Help! [UK]

The Beatles | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 17, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Capitol
• ASIN: B000002UAL
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (282 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #44,331 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Help!

2. The Night Before

3. You've Got To Hide Your Love Away

4. I Need You

5. Another Girl

6. You're Going To Lose That Girl

7. Ticket To Ride

8. Act Naturally

9. It's Only Love

10. You Like Me Too Much

11. Tell Me What You See

12. I've Just Seen A Face

13. Yesterday

14. Dizzy Miss Lizzie

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

How John Lennon's confessional song became the title for a silly James Bond spoof I really don't know. The funny thing is, it works both ways--as a young man's personal statement about learning to open up to others, and as the frantic theme for an exotic espionage chase comedy starring those lovable mop-tops (this time in color). Like A Hard Day's Night, only the first "side" of this album actually contains songs from the movie--the biggest hits being the eponymous cry for assistance and "Ticket to Ride." But part 2 has a few nice tunes as well, like "It's Only Love," "I've Just Seen a Face," and a little ditty called "Yesterday." And I always love it when they do an all-out screamer like "Dizzy Miss Lizzy," which sounds like John's raucous answer to Paul's "Kansas City/Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey" vocal on Beatles for Sale. Of course, it's essential--as are all the Beatles' soundtracks (all the Beatles' albums), with the possible exception of Yellow Submarine. --Jim Emerson

Product Description

The classic original Beatles studio albums have been re-mastered by a dedicated team of engineers at Abbey Road Studios in London over a four year period utilising state of the art recording technology alongside vintage studio equipment, carefully maintaining the authenticity and integrity of the original analogue recordings. The result of this painstaking process is the highest fidelity the Beatles catalogue has seen since its original release.

Within each CD's new packaging, booklets include detailed historical notes along with informative recording notes. For a limited period, each CD will also be embedded with a brief documentary film about the album. The newly produced mini-documentaries on the making of each album, directed by Bob Smeaton, are included as QuickTime files on each album. The documentaries contain archival footage, rare photographs and never-before-heard studio chat from The Beatles, offering a unique and very personal insight into the studio atmosphere.

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--This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Caught in the middle, but..., July 18, 2001

By 

"[e-mail]" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Help! [UK] (Audio CD)

Beatles for Sale and Help! are considered "holding pattern" works and are less revered by critics because they didn't introduce any great innovations or ground-breaking ideas. But I don't think that does these albums justice. Sure, most of the lyrical concerns are still love-oriented, but many of the lyrics are becoming increasing complex. Even a song like Yesterday shows a real maturity in the lyrics.

The songs offered here are the Beatles at the top of their game, in my opinion. Gorgeous melodies, catchy hooks, great harmony singing and sharp musicianship abound. The Beatles were becoming increasing facile in the studio, and it shows. The strength of songs like Help, Ticket to Ride and Yesterday are legend, but there are many other real gems on this album. You've Got to Hide Your Love Away, It's Only Love and Your Going to Lose That Girl are classic mid-period Lennon; McCartney answers with the rocking Another Girl and The Night Before, not to mention the beautiful, folky I've Just Seen a Face, all extremely underrated.

Harrison gets two songs on this album, and asserts himself well with the lovely pop of I Need You and You Like Me Too Much. Maybe not up to the dizzying heights of Lennon & McCartney songsmithing, but getter closer.

This leaves "filler" like Act Naturally, Tell Me What You See and Dizzy Miss Lizzy. Just listen to Lennon's vocal performance on Dizzy Miss Lizzy and try calling it filler...though admittedly, the guitar riff grates on one after a while. Ringo's "aw, shucks" reading of Act Naturally is PERFECT (and SO appropriate) and Lennon & McCartney's magical harmonies lift Tell Me What You See well above the pedestrian.

That's it. Overwhelming evidence, well presented, that this is not just a mediocre holding pattern album, but classic mid-period Beatles. It's now up to you, members of the juke-box jury.

I'll say no more.

52 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Oh I believe, in Yesterday, January 30, 2003

By 

Daniel J. Hamlow (Narita, Japan) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Help! [UK] (Audio CD)

Things got a little more upbeat following the downbeat For Sale. Also, the Beatles songcrafting improved and would set the pace for things to come. The title track has the same frantic quick-paced sound that made the title track to their first movie a hit. The theme of age reducing the cocksure assertive of one's younger years and the need for that helping hand is universal. And who can forget these lyrics: "Help me if you can--I'm feeling down/cause I do appreciate you being around/Help me get my feet back on the ground/Won't you pleeeeaaaase please help me?" John gets good backing vocal help from Paul and George.

"The Night Before" has a faint Chuck Berry influence. Paul sings here and it's a song of puzzlement, concerning a girl's nice and sincere behaviour and why she has done an about-face in attitude. That's John on electric piano.

John sports a strained and sometimes roughened voice in the acoustic ballad "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away". There's a flute solo by session musician Johnnie Scott in two places.

The distorted pedal guitar is cool in George Harrison's "I Need You". A similar effect was used in the song "Yes It Is", which is on Past Masters Volume 1. The theme of mistreatment explored in "The Night Before" is revisited here as well. He also sings the engaging "You Like Me Too Much", the first time he sings two songs on one album. This was a nominee for the movie, and understandbly so. He gets piano help from Paul, John, and producer George Martin.

The engaging "Another Girl" has Paul on lead vocals and lead guitar and might be a response to either of the two mistreatment songs: "I have got another girl who will love me to the end, through thick and thin/She will always be my friend." Well, that's a relief.

In the mid-paced "You're Going To Lose That Girl", John challenges another man that if he doesn't start treat her right, he himself will "make a point of taking her away from you. Watch what you do. The way you treat her, what else can I do?"

"Ticket To Ride" opens with a nice Rickenbacker guitar by Paul before John launches into another breakup song. "The girl's that'd driving me mad is going away. She's got a ticket to ride (X3) and she don't care." The first single from Help! and my second favourite here.

"Tell Me What You See" has John and Paul on lead vocals, and when they sing, "open up your eyes now" Paul's lower register voice is clearly discernible. "I Have just Seen A Face" has a racing guitar and sounds like something Simon and Garfunkel might do later, particular "The Boxer".

The reflective "Yesterday" is one of my all-time Beatles song and why Paul is my favourite vocalist of the quartet. It is the classic Paul McCartney ballad. Paul's use of a string quartet instead of what he called that "Mahavishnu rubbish" was a good move. Unforgettable lyrics: "Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away, now it looks as if they're here to stay. Oh I believe in yesterday."

This the last album where they do cover tunes. Ringo does Buck Owen's "Act Naturally", a nice country-flavoured track. I often compare this to the similarly-sounding but production-laced "Don't Pass Me By" from the White album. John rips into the frantic Larry Williams number "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" in the same way he did "Twist and Shout". Nice mean guitar from George.

If the Beatles needed help on this album, I'd be hard-pressed to find it, because it's another bang-on job for them.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars On A Beatles Curve..., January 29, 2001

By 

Blake Watson "===Blake===" (Winnetka, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Help! [UK] (Audio CD)

First of all, thank the gods that this is the British "Help!", and not the tepid American "Help!" which included only 12 pieces, half of which were instrumental music from the film. (No disrespect to composer Ken Thorne, but this was all part of Capitol's evil scheme to make more product by butchering the British Beatles albums.)

Second of all, the four stars should be considered a relative rating. Just about any other musical group could retire after producing an LP like this with at least three songs ("Help!", "Ticket To Ride" and "Yesterday") you couldn't swing a dead cat without hearing for the next 30 years.

Also noteworthy is Lennon's jab at Bob Dylan ("You've Got To Hide Your Love Away"), his heart-and-soul rendition of "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" and his self-denounced "It's Only Love" (always a favorite of mine even if the lyric isn't very good).

Paul makes his mark with the jubilant "I've Just Seen A Face" and the melancholy, oft-covered "Yesterday". George is typically understated with his solo-work and Ringo, well, typically Ringo, with an unabashedly country rendition of "Act Naturally".

This album would be followed by the landmark, culture-altering LPs "Rubber Soul" and "Revolver" and could be considered the last of the "Beatlemania" albums.