in Denmark, the Netherlands and Hong Kong, toured Australia and New Zealand, and then returned to Britain for a series of radio and television engagements and to promote their first feature film, A Hard Day's Night. After performing further concerts in Sweden, they began recording the new album in London in mid August, only to then depart for a month-long tour of North America. While in New York, the Beatles met American folk singer Bob Dylan, who introduced the band members to cannabis. Through Dylan's example, the Beatles, particularly John Lennon, were encouraged to write more introspective lyrics than before. For his part, Dylan said he recognised that the Beatles "were pointing the direction that music had to go", and he soon began writing songs that embraced youth culture and recording with a rock backing. Beatles for Sale was the Beatles' fourth album release in the space of 21 months. Neil Aspinall, the band's road manager, later reflected: "No band today would come off a long US tour at the end of September, go into the studio and start a new album, still writing songs, and then go on a UK tour, finish the album in five weeks, still touring, and have the album out in time for Christmas. But that's what the Beatles did at the end of 1964. A lot of it was down to naiveté, thinking that this was the way things were done. If the record company needs another album, you go and make one." Noting the subdued and melancholy tone of much of the album, producer George Martin recalled: "They were rather war weary during Beatles for Sale. One must remember that they'd been battered like mad throughout 1964, and much of 1963. Success is a wonderful thing but it is very, very tiring." Songwriting and musical styles Although prolific, the songwriting partnership of Lennon and Paul McCartney was unable to keep up with the demand for new material. To make up for the shortfall in output, the Beatles resorted to including several cover versions on the album. This had been their approach for their first two albums – Please Please Me and With the Beatles – but had been abandoned for A Hard Day's Night. McCartney said of the combination on Beatles for Sale: "Basically it was our stage show, with some new [original] songs." The album features eight Lennon–McCartney compositions. In addition, the