Six decades of hindsight reveal The Beatles’ fifth album, Help!, released (8/6/65) as a precursor to the patchwork quality of the iconic group’s latter-day long players. But such perceptions only arise from close perusal of the LP in its original fourteen-track British version, not Capitol Records USA’s contrived composite.
Like the domestic American release of the ‘soundtrack’ to the first Beatles film, A Hard Day’s Night, its successor includes the songs in the film plus selections from the film’s orchestral score. As such, the mercenary concept of the LP camouflages the creative progression of The Beatles at this point in their career.
Flush with their tremendous success and the burgeoning cultural influence of their work, by early 1965, the Beatles were feeling the effects of overwork resulting from their global breakthrough. But in the middle of that year too, the quartet was morphing stylistically, in part through their admiration of (and influence of) Bob Dylan as well as that of folk-rock pioneers The Byrds, at that point on the rise to become the British group’s American counterpart.
Nevertheless, to complete the recording of Help!, the British group drew upon its reservoir of musical knowledge and affection for early rock, plus R&B and country. George Harrison was also accorded two spots for original songs, but unfortunately, his “You Like Me Too Much” sounds as puerile as “I Need You” is haunting.
John Lennon and Paul McCartney, too, seemed uninspired as composers here at times, at least in relative terms. “Another Girl” and “You’re Gonna Lose That Girl” come off as forced songwriting, while the performances themselves barely transcend the material.
In contrast, the foursome bashes out their cover of Larry Williams’ “Dizzy Miss Lizzie” with no little aplomb. Likewise, Ringo Starr’s de rigeur lead vocal resulted in the drummer gleefully serenading himself on “Act Naturally.” The Beatles’ bond as a band remained intact, ironically via the very touring that presented obstacles to their artistry.
Perhaps if the group had not been so pressured by their label to produce product, their creative metamorphosis would’ve continued apace and produced more delectable nuggets like Sir Paul’s “I’ve Just Seen a Face.” And there’s certainly no denying the impact of the riff at the heart of his writing partner John’s “Ticket To Ride.” That cut deserves its spot as an ever-so-emphatic conclusion at the end of side one. But the mirror image of that song, “Yesterday,” might well have been placed next in the sequence of these fourteen overall tracks; performed by McCartney solo with a string quartet, this number would then erect the touchpoints of the Beatles’ work to follow.
Ringing rock and roll juxtaposed with wide-ranging experimentalism distinguished the pinnacle of their recordings, 1966’s Revolver. And that’s little surprise as Lennon, McCartney, Harrison, and Starr had some time off early that year with the cancellation of their third motion picture.
So, with the astute guidance of long-time producer George Martin, the Beatles alternated wide-ranging innovations (“Tomorrow Never Knows,” “Eleanor Rigby, “Got To Get You Into My Life”) with electric guitar-dominated, harmony-laden hard rock (“She Said, She Said,” “I’m Only Sleeping”). And the latter style revealed the Beatles could still swing as a musical collective: hear George’s sardonic “Taxman.”
In retrospect, the title song of “Help!,” with its prominent acoustic guitars, a natural extension of the Beatles’ skiffle days as well as a reflection of contemporary folk, would seem to carry much more personal meaning than even its author Lennon admitted in hindsight.
The erratic nature of Rubber Soul, the second of two 1965 studio albums from The Beatles, further highlights the veracity of his realization, especially as it applies to all ‘the boys’ and their work (load) in this period.
