Customer Ratings & Reviews

Help! is a transitional album in the Beatles’ discography. The first half (side one on vinyl) is the soundtrack for the group’s second movie, and is heavily Dylan-influenced, especially in the Lennon tracks. Like A Hard Day’s Night, the album relies on originals, although this album does have two covers. Lennon’s Ticket To Ride, the first song released, features George’s Rickenbacker guitar, which influenced the Byrds’ cover of Dylan’s Mr. Tambourine Man, which in turn fueled Dylan’s mass popularity, so the influenced flowed both ways. Lennon continues to dominate on Help!, You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away, and You’re Going To Lose That Girl. Harrison’s songwriting career effectively begins on this release (Don’t Bother Me nonwithstanding) with I Need You and You Like Me Too Much. McCartney’s movie songs are less consequential, but don’t count him out yet. The spotlight shifts to Ringo for what, on vinyl, was the first song on Side Two; Act Naturally is the perfect vehicle to display Ringo’s affinity for country Music and acts as a wry commentary on his importance in the films themselves. The rest of side two consists of mostly pleasant but less consequential tracks. It is deep within this context, however, that McCartney unleashes his stealth attack, a seven-bar melody that he literally dreamed up one night, and which would forever alter the balance of power in the group. When he grabbed the solo spotlight to sing the tune on Ed Sullivan, it was clear that Beatles history was to be divided (to quote the title of the next US release) between Yesterday and today.

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