Having lost money on the last film, this time Capitol made sure they had the distribution rights to the Help! soundtrack. The album follows the example set by A Hard Day’s Night—using all of the British side one, with equal time given to interspersed selections from the film score composed by Ken Thorne, elbowing George Martin. In fact, the first thing we hear is an uncredited snippet of the “James Bond Theme” before crashing into the title song. The balance of the instrumental tracks are a matter of personal taste. “From Me To You Fantasy” and “The Bitter End/You Can’t Do That” utilize Beatle melodies for “suspense” effect. “In The Tyrol” features a Wagner overture, immediately bringing to mind one of the film’s skiing sequences when heard in any other context. But this album does mark the first appearance of Indian instruments on a Beatle record, with “The Chase” and “Another Hard Day’s Night”—a particularly clever medley of three songs from the first movie played on sitars and such.
As for the songs themselves, they’re a strong bunch. John dominates here, with the classic title track and the overtly Dylanesque “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away”. “Ticket To Ride” was already a smash hit single—and justifiably so—and “You’re Going To Lose That Girl” sports more of their trademark call-and-response harmonies. Paul contributes “The Night Before” and “Another Girl”, as well as the lead guitar on both the latter and “Ticket To Ride”. And in case you haven’t sat through the credits of the film, “I Need You” is by George Harrison.
The inner gatefold has lots of pictures and gibberish related to the film, and semaphore experts have confirmed that the figures on the front cover say nothing. Still, the enhanced packaging is a fitting match for the movie itself, which is highly recommended viewing once you’ve seen A Hard Day’s Night and are craving a shot of glorious technicolor. (As some people had such emotional attachment to the movie soundtrack, sitars and all, they likely snapped up its limited release as part of a box set in 2006, and/or the mass-market version as part of the “U.S. Albums” in 2014.)
The Beatles Help! (1965)—3½
UK CD equivalent: Help! (Beatle tracks only)
"And in case you haven’t sat through the credits of the film"
ReplyDeleteThat was good.
That is all.
ENOUGH ABOUT THE FUCKING BEATLES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteFair enough. And what would you like to hear about instead?
ReplyDeletecan you review paul's new album and place it in context to his lexicon of work? that would be nice. i saw the video of dance tonight and liked the song/hated the video.
ReplyDeletethere are 4k holes you need to fill in.
dick
Why don't you try writing about musicians that haven't been written about extensively. A good example would be Dylan or the Stones.
ReplyDeleteAll good suggestions...and already in the works. Thanks for the input.
ReplyDeleteI was promised lots of Bon Jovi reviews. So far, I've been disappointed.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I'm enjoying the Beatles reviews quite a bit.
I'm holding off on the Bon Jovi since I know there are lots of people who would be offended by what I have to say. And after all, I'm all about the love.
ReplyDeleteHmm.. that could be interpreted variously. Personally, I'd be offended if you'll give them good reviews.
DeleteNo worries.
Deletewow ...I always heard it, but it never registered that the intro clip from Help was “James Bond Theme”....learn something everyday..Thanks Ward
ReplyDeleteThe Capitol soundtrack album was such a ripoff. And they charged extra money for it! I remember listening to it as a young person and getting so impatient for that old people’s music to be over so I could hear the next Beatles song. Yet I liked my mom’s 5 LP “Sounds of the Sixties” set, which included muzak versions of Beatles songs. I never said that I was consistent. Nonetheless, once again, the British album is the only way to go.
ReplyDeleteIt’s a major rebound from “Beatles for Sale”. Just as the movie would be the last time their lovable mop tops personae would appear on film, so would the soundtrack songs be the last time they’s be making that type of rock. We get a major 1-2-3 punch with “Help!”, the way underrated “The Night Before”, and "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away". The bounciness of the title track contrasts with the desperation of the lyrics, of course. It made more the a few million girls, I’m sure, wanting comfort poor John. Both Deep Purple and Tina would turn it into a soulful ballad. That totally worked for both. Lennon even turned his Dylanesque track into a folk-rock hit for a group called The Silkie. Dennis Wilson pulled it off movingly for The Beach Boys, too.
The side takes a dip with George’s track. It’s nice that they gave him his own spot in the film. “Another Girl” only pales in comparison with “The Night Before”. The next track is just above average for John, but then we get another one of his classic singles. I think the drumming is really what pushed it over the top.
In retrospect, Side 2 shows the group very much in transition. The songs are all over the place. A few of the originals are sub-par, like the awkward "Tell Me What You See" (even Paul called it filler) and the forgettable "You Like Me Too Much". I don’t think that “It’s Only Love” is a bad as John thought it was, but the lines about butterflies and the very bright nighttime are rather precious and clumsy.
So, the only real classics on this side are “I’ve Just Seen a Face” and, of course, “Yesterday”. I think these are the first two all-acoustic Beatles songs. The two covers are, of course, more filler. Replacing them with “I’m Down” and “Yes, It Is” would have greatly improved the flow of the album. But they needed Lennon-McCartney originals for B-sides and royalties, as least in the U.K.
Concluding the album with “Dizzy Miss Lizzie”, just by coincidence, marked a demarcation line. They said, unintentionally, that not only were they no longer the moptops, they were also no longer the raucous rock band, the sons of the 50’s. They were moving on. Almost everybody went with them. However, a very few of them did not want them to, to this day. I even know one of them.