Post by Amadeus on Sept 30, 2013 23:41:15 GMT
As I drink a bottle of Hoegaarden on this churly morn, I now produce writ on the album of HELP!. O.B.E..(Ol' bastards eating).
Being of the north american persuasion, HELP! resonates a bit differently with me than with many of you. The US album was side one of the UK LP, interspersed with Ken Thorne's movie soundtrack score. And so the music on the album sort of brings silly visions into the mind mainly because of the silliness of the film. The US album also has a bunch of living colour photos and a movie synopsis in the gatefold. Compared to the HELP! that the UK got and by 1987, the whole world got, it really was a whole different animal.
And the title track, in spite of the underlying seriousness of the lyrics, was considered very light hearted and could be used to illustrate something funny (because of the colourful LP and silly film). I have a crystal clear memory of the Toronto Baseball team's first season or two being very dismal and a set of silly mistakes and baseball bloopers compiled for the season's end with the song 'Help' playing over top of it. i.e.; 'help, are we ever losers,,,'
That's where HELP! began with me.
But now that I've caught up with the originally intended catalogue, I've nearly come to accept HELP! as it was meant to be. One thought however: Our version of Rubber Soul included 'I've Just seen A Face' as the kick off track on side one and 'It's Only Love' as track 1 on side 2, thereby giving the impression that Rubber Soul was The Beatle's 'folk' album. Songs like 'Drive My Car', Nowhere Man' and 'If I needed Someone' were saved for Yesterday...and Today the following year. Incidentally, 'Yesterday' was also held back for that album too. All the rest of HELP!'s side two songs were on Beatles VI.
A quick note on stereo '65 vs. stereo '86 for those youngin's who don't know the former. The mix wasn't as bad as Rubber Soul '65. The vocals were already in the middle. George Martin's 1986 remix just pulled a bunch of the hard right and left instruments a bit closer to the middle thereby giving it a fuller sound on my modern stereo.
HELP! Possibly an above average pop album for 1965 but for the Beatles, merely an average pop LP with the exception of three mind blowing musical events.
Help
Mind blowing event number one! For a kick off, the lyrical sentiment, now that we have the benefit of hindsight, is quite involved for a pop song. But musically it has always rocked my socks off. The toe curling moment for me is every time the chorus starts. That key change! That key change! That key change! The chords are very nice in the verse but it just takes off when it jumps to that Bm for the chorus. And the George guitar arpeggio, almost atonal, was the perfect fill. And it was there in all the early takes of the song, but ultimately was overdubbed later instead because it was a bit too fast to just throw onto the tape at will for each take. I can't play it steady at all. So I don't.
The Night Before
Not a bad song BUT nothing outstanding or groundbreaking. Further evidence of Paul's slow metamorphosis into the legendary Macca off the start. Ringo shines however. So does the electric piano.
You've Got To Hide Your Love Away
Norwegian Wood prelude. The warm up act. John is on his way to being inspired by Dylan to being inspire by Dylan to be Himself. Very good song. NOW, is it just me or are the flutes at the end just ever so slightly sharp? It has always sounded out of tune to me. Could be the prozac.
I Need You
Another average song. And I know it includes one of the first recorded uses of the volume pedal, but the effect bugs me. It irritates me too. The song is just average! Don't Bother Me was a much better song IMO.
Another Girl
Not a bad tune but it really sounds like a formula song for the film. A homework assignment with all the emotional investment that most homework assignments have put into them. And Paul's lead guitar stylings during this period were annoying too. It's like he was really trying to be cute. To the extent that Beatle songs can grate, this one does, mainly because of the lead guitar.
You're Going To Lose That Girl
A good pop tune for 1965. Whatever. The Turles' Happy Together was a better one however.
Ticket To Ride (Ryde)
Mind blowing event number two. Did I read somewhere that John intended to Call it Ticket to Ryde but he figured that Americans wouldn't know what the heck Ryde was?
What's mind blowing about this one? Probably the early acid influence. That prototype drone on the verses. How many pop songs up until then had the large part of a verse stuck on only ONE chord? That insistent A note. To me and Ian MacDonald, that was a ground breaking moment. And it was bloody catchy too.
SIDE TWO (remember those days?)
Act Naturally
I like this tune and the boys covered it marvelously. I like Buck Owens and of course knew his version first as my dad was a C&W fan. Nothing wrong with this at all. And it continues to show the band's versatility in wading in many different genres.
It's Only Love
When I was a teen, this was a great song. Full of emotional cheap shots in the chord selection in the chorus. I don't really understand why John was so dismissive of it. But he has the right. Oh yeah, didn't like the vibrato effect on the lead guitar.
You Like Me Too Much
A much better song than I Need You. Just a pleasant jaunty little tune with a neat lyrical twist. Instead of the usual 'I love you', he uses the word 'like'. Not as common you see.
Tell Me What You See
I like this one better than 'What You're Doing'. I like the tune. I like the electric piano.
I've Just Seen A Face
Song number one on the brilliant folk album Rubber Soul. A really cool 'hoedown' type of sort of song. Nice driving beat and acoustic guitars. Paul's voice is nice here.
Yesterday
Mind blowing musical moment number three! yes, sure, it's over played and over covered but try to take in the context of self penned pop music for mass market consumption. That chord sequence is absolutely brilliant, and the melody is so darn melodic. And to think that the rich creep just dreamed it up. Scrambled Eggs my arse! This song makes me bloody cross. Why is this song so bloody brilliant? And another thing. Not only did this song spawn an industry of cover versions, it also spawned and industry of inferior rewrites and rehashes. Every pop group from the Rolling Stones to Gary Puckett had to have their own 'Yesterday'. In fact some people made a whole career based on it!
Dizzy Miss Lizzy
Ringo is brilliant in this tune. Just brilliant. And George, (if it is George) can you stop playing that bloody riff for a while???
The album wasn't that bad but,,,,,. I really think it's too bad that 'If You Got Trouble' was never developed and finished because I didn't think it was that bad and even though I like the Buck Owens song, this rock and roll tune might've been a better choice for a stronger album. And too bad that 'That Means A Lot' didn't get done as well. I believe that it would've been Paul's 'Ticket To Ride' and would've been a better tune than, say, 'Another Girl'.
So where does that leave us? With a movie on the go, a world tour with assorted TV and radio appearances and a few weeks holiday with an all of a sudden Chrispus deadline for a new album and single for the holiday season which, despite the rush and lack of ready songs, became a milestone in the development of rock and roll and The Beatles were never again to be stuck in any kind of creative trough.
Happy Crimble and a Very new year.
Being of the north american persuasion, HELP! resonates a bit differently with me than with many of you. The US album was side one of the UK LP, interspersed with Ken Thorne's movie soundtrack score. And so the music on the album sort of brings silly visions into the mind mainly because of the silliness of the film. The US album also has a bunch of living colour photos and a movie synopsis in the gatefold. Compared to the HELP! that the UK got and by 1987, the whole world got, it really was a whole different animal.
And the title track, in spite of the underlying seriousness of the lyrics, was considered very light hearted and could be used to illustrate something funny (because of the colourful LP and silly film). I have a crystal clear memory of the Toronto Baseball team's first season or two being very dismal and a set of silly mistakes and baseball bloopers compiled for the season's end with the song 'Help' playing over top of it. i.e.; 'help, are we ever losers,,,'
That's where HELP! began with me.
But now that I've caught up with the originally intended catalogue, I've nearly come to accept HELP! as it was meant to be. One thought however: Our version of Rubber Soul included 'I've Just seen A Face' as the kick off track on side one and 'It's Only Love' as track 1 on side 2, thereby giving the impression that Rubber Soul was The Beatle's 'folk' album. Songs like 'Drive My Car', Nowhere Man' and 'If I needed Someone' were saved for Yesterday...and Today the following year. Incidentally, 'Yesterday' was also held back for that album too. All the rest of HELP!'s side two songs were on Beatles VI.
A quick note on stereo '65 vs. stereo '86 for those youngin's who don't know the former. The mix wasn't as bad as Rubber Soul '65. The vocals were already in the middle. George Martin's 1986 remix just pulled a bunch of the hard right and left instruments a bit closer to the middle thereby giving it a fuller sound on my modern stereo.
HELP! Possibly an above average pop album for 1965 but for the Beatles, merely an average pop LP with the exception of three mind blowing musical events.
Help
Mind blowing event number one! For a kick off, the lyrical sentiment, now that we have the benefit of hindsight, is quite involved for a pop song. But musically it has always rocked my socks off. The toe curling moment for me is every time the chorus starts. That key change! That key change! That key change! The chords are very nice in the verse but it just takes off when it jumps to that Bm for the chorus. And the George guitar arpeggio, almost atonal, was the perfect fill. And it was there in all the early takes of the song, but ultimately was overdubbed later instead because it was a bit too fast to just throw onto the tape at will for each take. I can't play it steady at all. So I don't.
The Night Before
Not a bad song BUT nothing outstanding or groundbreaking. Further evidence of Paul's slow metamorphosis into the legendary Macca off the start. Ringo shines however. So does the electric piano.
You've Got To Hide Your Love Away
Norwegian Wood prelude. The warm up act. John is on his way to being inspired by Dylan to being inspire by Dylan to be Himself. Very good song. NOW, is it just me or are the flutes at the end just ever so slightly sharp? It has always sounded out of tune to me. Could be the prozac.
I Need You
Another average song. And I know it includes one of the first recorded uses of the volume pedal, but the effect bugs me. It irritates me too. The song is just average! Don't Bother Me was a much better song IMO.
Another Girl
Not a bad tune but it really sounds like a formula song for the film. A homework assignment with all the emotional investment that most homework assignments have put into them. And Paul's lead guitar stylings during this period were annoying too. It's like he was really trying to be cute. To the extent that Beatle songs can grate, this one does, mainly because of the lead guitar.
You're Going To Lose That Girl
A good pop tune for 1965. Whatever. The Turles' Happy Together was a better one however.
Ticket To Ride (Ryde)
Mind blowing event number two. Did I read somewhere that John intended to Call it Ticket to Ryde but he figured that Americans wouldn't know what the heck Ryde was?
What's mind blowing about this one? Probably the early acid influence. That prototype drone on the verses. How many pop songs up until then had the large part of a verse stuck on only ONE chord? That insistent A note. To me and Ian MacDonald, that was a ground breaking moment. And it was bloody catchy too.
SIDE TWO (remember those days?)
Act Naturally
I like this tune and the boys covered it marvelously. I like Buck Owens and of course knew his version first as my dad was a C&W fan. Nothing wrong with this at all. And it continues to show the band's versatility in wading in many different genres.
It's Only Love
When I was a teen, this was a great song. Full of emotional cheap shots in the chord selection in the chorus. I don't really understand why John was so dismissive of it. But he has the right. Oh yeah, didn't like the vibrato effect on the lead guitar.
You Like Me Too Much
A much better song than I Need You. Just a pleasant jaunty little tune with a neat lyrical twist. Instead of the usual 'I love you', he uses the word 'like'. Not as common you see.
Tell Me What You See
I like this one better than 'What You're Doing'. I like the tune. I like the electric piano.
I've Just Seen A Face
Song number one on the brilliant folk album Rubber Soul. A really cool 'hoedown' type of sort of song. Nice driving beat and acoustic guitars. Paul's voice is nice here.
Yesterday
Mind blowing musical moment number three! yes, sure, it's over played and over covered but try to take in the context of self penned pop music for mass market consumption. That chord sequence is absolutely brilliant, and the melody is so darn melodic. And to think that the rich creep just dreamed it up. Scrambled Eggs my arse! This song makes me bloody cross. Why is this song so bloody brilliant? And another thing. Not only did this song spawn an industry of cover versions, it also spawned and industry of inferior rewrites and rehashes. Every pop group from the Rolling Stones to Gary Puckett had to have their own 'Yesterday'. In fact some people made a whole career based on it!
Dizzy Miss Lizzy
Ringo is brilliant in this tune. Just brilliant. And George, (if it is George) can you stop playing that bloody riff for a while???
The album wasn't that bad but,,,,,. I really think it's too bad that 'If You Got Trouble' was never developed and finished because I didn't think it was that bad and even though I like the Buck Owens song, this rock and roll tune might've been a better choice for a stronger album. And too bad that 'That Means A Lot' didn't get done as well. I believe that it would've been Paul's 'Ticket To Ride' and would've been a better tune than, say, 'Another Girl'.
So where does that leave us? With a movie on the go, a world tour with assorted TV and radio appearances and a few weeks holiday with an all of a sudden Chrispus deadline for a new album and single for the holiday season which, despite the rush and lack of ready songs, became a milestone in the development of rock and roll and The Beatles were never again to be stuck in any kind of creative trough.
Happy Crimble and a Very new year.