| Help! | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 6 August 1965 (1965-8-6) | |||
| Recorded | 15 February – 17 June 1965 | |||
| Studio | EMI, London | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 33:44 | |||
| Label | Parlophone | |||
| Producer | George Martin | |||
| The Beatles chronology | ||||
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| The BeatlesNorth American chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Help! | ||||
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Help! is the fifthstudio album by the Englishrock bandthe Beatles and the soundtrack to theirfilm of the same name. It was released on 6 August 1965 byParlophone. Seven of the fourteen songs, including the singles "Help!" and "Ticket to Ride", appeared in the film and take up the first side of the vinyl album. The second side includes "Yesterday", the most-covered song ever written.[3] The album was met with favourable critical reviews and topped the Australian, German, British and American charts.
During the recording sessions for the album, the Beatles continued to explore the studio'smultitracking capabilities to layer their sound. "Yesterday" features astring quartet, the band's first use ofBaroque sensibilities, and "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" includes a flute section. The North American release is a true soundtrack album, combining the first seven songs with instrumental music from the film. The omitted tracks are instead spread across theCapitol Records LPsBeatles VI,Rubber Soul andYesterday and Today.
In the US,Help! marked the start of artistic recognition for the Beatles from mainstream critics, including comparisons to theEuropean art music tradition. It was nominated in the category ofAlbum of the Year at the1966 Grammys Awards, marking the first time that a rock band had been recognised in this category. In 2000, it was voted 119th in the third edition ofColin Larkin's bookAll Time Top 1000 Albums. In 2020, it was ranked 266th onRolling Stone magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". In September 2013, after theBritish Phonographic Industry changed its sales award rules,Help! was certifiedplatinum for recorded sales since 1994.[4]
In 1964, the Beatles appeared in their first feature film,A Hard Day's Night. Despite initial scepticism, reviews were near universal in their acclaim, elevating the Beatles' prestige as artists.[5] With the aim of making one film a year,[6] work began on a second Beatles picture for 1965 release. It would once again be directed byRichard Lester and produced byWalter Shenson, but written byMarc Behm andCharles Wood instead ofAlun Owen.[7] It was given the working titleEight Arms to Hold You, one ofRingo Starr's "Ringoisms";[7] the name stuck until early April,[8] long enough to even appear on the US "Ticket to Ride" single,[9] butJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney presumed it would be too difficult to write a compelling song with that title, soHelp! was chosen instead.[10]
According to McCartney, most of the songwriting forHelp!was done atKenwood, Lennon's house inWeybridge.[11]McCartney also wrote some songs, e.g. "Yesterday" and "I've Just Seen a Face", at his girlfriendJane Asher's family home, 57Wimpole Streetin London.[12]At this time, the Beatles were heavily influenced byBob Dylan, especially Lennon, who later referred to it as his "Dylan period".Mark Hertsgaardwrites that while Dylan's influence was "evident" onBeatles for Sale,Help!is where it became "fully realized".[13]Additionally,Help!is the first Beatles album on which drugs made a significant impact.[14]Dylan in 1964 had introduced them tocannabis,[15]which they smoked habitually while filmingHelp!,[16]and they first encounteredLSDin spring 1965.[17]According toAlexis Petridis, drugs motivated the Beatles onHelp!to take their songwriting to "new emotional depths", such as on "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" and "Ticket to Ride".[14]
Following their Christmas 1964 shows, the Beatles took a month's break before beginning work onHelp![18] All of the recording sessions took place in Studio Two of EMI Recording Studios (nowAbbey Road Studios).[19] The first set of sessions began on 15 February with "Ticket to Ride" and continued through the 20th, after which the group flew tothe Bahamas to begin filming. They took with them a tape of the 11 songs recorded so that Lester and Shenson could decide which ones to use in the film.[20]
Several songs recorded during these initial sessions were not included on theHelp! album. Lennon's "Yes It Is" was relegated to theB-side of the "Ticket to Ride" single and a cover ofLarry Williams' "Bad Boy" was put on theNorth American albumBeatles VI.[21] Two Lennon–McCartney compositions were rejected for release altogether. The first was "If You've Got Trouble", originally written for Ringo Starr as his obligatory lead vocal for the album.[22] One take was attempted on 18 February before it was abandoned.[23] The other was "That Means a Lot", a songIan MacDonald views as "an attempt by McCartney to rewrite Lennon's 'Ticket to Ride'".[24] Two versions were attempted, one on 20 February and a "re-make" on 30 March,[25] but it was ultimately given to a friend of the band, singerP. J. Proby, to record. Proby's version was released as a single and reached number 30 on theUK chart.[26][27] Both "If You've Got Trouble" and take 1 of "That Means a Lot" were eventually released onAnthology 2 in 1996, along with other outtakes from theHelp! sessions.[28] Additionally, the last song recorded in this time was "Wait", which would not be released until the Beatles' next album,Rubber Soul.[29]
According toMark Lewisohn, 14 June 1965 saw "[a] remarkable day's work" and showcased McCartney's musical abilities in varying styles; the Beatles recorded his songs "I've Just Seen a Face", "I'm Down", and "Yesterday".[30] "Yesterday" began with just McCartney singing and playing acoustic guitar, but he andproducerGeorge Martin decided to add astring quartet.[30] Martin later described it as when, "I started to leave my hallmark on [the Beatles'] music, when a style started to emerge which was partly of my making."[31] "I'm Down" was released as the B-side of "Help!" but not included on the album.[32]
We still haven't made the sort of sound we want to, and we don't even know what we're after.[33]
Lewisohn writes that 1965 introduced the part of the Beatles' career where they put less focus on live performances and took "a more serious application in the recording studio."[34] He identifies multiple newrecording practices used onHelp!, one being "to rehearse songs with atape machine running, spooling back to record properly over the rehearsed material."[34] Another involved adding numerousoverdubs to rhythm tracks without considering them as comprising new takes; because of this, many songs onHelp! are documented as having needed only a small number of takes, yet they still required hours of work.[34] Martin also began placing the guitar parts on different tracks than the bass and drums, accomplishing "a more satisfying stereo image" according toWalter Everett.[33]
According to Hertsgaard,Help! showed "a major acceleration in the Beatles' ongoing search for fresh sounds."[35] He points out that half of the songs feature instruments the Beatles had never used before, includingelectric piano, flutes, a volume/tonepedal, and most famously "Yesterday"'s strings.[36]Help! is also the first Beatles album to feature theEpiphone Casino, first purchased by McCartney around December 1964 before quickly becoming a staple of the group's instrumentation.[37] Before the recording of "Yesterday", the flutes on "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" were played byJohn Scott, only the second outside musician to appear on a Beatles track (afterAndy White).[22]
The song "Help!" was written primarily by Lennon. He originally conceived it at a slowertempo and regretted speeding it up to make it more commercial.[38] Although it was only written out of need for a titular song,[39] Lennon remained extremely proud of "Help!" from the Beatles' break-up to his death,[40] even once calling it his favorite Beatles song he wrote.[41] He felt it was one of his "real" songs,[42] explaining in an interview: "The whole Beatle thing was just beyond comprehension. I was eating and drinking like a pig and I was fat as a pig, dissatisfied with myself ... later, I knew I was really crying out for help. So it was myfat Elvis period."[43]
McCartney's "The Night Before" is the first Beatles song to featureelectric piano, played by Lennon.[44] McCartney andGeorge Harrison played the guitar solo together, doubling each other inoctaves.[45]
Lennon specified "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" as exemplifying his "Dylan period".[46] A connection has been suggested between the lyric and Beatles managerBrian Epstein's homosexuality, which he kept private due to British law at the time.[47]
"I Need You" was George Harrison's first songwriting contribution since "Don't Bother Me" in 1963.[48] He wrote it for his girlfriendPattie Boyd, whom he met while filmingA Hard Day's Night.[49] Its unusual guitar sound was achieved using a volume/tone pedal[50] – the first time aguitar pedal was used on a Beatles song.[34] A year after Harrison's death in 2001,Tom Petty sang it at theConcert for George.[51]
McCartney wrote "Another Girl" while holidaying at avilla inHammamet,Tunisia.[52] He played lead guitar on the track as Harrison was struggling with it.[53]
"You're Going to Lose That Girl" was written by Lennon and McCartney together, though McCartney credited it 60–40 to Lennon.[54] Some have interpreted it as a continuation of "She Loves You" due to it revisiting the theme of a love triangle.[55]
"Ticket to Ride" was another song Lennon and McCartney wrote together,[56] but they later disagreed on how much each of them contributed. Lennon said in 1980, "Paul's contribution was the way Ringo played the drums."[46] InMany Years From Now, McCartney responded: "John just didn't take the time to explain that we sat down together and worked on that song for a three-hour songwriting session, and at the end of it we had all the words, we had the harmonies, and we had all the little bits. ... We wrote the melody together ... Because John sang it, you might have to give him 60 per cent of it."[57]
The meaning of the phrase "ticket to ride" has been debated. As was rumored at the time, it was partially inspired by the townRyde in theIsle of Wight, where McCartney's cousin owned a pub that he and Lennon had performed at in the early 1960s.[58] Another story goes that Lennon used "ticket to ride" to refer to cards given to prostitutesin Hamburg by health authorities.[59] Lennon touted the song as "one of the earliestheavy metal records made."[46]
"Act Naturally", written byJohnny Russell and first recorded byBuck Owens in 1963,[60] was chosen by Ringo Starr to be his vocal contribution to the album.[61] Recorded at the end of theHelp! sessions,[29] it was the last-recordedcover song the Beatles would officially release until "Maggie Mae" in 1970.[62] In 1989, Owens and Starr recordedanother version together.[63]
"It's Only Love" was originally written by Lennon under the title "That's a Nice Hat (Cap)". Five guitar layers were used on the track,[64] including Harrison's which was run through aLeslie speaker.[64] Lennon was highly critical of the song in later years: "That's the one song I really hate of mine. Terrible lyric."[65]
"You Like Me Too Much" began the precedent of Harrison providing two or more songs to each Beatles album.[66] It once again features Lennon on electric piano, but also George Martin and McCartney on aSteinwaygrand piano.[67]
For "Tell Me What You See", McCartney drew inspiration for his lyrics from a religious verse that hung on a wall in Lennon's childhood home.[68] McCartney later described it as afiller song, "Not awfully memorable."[69]
McCartney wrote "I've Just Seen a Face" at the home of his girlfriendJane Asher's family, at 57Wimpole Street in London.[70] It would become one of McCartney's favorite Beatles songs and among the only ones he would perform with his later bandWings.[69]
The album's penultimate track, "Yesterday", came partially to McCartney in his sleep. He spent about a month playing it to people to make sure he had not plagiarised it. He then wrote working lyrics for it under the title "Scrambled Eggs".[71] "Yesterday" was later recognized byGuinness World Records as the most-covered pop song in history.[72]
The album ends with a cover ofLarry Williams' "Dizzy Miss Lizzy". Lennon in particular was a fan of Williams and, along with "Bad Boy", the Beatles also recorded his song "Slow Down".[73]
 H |  E |  L |  P |
 N |  U |  J |  V |
N | V | U | J |
The album cover shows the Beatles with their arms positioned to spell out a word inflag semaphore. According to cover photographerRobert Freeman, "I had the idea of semaphore spelling out the letters 'HELP'. But when we came to do the shot, the arrangement of the arms with those letters didn't look good. So we decided to improvise and ended up with the best graphic positioning of the arms."[74]
On the UK Parlophone release, the letters formed by the Beatles appear to be "NUJV", whilst the slightly re-arranged US release on Capitol Records appeared to indicate the letters "NVUJ", with McCartney's left hand pointing to the Capitol logo.[75] The Capitol LP was issued in a "deluxe"gatefold sleeve with several photos from the film and was priced $1 more than standard Capitol releases at the time.[citation needed]
There have been four CD releases ofHelp!. The first was on 30 April 1987, using the 14-song UK track line-up. Having been available only as an import in the US in the past, the original 14-track UK version replaced the original US version with its release on LP and cassette as well on 21 July 1987. As with the CD release of the 1965Rubber Soul album, theHelp! CD featured a contemporary stereo digital remix of the album prepared by Martin in 1986. Martin had expressed concern to EMI over the original 1965 stereo mix, claiming it sounded "very woolly, and not at all what I thought should be a good issue". Martin went back to the original four-track tapes and remixed them for stereo.[76] One of the most notable changes is the echo added to "Dizzy Miss Lizzy", something that was not evident on the original mix of the LP.
When the album was originally released on CD in Canada, pressings were imported from other countries, and used the 1987 remix. However, when the Disque Améric and Cinram plants in Canada started pressing the album, the original 1965 stereo mix was used by mistake. This was the only source for the 1965 stereo mix in its entirety until the release of themono box set in 2009.[77]
The 2009 remasteredstereo CD was released on 9 September. It was "created from the original stereo digital master tapes from Martin's CD mixes made in 1986".[78] The original 1965 stereo mix was included as a bonus on the mono CD contained inThe Beatles in Mono boxed set.
The 1965 stereo mix was reissued again on theHelp! CD contained in the Beatles collectionThe Japan Box released in 2014.
Help! was another worldwide critical success for the Beatles.[79] Derek Johnson of theNME said that the LP "maintains the Beatles' usual high standards" and was a "gay, infectious romp which doesn't let up in pace or sparkle from start to finish – with the exception of one slow track".[80][81] Despite the band's introduction of new instrumentation into their sound, particularly a string quartet on "Yesterday", the reviewer also wrote of the album: "It's typical Beatles material, and offers very few surprises. But then, who wants surprises from the Beatles?" While typical of the light and snappy pop music reviews at the time, according to music journalist Michael Halpin, these comments angered McCartney, who, like his bandmates, believed that artists should constantly develop through their work.[79]
In the United States, where the mainstream press had long focused on theBeatlemania phenomenon and had derided the group's music, as well as rock 'n' roll generally, the summer of 1965 coincided with the first examples of artistic recognition for the Beatles from the country's cultural mainstream.[82] Among these endorsements,Richard Freed ofThe New York Times likened the band's songs to works from theEuropean art music tradition. Adding to what he described as the Beatles' impact on "serious music", Freed cited musicologists and composers such asLeonard Bernstein andAbram Chasins as admirers of the group's work.[83] Along with several nominations for "Yesterday",[84]Help! was nominated in the category ofAlbum of the Year at the1966 Grammys Awards. The nomination marked the first time that a rock band had been recognised in this category.[85]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  [86] |
| The A.V. Club | A[87] |
| Chicago Sun-Times | [88] |
| Consequence of Sound | B[89] |
| The Daily Telegraph |  [90] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [91] |
| MusicHound | 3.5/5[92] |
| Paste | 100/100[93] |
| Pitchfork | 9.2/10[94] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [95] |
In his review of the Beatles' 1987 CD releases, forRolling Stone magazine, Steve Pond remarked on the "unstoppable momentum" evident in the band's pre-Rubber Soul albums and recommendedHelp! "for the relatively quiet and understated way in which they consolidated their strengths".[96] Writing in 2004 edition ofThe Rolling Stone Album Guide,Rob Sheffield says that the US version ofHelp! was "utterly ruined" through the replacement of the Beatles songs with the soundtrack music, and that, as a result, the album remained relatively overlooked. He describes the full album as "a big step forward" and "the first chapter in the astounding creative takeoff the Beatles were just beginning".[97]
Mark Kemp ofPaste considers it to be the equal ofA Hard Day's Night and cites "Help!", "Ticket to Ride" and "Act Naturally" as highlights, along with Harrison's return as a songwriter. Kemp identifies "Yesterday" as "the album's masterpiece" and a song that "set the stage for one of the most groundbreaking and innovative periods in The Beatles' career, not to mention pop music in general".[93]Neil McCormick ofThe Daily Telegraph says that the album evokes "a band in transition, shifting slightly uncomfortably from the pop thrills of Beatlemania to something more mature", with Lennon's writing increasingly autobiographical and the group's sound growing more sophisticated. McCormick concludes: "Help! may not be their greatest album, but it contains some of their greatest early songs."[90]
In 2000,Help! was voted 119th in the third edition ofColin Larkin's bookAll Time Top 1000 Albums.[98] In 2006, it was recognised as one of the "Most Significant Rock Albums" in theGreenwood Encyclopedia of Rock History. Two years before then,Tor Milde, music critic for the Norwegian newspaperVerdens Gang, ranked it at number 20 on his list of "The 100 Best Pop and Rock Albums of All Time".[citation needed] In 2003,Rolling Stone rankedHelp! number 332 on their list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time", raising the ranking to number 331 in the 2012 update and then number 266 in the 2020 list.[99][100][101]
All tracks are written byLennon–McCartney, except where noted
| No. | Title | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Help!" | Lennon | 2:18 |
| 2. | "The Night Before" | McCartney | 2:34 |
| 3. | "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" | Lennon | 2:09 |
| 4. | "I Need You" (George Harrison) | Harrison | 2:28 |
| 5. | "Another Girl" | McCartney | 2:05 |
| 6. | "You're Going to Lose That Girl" | Lennon | 2:18 |
| 7. | "Ticket to Ride" | Lennon with McCartney | 3:09 |
| Total length: | 17:01 | ||
| No. | Title | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Act Naturally" (Morrison–Russell) | Starr | 2:30 |
| 2. | "It's Only Love" | Lennon | 1:56 |
| 3. | "You Like Me Too Much" (Harrison) | Harrison | 2:36 |
| 4. | "Tell Me What You See" | McCartney with Lennon | 2:37 |
| 5. | "I've Just Seen a Face" | McCartney | 2:05 |
| 6. | "Yesterday" | McCartney | 2:05 |
| 7. | "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" (Larry Williams) | Lennon | 2:54 |
| Total length: | 16:43 | ||
| Help! | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | 13 August 1965[102] | |||
| Recorded | 15 February – 17 June 1965 | |||
| Studio | EMI, London | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 29:34 | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Producer | George Martin,Dave Dexter, Jr.[103] | |||
| The BeatlesNorth American chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Help! | ||||
| ||||
The North American version, the band's eighthCapitol Records album and tenth overall, includes the songs in the film plus selections from the film's orchestral score composed and conducted byKen Thorne, which contains one of the first uses of the Indiansitar on a rock/pop album, and its very first use on a Beatles record. "Ticket to Ride" is the only song on the American release inDuophonic stereo (also known as "fake stereo") reprocessed from the mono mix. Likewise, the mono version of the album uses a folded-down stereo mix of "Help!" instead of the true mono version used on the single, which features a different vocal track.Help! is available on CD as part ofThe Capitol Albums, Volume 2 box set. This CD contains both the stereo and mono fold-down versions as heard on the American LP release. A second CD release of this album, which contains the seven songs in true mono mixes, was issued in 2014 individually and as part of the Beatles'The U.S. Albums box set.
All of the non-film tracks from side two of the Parlophone album were spread out through three American albums. Three were already issued on the previously releasedBeatles VI: "You Like Me Too Much", "Tell Me What You See" and "Dizzy Miss Lizzy". "I've Just Seen A Face" and "It's Only Love" were placed on the CapitolRubber Soul, with its follow-up albumYesterday and Today receiving the remaining two tracks: "Yesterday" and "Act Naturally".
The American version ofHelp! reached the number one spot on theBillboard Top LPs chart for nine weeks starting on 11 September 1965.
All tracks are written byLennon–McCartney, except where noted
| No. | Title | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Help!" (preceded by an uncredited instrumental intro based on the "James Bond Theme") | Lennon | 2:39 |
| 2. | "The Night Before" | McCartney | 2:36 |
| 3. | "From Me to You Fantasy" (Lennon–McCartney; arranged by Thorne) | instrumental | 2:08 |
| 4. | "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" | Lennon | 2:12 |
| 5. | "I Need You" (Harrison) | Harrison | 2:31 |
| 6. | "In the Tyrol" (Ken Thorne) | instrumental | 2:26 |
| Total length: | 14:32 | ||
| No. | Title | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Another Girl" | McCartney | 2:08 |
| 2. | "Another Hard Day's Night" (Lennon–McCartney; arranged by Thorne) | instrumental | 2:31 |
| 3. | "Ticket to Ride" | Lennon | 3:07 |
| 4. | "The Bitter End/You Can't Do That" (Ken Thorne/Lennon–McCartney; arranged by Thorne) | instrumental | 2:26 |
| 5. | "You're Gonna Lose That Girl" | Lennon | 2:19 |
| 6. | "The Chase" (Ken Thorne) | instrumental | 2:31 |
| Total length: | 15:02 | ||
Charts[edit]
|
|
In the US, the album sold 1,314,457 copies by 31 December 1965 and 1,594,032 copies by the end of the decade.[122]
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Argentina (CAPIF)[123] | Platinum | 60,000^ |
| Australia (ARIA)[124] | Gold | 35,000^ |
| Brazil | — | 320,000[125] |
| Germany | — | 100,000[126] |
| Italy (FIMI)[127] sales since 2009 | Gold | 25,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[128] sales since 1994 | Platinum | 300,000* |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[129] | 2× Platinum | 200,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[130] | 3× Platinum | 3,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
According toMark Lewisohn[131][132] and Alan W. Pollack.[133]
The Beatles
Additional musicians
The songs included in the soundtrack of the filmHelp! (tracks 1–7) were mixed into5.1 surround sound for the film's 2007 DVD release.
| Country | Date | Label | Format | Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 6 August 1965 | Parlophone | monoLP | PMC 1255 |
| stereo LP | PCS 3071 | |||
| United States | 13 August 1965 | Capitol | mono LP | MAS 2386 |
| stereo LP | SMAS 2386 | |||
| Worldwide reissue | 15 April 1987 | Apple, Parlophone,EMI | Compact Disc | CDP 7 46439 2 |
| United States | 21 July 1987 | Capitol | stereo LP | CLJ 46439 |
| Japan | 11 March 1998 | Toshiba-EMI | CD | TOCP 51115 |
| Japan | 21 January 2004 | Toshiba-EMI | Remastered LP | TOJP 60135 |
| Worldwide reissue | 11 April 2006 | Apple/Capitol/EMI | CD reissue of US LP | CDP 0946 3 57500 2 7 |
| Worldwide reissue | 9 September 2009 | Apple/Capitol/EMI | CD stereo remaster | CDP 0946 3 82415 2 2 |
the unabashed more-or-less traditional pop rock ofA Hard Day's Night andHelp!...
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)Sgt. pepper's que toca em cinco paginas desta edicao, e o terceiro mais vendido (290 mil). Perde Abbey Road (390 mil) e para Help (320 mil)
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)...after the unabashed more-or-less traditional pop rock ofA Hard Day's Night andHelp!...
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |