This album was preceded by singles like "She Loves You" and "I Wanna Hold Your Hand", both of which led us to believe that what we'd heard before was just the tip of the iceberg. AHDN was a bold move all around -- the first movie/album tie in, done by four foreigners who'd just stepped out of a country not known for good original Rock and Roll. What's more, all 13 of these songs were originals. That may not seem like much of a statement now, but in the teenybopper Rock medium of the early 60's, it was apocalyptic. AHDN broke rules in half that hadn't even been recognized yet, much less challenged.

Ultimately, though, what counts is the music, and the most satisfying thing about a musical and cultural triumph like this is how solid the songs themselves really are. This is all killer and no filler; even the more vanilla songs here ("When I Get Home," "I'm Happy Just To Dance With You") are miles ahead of "Love Me Do," much less "Little Child." The songs themselves weren't just bending established motifs, they were boldly announcing that those motifs were old hat. (The opening and ending of the very first track, for example, willfully demolishes conventional Top 40 single structure.) For the first time in ages, rock fans were being challenged to keep up, with the songs as their own reward. And from this point on, the Beatles were in the vanguard of the world's greatest Popular Music artists. Anyone who didn't catch on yet was likely to be left behind.