UK EP release: Extracts From The Album A Hard Day’s Night

The second Beatles EP released this week was Extracts From The Album A Hard Day’s Night.

It was issued as Parlophone GEP 8924, and contained four songs: ‘Any Time At All’, ‘I’ll Cry Instead’, ‘Things We Said Today’, and ‘When I Get Home’.

Unlike its counterpart Extracts From The Film A Hard Day’s Night, this release failed to top the EP chart. It peaked at number eight, and spent 17 weeks on the chart.

The sleeve notes for the EP were written by The Beatles’ publicist Tony Barrow.

Creating a special series of completely new compositions for The Beatles’ first film ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ presented John Lennon and Paul McCartney with on of the greatest challenges of their pop-penning career. They had a schedule deadline to meet, and, by the beginning of March, 1964, they had a dozen brand-new numbers ready for rehearsal. To increase this quota would have left insufficient screen-time for the action of the plot, on the other hand, it seemed unfair to hold back the remainder of the boys’ compositions when each one was of such excellent quality. Eventually the decision was taken to record all the material and place the extra titles on the second side of the soundtrack album.

It is from this second side of the LP that the four tracks of this current EP record have been clipped. Any one of them could have been a highlight of the film, and, indeed, any one of them could make the top of the charts as a single. This is the wonderful thing about the work of The Beatles. They record nothing but the best; there are very few ‘Beatles People’ who will have had cause to claim that any track by John, Paul, George and Ringo has ever fallen short of the fabulous foursomes’ fantastically high standard of composition and presentation.

Composers John and Paul share the solo vocal activity on this EP, although the voice of George Harrison is to be heard in support of their efforts. For the main part, John’s is the dominant voice featured on Any Time At All and When I Get Home. Paul handles the lyrics of Things We Said Today, and he’s heard in duet with John on I’ll Cry Instead.