The Beatles
Help!

According to George Martin, with this album the Beatles “recovered” after the fall of “Beatles for Sale.” According to John Robertson, however, “Help!” is even more exhausted than the previous record.

I agree with both. In some places, this work contains the best things produced by the Beatles up to this point; in others, it’s really a return to the levels of “Please, Please Me”.

The origin of the great song that gives the album its title is unique. Brian Epstein forced the Beatles to shoot another film, titled “Help!”. So instead of being in the studio and producing a great record, the four had to shoot (between Switzerland, Bahamas, etc.) this (useless) film - nothing to do with the beautiful “A Hard Day’s Night” from the previous year.

Lennon was asked to write a song with the title “Help!”. It was supposed to be another nonsense like “A Hard Day’s Night”, but instead, he wrote (practically on the spot) one of the most sincere, touching and dramatic pieces I have ever listened to. One of his best ever. He had said something of his torments a few months earlier in “I’m a Looser”. But in “Help!” he goes much further: “When I was younger, so much younger than today. I never needed anybody's help in any way. But now those days are gone, I'm not so self-assured. Now I find I've changed my mind and opened up the doors”.

As he said in the 70s: “In that song, I was literally crying out for help. Look at me in the images of the time and in the film: I was fat, insecure, and I had completely lost myself”.

But the lyrics also have another gem: “Help me get my feet back on the ground”. Lennon said about it: “The more the success increased, the more everything became unreal.” Although John was only 25 years old, and the Beatles existed for little more than two years, he was already tired of the star life because, as he would suggest in “Nowhere Man,” that life was going nowhere (nowhere).

Lennon was always, rightfully, proud of this song which was actually a collaboration with Paul, who had (crucially) the idea for the vocal harmonies. But he was never satisfied with the arrangement. He said he wanted a slow version and that, instead, for market reasons, the song was sped up.

Let’s take a look at the other songs.

“Ticket to Ride” was described by John as “one of the first heavy metal records ever written.” It seems rather excessive to me; the brilliant guitar is certainly beautiful, and it reminds me of the sound of another group … I also really like the drums. The song is very pleasant, but it's ruined by a repulsive lyric.

“You Have Got to Hide Your Love Away”. It’s an acoustic ballad so enchanting that even Scaruffi, analyzing it, says: “The Beatles really had a formidable talent for the melancholic ballad.” It’s a shame about the lyrics: in some points it’s beautiful, when John describes his shyness; in others, it’s really too melodramatic: “Here I stand head in hand, turn my face to the wall. She's gone and I can't go on”. Embarrassing.

“It’s Only Love” is the most despised song by John ever: “I hate it: terrible words, of abysmal ugliness.” Excessive as always: bad verses yes, but not so horrifying, and not much worse than those in the previous one. The music is splendid. An acoustic-electric ballad, with the acoustic guitar on one side, and the electric guitar on the other. A very delicate and touching melody. An underestimated masterpiece. Go listen to the refinement from the raw version of the Anthology to the album version.

“You’re Going to Lose That Girl”. I quite like it. The harmonies are excellent. Again, it’s a pity about the lyrics.

“The Night Before” and “Tell Me What You See”, lower the album's level, but it's not the worst.

“Another Girl” could well compete for the worst Beatles song award – a jewel from the “little shop of horrors.” There are no such bad songs in “Beatles for Sale”. That's why Robertson's quote at the beginning.

“I Need You” is a Harrison song. Certainly immature, but it doesn't lack good taste – like the previous one.

“I’ve Just Seen a Face” is one of Paul’s melodic virtuosos. The pleasantness is indisputable. But the weight is very little. It’s not a trifle, but it’s close.

“Yesterday”. No comment. Find your preferred celebratory adjective, and then go listen to it. However, as much as I love it, I still prefer “And I Love Her.”

“Yesterday” is the thirteenth song on the album. Because of the absurd requirement of 14 songs per album, another song was needed and so they ruined a memorable finale with a cover: “Miss Dizzy Lizzy.”

In “A Hard Day’s Night” they stopped at 13 songs with the wonderful “I’ll Be Back.” A year later they had progressed musically, but regressed in terms of common sense. With “Help!” the group's “lesser production” ends.

This record could certainly have been better than it is. If it hadn't been for Epstein’s greed in making an original album by the end of 1964, some songs from “Beatles for Sale” like “I Don’t Want to Spoil the Party”, “I’m a Looser”, and “I’ll Follow the Sun”, would have entered the record, along with “I’m Down” and the splendid “Yes It Is” (released as singles). With these five songs, “Help!” would have been (musically) a gentleman's pop album. As it is, it's fair (2.5 stars), and the word average fits exactly the situation. Moreover, the value of the lyrics is quite mediocre, beyond the title song, “Yesterday,” and little else, and this is somewhat sad when thinking about the melodies they had available.