Help!

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
How John Lennon's confessional song became the title for a silly James Bond spoof is still inexplicable. 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 loveable mop-tops (this time in COLOUR). Like iA Hard Day's Night/i, 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 two 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 it's always fun 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 iBeatles for Sale/i. i--Jim Emerson/i

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Customer reviews

review by: chapcritic date: 2009-02-27 rating:
Help is on the way...
The later albums by the Beatles are full of experimentation. Weird lyrics, offbeat instruments, even nine-minute bursts of white noise. These are the albums - Sgt. Pepper's, The White Album, Abbey Road - that people talk about the most. This is a shame, since after some consideration I think Help! might be my favourite. I find myself putting it on at least once a week; when I can't think of something to listen to, I instinctively go for Help!. It's fourteen tracks of virtually faultless pop music, and if you're going to start collecting Beatles albums, you could do worse than starting here. br / br /The first seven songs are the soundtrack to the Help! film, which I haven't seen. Happily, although they're all brilliant, the other seven songs are just as good. We start with Help!, one of John Lennon's best-written tunes. Bouncy and exciting, but with thinly-veiled self loathing in the lyrics, it's a song that can be enjoyed on several levels. To my surprise, the next song is just as good: the Paul-heavy The Night Before is infectiously catchy, with some great vocal harmonies between bandmembers. You've Got To Hide Your Love Away is a deliciously folky love song, followed by George's wonderful I Need You. It makes great use of the electric guitar, particularly towards the end where the notes seem to stumble out of it, slightly out of time, perfectly encapsulating the fidgetty fumbling of expressing love for someone. br / br /The next three songs are not all singles, but they could well be. Another Girl is a confident rocky singalong, followed by (even better!) You're Gonna Lose That Girl - slower and more danceable, it's the cheekiest song on here, as the Beatles straight-facedly serenade the listener's girlfriend. "I'll make a point of taking her away from you / The way you treat her, what else could I do?" Then there's Ticket To Ride, which features more gentle self-depreciation from John, wrapped around a sad and beautiful tune. So ends the movie soundtrack. br / br /Act Naturally is a cover sung by the endlessly charming Ringo, and it seems strange that it wasn't part of the film. It's a hoot. Then It's Only Love, much like I Need You, features some dazzlingly pretty guitar sounds. You Like Me Too Much is an old-fashioned Beatles tune, which one can imagine being performed in front of screaming girls. Tell Me What You See would appear to be just as simple, until the final chorus is dumped in favour of some serene humming. I've Just Seen A Face is one of my favourites - as in Beatles songs, ever - and goes from a gently beautiful acoustic introduction to a fast-strumming love song, capturing that exciting feeling of meeting someone and liking them instantly. With any luck, you'll feel that way about the album. br / br /Help! ends with two very different songs. Yesterday doesn't need a lot of introduction: poetic and mesmerising, it's one of Paul's best vocals and one of the band's greatest achievements. But perhaps it was a little too sad to finish Help!, so we have Dizzy Miss Lizzy, another cover where the band cut loose and have fun. It took me a while to love it, what with it sounding rather brash next to the rest of these wonderful, polished pop tunes. But you can hear the band enjoying themselves, and it's infectious. br / br /There isn't a dull or unrewarding moment on here. Help! is a constantly catchy, often witty and sometimes very funny album, even if you haven't seen the film. Buy it and listen to it a lot.

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review by: mccanns23 date: 2008-12-02 rating:
a bit short of an all round classic
The beatles released this gem in 1965 to massive acclaim,it serves as a soundtrack to the enjoyable film of the same name,other tracks were tagged on as well to beef it up to 14 tracks and with the exception of one or two tracks,this is pop perfection,after this,the beatles changed their sound slightly and kept their momentum going. br /The album features classic numbers like 'help'.'youve got to hide your love away','your'e going to lose that girl','the night before''ticket to ride' and the much covered 'yesterday',a few of the tracks dont rate as highly such as 'its only love' and 'dizzy miss lizzy' which i have never rated,not the perfection that the beatles would be more famed for but a darn good album. br / br /

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review by: COBRABRAVA date: 2008-02-22 rating:
UN ALBUM DE TRANSICIÓN
Con este album, parte del sondtrack de la pelicula del mismo nombre, los 4 genios de Liverpool nos dan una ultima muestra de su talento como compositores de lindas pero simples melodias "pop"; luego vendria su tremenda evolucion y complicacion musical, a partir de RUBBER SOUL, su siguiente album; pero al analizar cada cancion, siempre se encuentran esos destellos de gran talento de los fab-four; desde el impresionante HELP!, las lindas baladas I NEED YOU (de George), YOU'RE GONNA LOSE THAT GIRL (buenas armonias),IT'S ONLY LOVE y la monumental YESTERDAY (que gran cancion); pasando por grandes rocks como TICKET TO RIDE y I'VE JUST SEEN A FACE, muy buenos covers como DIZZY MISS LIZZIE,y algo de country con ACT NATURALLY, este es un disco que cierra muy acertadamente la epoca "inocente" del mayor grupo de todos los tiempos... lo mejor vendria despues.

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review by: thetoot date: 2007-09-29 rating:
A Lovable, Often Neglected Gem
On Beatles For Sale, the band had made their first forays into a Dylanesque style of folk-tinged guitar pop. Songs such as I'm a Loser, I Don't Want to Spoil the Party and No Reply had hinted at an insecurity at the heart of Lennon, which was beginning to brim out more obviously than before. br / br /However, that album was not totally in that mode. The big single Eight Days a Week was still guitar-pop, and others songs such as Rock and Roll music were as much part of the roots/rock and roll scene as before. br / br /Help! continues this odd disparity, this strange mixture of styles. There are the straight-out guitar pop songs such as the title track, Night Before and Ticket to Ride and there are the dylanesque folkier numbers; You've Got to Hide Your Love Away, It's Only Love, I've Just Seen a Face and Yesterday. In between, there is the country Act Naturally and the country-esque Another Girl. br / br /Overall, it is a massive leap in quality from the previous album - the singles ensure this. However, there is also something else going on with Help! that makes it such an intriguing album. It is the first of the band's middle period that takes in Rubber Soul and Revolver, a run of albums which are marked by an even quality lacking in the band's first efforts. br / br /Indeed, there are only really a few weak tracks You Like Me Too Much, Dizzy Miss Lizzy, and possibly Act Naturally. Overall though, only Dylan could compete with such a strong selection over 14 songs. br / br /Help! was, and is, a linchpin of the Beatles output. Some of the attention that should have been afforded it has often been deflected to the superb Rubber Soul. This is unfortunate as Rubber Soul would cast a shadow on any album with which it was compared against. Taken on its own merits, and if you look a little deeper, Help! is the first of The Beatles Folk/Rock albums (at least in part) and may be one of the band's most lovable records. br / br /It is a shame that the cd is not available in a remastered format. As with the rest of the catalogue, this would help restore some of the warmth that can be heard on the original L.P. The mastering itself is very clear, but you may need to fiddle with your equalizer to try and give this version the depth of tone it should have. br / br /


review by: date: 2007-08-29 rating:
Upbeat, foot-tapping musical genius
What an album! This is really the first album where every non-cover (only 2 thank goodness) is superb . The first word you hear, 'Help!' sets the tone: this cuts straight to the core and delivers instantly. br / br /The first seven songs, starting with Help and ending with Ticket to Ride, are their best 'seven in a row' before 1965. Melodies and delivery that are just...awesome!!!! br / br /Act Naturally is another sop to dear old Ringo, then five more songs which are all great, including the impossibly good 'Yesterday', and then finishing up with another cover, 'Dizzy Miss Lizzy' with John singing himself hoarse much as he did on 'Twist and Shout' two years before. br / br / br /

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