Post by henryj on Oct 31, 2017 11:33:30 GMT
And now for something completely different.
This is a review of the Beatles movie Help! Soundtrack album. Whereas the British version of Help! was a proper Beatle album, the American release was a soundtrack album, which was the convention in the US. There are 7 Beatle songs, all originals, and 5 instrumental numbers of incidental music from the movie. The Beatle songs are all good, better than the average Beatle song (and we all know the average Beatle song is much better than the average anybody-else song). Again, this is a movie soundtrack album, not really a proper Beatle album.
Aside from that, at this late juncture, I will try not to repeat what others have posted.
Help! was from United Artists, which also released the James Bond movies. The Soundtrack album begins with some brief James Bond music, with a sitar sprinkled in toward the end . As the last decrescendo’d and fermata’d note of the Bond music ends, it just sounds natural for “Help!” to begin here. At least to my American ears.
“Help!”
Title song. By now, we all know that this is not just John hacking out a title song for a movie—it was a real cry for help. Few if any songwriters wrote more therapeutically than John Lennon.
“The Night Before”
Good Paul song. Begins with an electric piano intro. I had thought that Paul was seen in the movie playing the electric piano at first and then John for the rest of the song. I found a slightly abbreviated clip on the internet, lacking the beginning where Paul plays the piano.
It sort of foretold the rooftop part of the Let It Be movie, because they are performing outdoors and the weather is cold. They are recording this song out in the countryside here however, and instead of the cops coming after them (and truncating “Get Back”), there is an enemy army attacking them, going after Ringo’s ring.
“From Me To You Fantasy”
This isn’t the Beatles. Rather, it is movie incidental music based on the Beatles song. It also quotes “She’s a Woman”. There are sitars, and remember, this was on an album before George (or any other Beatle) played sitar on record. . We Americans heard a sitar on an earlier Beatle album than everybody else did. This was probably what got George interested.
“You've Got To Hide Your Love Away”
The first time I heard this song was on AM radio at night on a station 250 miles away in New Orleans. The deejay mumbled “Lennon” in such as way that you could not tell he wasn’t saying “Dylan,” and probably did so intentionally, because on AM it was rather hard to tell the difference. And the song is Dylanesque and acoustic. With flutes at the end, this is supposedly the first time outside musicians (other than George Martin or Andy White) had played on a Beatles song.
In the movie, John accompanies himself on an acoustic 12-string guitar and Ringo lies on this back striking the tambourine on 2 and 4. Or 4 and 10, depending on how you count the 12/8.
“I Need You”
The rest of y’all don’t particularly like this song. I like it. Very heartbreaking lyric, “Said you had a thing or two to tell me. How was I to know you would upset me?” The great thing about the British release is when it is followed by “Another Girl.”
“In The Tyrol”
More incidental music, mixing amateurish brassband sounds with real orchestral stuff—Wagner’s Overture to Act III of Lohengrin, then going back to the movie brassband.
“Another Girl”
As stated before, sounds great when it follows the heartbreaking “I Need You.” Even though they were written by different individuals.
“Another Hard Day's Night”
More incidental music.”A Hard Day’s Night” played by the sitar and other Indian instruments. Also quotes “Can’t Buy Me Love” and “I Should Have Known Better.” Ends rather abruptly.
“Ticket To Ride”
I think I said everything about this in others’ posts, especially that part about the song originally have been “Ticket to Rye.”
Urban legend, purportedly spread by Casey Kasem back in the day. Listen over good earbuds or headphones. You can hear the ending consonant “d” at the end of “ride.”
“The Bitter End/You Can't Do That”
Incidental music. The original vinyl label showed simply "The Bitter End." Parts of it sound somewhat Bondish. This one is actually pretty good.
“You're Going To Lose That Girl”
I may have posted on other’s threads about how I associate this with Revolver’s “I Want to Tell You,” a George song about being afraid to say things to the girl. In “You’re Going to Lost That Girl,” John chides some shy guy for not asking the girl out and threatens to ask her out himself. Which makes me think this might be John’s “Layla.”
They should have tuned their guitars to the piano.
In the movie, they were recording this in a studio.
“The Chase”
Incidental music. Indian sitar jam (with other instruments). If you don’t like it, at least it was mercifully placed at the end of the album, so you can simply end the album before having to sit through it.
The thing about that incidental music: As good as the Beatles’ songs are, coming after the incidental music, they sound that much better. Although, I rather liked “The Bitter End.”
Sorry I took so long to get around to this.
This is a review of the Beatles movie Help! Soundtrack album. Whereas the British version of Help! was a proper Beatle album, the American release was a soundtrack album, which was the convention in the US. There are 7 Beatle songs, all originals, and 5 instrumental numbers of incidental music from the movie. The Beatle songs are all good, better than the average Beatle song (and we all know the average Beatle song is much better than the average anybody-else song). Again, this is a movie soundtrack album, not really a proper Beatle album.
Aside from that, at this late juncture, I will try not to repeat what others have posted.
Help! was from United Artists, which also released the James Bond movies. The Soundtrack album begins with some brief James Bond music, with a sitar sprinkled in toward the end . As the last decrescendo’d and fermata’d note of the Bond music ends, it just sounds natural for “Help!” to begin here. At least to my American ears.
“Help!”
Title song. By now, we all know that this is not just John hacking out a title song for a movie—it was a real cry for help. Few if any songwriters wrote more therapeutically than John Lennon.
“The Night Before”
Good Paul song. Begins with an electric piano intro. I had thought that Paul was seen in the movie playing the electric piano at first and then John for the rest of the song. I found a slightly abbreviated clip on the internet, lacking the beginning where Paul plays the piano.
It sort of foretold the rooftop part of the Let It Be movie, because they are performing outdoors and the weather is cold. They are recording this song out in the countryside here however, and instead of the cops coming after them (and truncating “Get Back”), there is an enemy army attacking them, going after Ringo’s ring.
“From Me To You Fantasy”
This isn’t the Beatles. Rather, it is movie incidental music based on the Beatles song. It also quotes “She’s a Woman”. There are sitars, and remember, this was on an album before George (or any other Beatle) played sitar on record. . We Americans heard a sitar on an earlier Beatle album than everybody else did. This was probably what got George interested.
“You've Got To Hide Your Love Away”
The first time I heard this song was on AM radio at night on a station 250 miles away in New Orleans. The deejay mumbled “Lennon” in such as way that you could not tell he wasn’t saying “Dylan,” and probably did so intentionally, because on AM it was rather hard to tell the difference. And the song is Dylanesque and acoustic. With flutes at the end, this is supposedly the first time outside musicians (other than George Martin or Andy White) had played on a Beatles song.
In the movie, John accompanies himself on an acoustic 12-string guitar and Ringo lies on this back striking the tambourine on 2 and 4. Or 4 and 10, depending on how you count the 12/8.
“I Need You”
The rest of y’all don’t particularly like this song. I like it. Very heartbreaking lyric, “Said you had a thing or two to tell me. How was I to know you would upset me?” The great thing about the British release is when it is followed by “Another Girl.”
“In The Tyrol”
More incidental music, mixing amateurish brassband sounds with real orchestral stuff—Wagner’s Overture to Act III of Lohengrin, then going back to the movie brassband.
“Another Girl”
As stated before, sounds great when it follows the heartbreaking “I Need You.” Even though they were written by different individuals.
“Another Hard Day's Night”
More incidental music.”A Hard Day’s Night” played by the sitar and other Indian instruments. Also quotes “Can’t Buy Me Love” and “I Should Have Known Better.” Ends rather abruptly.
“Ticket To Ride”
I think I said everything about this in others’ posts, especially that part about the song originally have been “Ticket to Rye.”
Urban legend, purportedly spread by Casey Kasem back in the day. Listen over good earbuds or headphones. You can hear the ending consonant “d” at the end of “ride.”
“The Bitter End/You Can't Do That”
Incidental music. The original vinyl label showed simply "The Bitter End." Parts of it sound somewhat Bondish. This one is actually pretty good.
“You're Going To Lose That Girl”
I may have posted on other’s threads about how I associate this with Revolver’s “I Want to Tell You,” a George song about being afraid to say things to the girl. In “You’re Going to Lost That Girl,” John chides some shy guy for not asking the girl out and threatens to ask her out himself. Which makes me think this might be John’s “Layla.”
They should have tuned their guitars to the piano.
In the movie, they were recording this in a studio.
“The Chase”
Incidental music. Indian sitar jam (with other instruments). If you don’t like it, at least it was mercifully placed at the end of the album, so you can simply end the album before having to sit through it.
The thing about that incidental music: As good as the Beatles’ songs are, coming after the incidental music, they sound that much better. Although, I rather liked “The Bitter End.”
Sorry I took so long to get around to this.