The Beatles fifth LP, and soundtrack of his second movie was to presence a change in direction in their music. Or to be more precise in their way of working. While the early Beatles were capable of producing a complete LP in ten hours of studio session, Help! was the starting point for a new way of recording. The Beatles would rehearse while the recording machines were running. Listening to the results would allow to improve, disaprove or work on the recorded track. The Beatles kept on using new instrument for their songs (yesterday being a quite clear example) and they had quite a nice rest from being on the road. Just as it had happened with A Hard Day's Night, The Beatles had to compose all the songs with no relation at all with the film. Songs would be dropped on scenes of spontaneous Beatles musical performance. The title track was a little more forced on that sense. The film developed around the idea of Ringo playing the main role after his big success, even for the critics in A Hard Day's Night. First to be called Eight Arms to Hold You, Help was decided to be the ideal title for the motion picture. However, a song with such title already existed. With the help of vague copyright laws The Beatles got away calling the song and the film Help!. Help! Recording Dates February 15th - June 17th, 1965 Release Date: August 6th, 1965 Help! Lennon John:Acoustic Guitar and Lead Vocals Paul: Bass Guitar and Backing Vocals George:Lead Guitar and Backing Vocals Ringo:Drums and Tambourine John Lennon always considered Help! one of his favourite Beatles songs. Basicly because it was one of the first ones to express his worries and his anxiety. He really meant the lyrics although the title had been already determined by the movie. Althoug his basicly a Lennon number. Paul did help composing it at John's house in Kenwood. According to Steve Turner, the number was in the beginnig a slow song in Dylan's style, but was turned into a more typical Beatle tune for commercial reasons. Although no one else seems to have noticed this (probably it's just me not reading the right sources) the Help! master seems to have been damaged permanently. Don't worry, it's no big deal. But If you listen carefully, in the last chorus, when singing "Help me if you...." there is a slight alteration of the sound. At first I thought my CD was damaged, but all versions (Help!, Red Album CD, Red Album Vynil) seem to present the same version. Just in case you wondered. The Night Before McCartney John:Electric Piano and Backing Vocals Paul:Bass Guitar and Lead Vocal George:Lead Guitar and Backing Vocals Ringo:Drums Pauls double-tracked voice is featured in this excellent track with great vocal work by John and George. An electric Piano is played for the first time on a Beatles song. The number apperars in the film with the Beatles playing surrounded by tanks at Salisbury Plain You've Got To Hide Your Love Away Lennon John:Acoustic Guitar and Lead Vocal Paul:Acoustic Guitar George:Acoustic Guitar Ringo:Tambourine Johnie Scott:Tenor and Alto Flutes Apparently when John wrote this song he was very much influenced by Bob Dylan. And if one just pays a little attention to the track it is quite clear that its acoustic conception and the lyrics fit perfectly in the mold. It was also thge first song to feature an outside musician whose name we know thanks to Lewishon. What initially seems to be a flute solo, can be inmediately recognized as two flutes (overdubbed) ending the song. The song is performed inthe movie by John to actress Eleanor Brown. I Need You Harrison John:Acoustic Guitar and Backing Vocals Paul:Bass Guitar and Backing Vocals George:Lead Guitar and Lead Vocals Ringo:Drums George Harrison was starting to get his piece of the cake. Help! already saw two of his songs included in the album. I Need You is specially recognisable by the use of a tone or Wah-Wah pedal by George all over the song. Apparently this Guitar was added a day after the basic acoustic track was completed, being the first time t hat it appeared on a Beatles recording. The song was written by George for hius girlfriend Patty Boyd. It appeared in the film in the same sequence as The Night Before. Another Girl McCartney John:Acoustic Guitar and Backing Vocals Paul:Bass Guitar, Lead Guitar and Lead Vocals George:Lead Guitar and Backing Vocals Ringo:Drums A most interesting song, showing the fact of how great a musician Paul McCartney is. Another girl was composed by Paul, Apart from his usual role as bass player, Paul played as well Lead Guitar in the track. And in addition to that the great syncopated drumming by Ringo was said to be suggested by him. A great job for a good song. You're going to Lose That Girl Lennon John:Acoustic Guitar and Lead Vocal Paul:Bass Guitar, Piano and Backing Vocals George:Lead Guitar and Backing Vocals Ringo:Drums and Bongos One of the greatest answering songs from The Beatles (one of them sings and the other two reply in harmony) Another good example in this same LP is The Night Before. A great song in which Ringo certainly demonstrates to have mastered playing the bongos. The song is shown in the film while The Beatles record at "Abbey Road" (they were really being filmed at Twickenham Studios, the location for most of their indoor scenes in their career as actors) The song breaks up when Ringo is about to be kidnapped through a hole cut around his drum kit. Ticket To Ride Lennon John:Rythm Guitar, Tambourine and Lead Vocal Paul:Bass Guitar, Lead Guitar and Backing Vocals George:Lead Guitar Ringo:Drums John once described Ticket To Ride as one of the earliest Heavy Metal numbers. Although far now of what we know as Heavy Metal (Helter Skelter is quite closer) the truth is that the constant riff provided by Paul (yes, good old Paulie playin' Guitar) and the specially marked drumming by Ringo make of it a quite rocky number. Nowadays a classic, Ticket To Ride was written by John, probably meaning a girl was getting out of his life. Act Naturally Morrison-Rusell John:Acoustic Guitar Paul:Bass Guitar and Backing Vocals George:Lead Guitar Ringo:Drums and Lead Vocal Ringo gets his chance once again (although he was quite close to miss it this time). In a country-style tune, Ringo uses his limited but very characteristic voice to show he's a guy "who's sad and lonely". Backing vocals by Paul are certainly outstanding , specially in the song last verse. It's Only Love Lennon John:Acoustic Guitar, Tambourine and Lead Vocal Paul:Bass Guitar George:Lead Guitar Ringo:Drums It's Only Love is one of The Beatles songs John said to hate. That was probably because of its off-the-shelf lyrics, in a time when John was trying to express much more and get away from easy love songs... maybe he was in a hurry this time. However the song is a good song, despite of George "playing around" with the wah-wah pedal. John's voice is double tracked (this time no ADT) in the chorus. You Like Me Too Much Harrison John:Acoustic Guitar and Electric Piano Paul:Steinway Piano and Backing Vocals George:Lead Guitar and Lead Vocals Ringo:Drums and Tambourine George Martin:Steinway Piano Another fine piece of George's songwriting, always improving incredibly during his Beatle career. Paul provides his usual standard of harmonies to George's ADTed vocals. The Steinway Piano played at the same time by Paul and George Martin simply introes the song and answers George's Guitar solo phrases. Tell Me What You See McCartney John:Lead Vocal Paul:Bass Guitar, Electric Piano and Backing Vocals George:Lead Guitar Ringo:Drums Other Instruments:Latin American Percussion (among them a Güiro) With a somehow different structure in the way is sung, Paul answers to the phrases sung by John and himself. It can be said that it was a "work song" The track was offered to be used in the film soundtrack, but Dick Lester would rather not have it. I've Just Seen a Face McCartney John:Acoustic Guitar Paul:Acoustic Guitar and Lead Vocal George:Acoustic Guitar Ringo:Drums and Maracas Paul McCartney had been playing the tune of I've Just Seen a Face on the piano for a while. His auntie Gin (remember Let'em In?) liked it so much that the tune was momentarily named after her. In fact when George Martin recorded an instrumental version of it called it "Auntie Gin's Theme". The song is fantastic, and keeps intense during the 2 short minutes it lasts. Paul double tracks his voice to sing second voice. Please note, very low, on the right channel of the stereo, in the last verse ("I've just seen a face I can't..., after the solo) Paul's voice can be heard trying to do an even higher second voice. Specially in "..place where we just met.." and "...see we've met" and the "oooooh". This was probably mixed down, or Paul just sang it this low while trying... it somehow escaped it onto the final track. Yesterday McCartney Paul: Acoustic Guitar and lead Vocal Violins: Tony Gilbert, Sidney Sax Viola:Kennet Essex Cello:Francisco Gabarro (hey, a Spaniard in Yesterday!!!) Working Title: Scrambled Eggs Paul's most famous song, if not The Beatles'. Certainly most aired song of all times and a masterpiece. And Paul dreamt it. At least that's what he keeps saying all the time (i.e. in the Anthology T.V. series) He woke up one day with the complete tune in his mind without really knowing where it came from. He thought he may have heard it somewhere else, and kept asking everyone if they knew the tune. Since nobody semt to know it he wrote it down and is still waiting for someone to sue him (apparently it WAS his). Once he got the melody, he needed the lyrics. "Scrambled eggs, Oh you've got such lovely leggs" was all he could think of to fit the melody. And so it remained. Paul used to play it while filming Help! to the point that Dick Lester told him to finish the bloody song or give it up. So he did. Although people at the time made a big deal on Paul having written and performed the song all by himself, thanks to Lewishon first, and to the Anthology II afterwards, we know that at least George Harrison was present while Paul recorded the song (in take 1 Paul clearly indicates George the hords to the song and the key he's playing it in). But the song needed more than the Acoustic Guitar Paul was giving it. and here came George Martin suggesting strings. If Paul hadn't accepted the idea who knows if The Beatles would have used strings and classic arrangements as thoroughly as they did during their remaining records? George Martin, with McCartney's help wrote the score for a string quartet (known to be the most equilibrated formation in classical music and a must for every musician to master in composition) Paul insisted that he didn't want vibrato on the strings, but that is asking a professional musician to play like a child would with no feelings in the sound. The strings have less vibrato than usual, but they do sound right enough and clean enough as well. One of the songs best moments is when the violin holds a high pitch note during the last verse. This was Paul's idea. And though it did seem too simple at the beginning, is certainly delicious, like the whole song. Just as a curiosity on how Paul felt about Yesterday, he told Francisco Gabarro (the Spaniard playing cello) "We have a winner with that Yesterday". Paul who had been told by an ex-girlfriend's (Iris Caldwell) mother that he had no feelings 2 years earlier, called Mrs Caldwell the week before appearing on "Blackpool Night Out". He said "You know that you said I had no feelings? Watch telly on Sunday and then tell me I've got no feelings" He then performed Yesterday for the first time on stage (see Anthology II) Dizzy Miss Lizzy Williams John:Hammond Organ and Lead Vocal Paul:Bass Guitar George:Lead Guitar Ringo:Drums Specially recorde for the American market in which it appeared as part of the album Beatles VI, The Beatles recorded in a single session two Williams songs (Bad Boy was the other one) They had the number well learnt from their early days, so it was recorded with litlle overdubbing, almost life, and using only 3 of the 4 tracks (what would be unthinkable today) Bad Boy didn't appear in the British market until A collection of Beatles Oldies was issued. It was also part of the Past Masters CD.