I had a bit of fun trying to do my review of this album. I've been mostly reliant on Rhapsody for listening to the albums on the Rolling Stone Top 500 Albums list. Alas, The Beatles don't have any of their studio albums available on Rhapsody. YouTube was a bust. I even couldn't get my P2P options to find copies. I had to completely change gears.
So, today, I pulled out the vinyl copy of A Hard Day's Night that I got from my dad that he bought as a youth in the 60's. And you could tell it was well-listened to because the vinyl is still shiny but sounded a bit scratchy from a large needle that had previously cruised the grooves.
The album fulfilled two memories and expectations that I had: 1) the songs on the album were fun and catchy and 2) it really is a let-down that there are instrumental tracks instead of 100% Beatles. I do, however, have to say that the instrumental sections (particularly the instrumental version of "A Hard Day's Night") weren't quite as boring as I recall from my youth.
Songs I knew I liked: All of the Beatles tracks on the album.
Songs I didn't know but now like: The pop-jazzy sound of the instrumental "A Hard Day's Night"
Songs I can go the rest of my life without hearing again: The other instrumental tracks