenzy surrounding the Beatles, the album gave the reason. A Hard Day's Night (album) presented a transition in the Beatles' music, the beginning of an evolutionary process of complexity and maturity that would not be cemented until the creation of Rubber Soul in 1965. It is important to note all Throughout the album the Beatles really evolved in terms of musicality. The more elaborate guitar work, combined with the use of more eccentric instrumentation, adds texture to the songs by adding other layers of music beneath the vocals. In addition to the traditional drums, guitars, and bass guitar that are a staple of Beatles music, A Hard Day's Night incorporates harmonica, piano, bell, congo drums, claves, bongo drums, and tambourine that produce a variety of instruments and effects. their listening experience. By adding previously unused instruments, we as listeners can hear how the timbre of the songs varies due to the interactions between these instruments and the voices of John, Paul and George. This album also captures attempts to progress in songwriting. John dominated the songwriting on this album and here we see how he begins to add more complex emotions into his songs, those of a more pessimistic feeling. This is not to say that Paul didn't improve his writing because he did too. Both John and Paul began introducing and writing about issues that complicate matters of love, such as Paul's discussion of materialism in "Can't Buy Me Love". In terms of form and structure, the duo also began to create narrative within their songs (e.g. "A Hard Day's Night" and "Can't Buy Me Love") rather than focusing solely onon emotion. This narrative style of writing will be further inspired by Bob Dylan in the following albums Help! "If I Fell", the third track on the album, is one of the songs that depicts Lennon's progression in songwriting. The lyrics of this ballad express a depth of vulnerability whose emotion is unmatched by any other song. Lennon challenges the principle of trust between lovers by creating a cynical narrative that stems from having been rejected. This plea for genuine affection is further complicated by the vindictive need for revenge by wanting to make the ex-lover suffer as well. Here, Lennon takes a big step forward in refining his craft as a songwriter by beginning to write more about issues that come at the expense of love rather than just being in love. In this album, the Beatles' music and singing more strongly reflect or emphasize the narrative/feelings conveyed by the lyrics. In this song, for example, the instrumental accompaniment has an acoustic-like sound as the tempo of the song is at a slower pace, contrasting with the typical fast-paced "early Beatles" rock songs. This stripped-down instrumental arrangement emphasizes the vocal work of the song. The low register of John's voice in the first verse creates this somber tone that reflects the dark mood of the narrator. When Paul joins John in the following verses, he sings in a slightly higher pitch than John. This harmony not only adds texture to the overall composition of the song, but the contrasting pitches can represent the internal conflict the narrator may be feeling. It's wanting to be in love, but being afraid of being hurt again. Although its lyrics aren't impressive, the fifth track, "And I Love Her," shows how arrangement and use of certain instruments can create rhythms that are appealing to the ear. In fact, much of this album's popularity is due to the songs' catchy and consistent rhythms and melodies. In "And I Love Her", the instrumentation is distinctive due to George's new guitar sound and use of claves. The guitar riff and guitar solo are unlike those in previous Beatles songs; George accentuates the guitar sound with a Spanish-style strumming that gives off that Latin pop rhythm. The slow tempo of the song and the acoustic melodies create a sort of delicate feel to the song that reflects the theme. Paul is the only singer; his voice is dubbed throughout the song. This use of double tracking is a recording technique that adds texture to the song and makes the vocals more distinctive, as a single vocal would not have attracted as much attention. The song itself is about love, so the double tracking almost makes the listener feel serenaded. The album ends with the song "I'll Be Back", a composition by John Lennon. Similar to “And I Love Her,” the instrumental components and musical details of “I’ll Be Back” reinforce the idea behind the lyrics. Here, once again, we see John Lennon moving away from the traditional "aaba" song form that encompasses the structure of their early songs. There is no distinctive chorus in the song, so the song unfolds in a story-like manner. This makes each verse a pivot in the story. Additionally, the alignment of "I'll Be Back" blurs the distinction between one section and another section, once again contributing to the narrative aspect of the song. The subject of Lennon's story involves grief. The narrator expresses the pain he suffered at the hands of his lover, but he still continues to want his love. When listening to the song, it is imperative to look for changes.