The four bored musicians staring out from the cover of Beatles for Sale, the Beatles’ fourth album for Parlophone Records released in December of 1964, were a far cry from the goofy faces that adorned their previous album, A Hard Day’s Night. On the earlier album, Lennon and McCartney had written all thirteen songs, half of which appeared in the critically acclaimed movie of the same name. They were riding high with their fanbase finally extending to America, and their music becoming more harmonically and lyrically adventurous.