The Beatles, Album by Album--Help!

Soundtrack to the Beatles' second film (within one year!), Help! is often considered the final Beatles "early album." However, I like to think of it as the first of the Beatles mid-60s experimental albums. You could make a case either way, but to me it shares more in common with the experimentalism of Rubber Soul and Revolver than it does with albums like Beatles for Sale and With the Beatles. I will try to make the case why in this essay.

Though the album isn't all original, the number of covers on here is only two (in my memory, they had more, but this only proves the point that they were making strides here). The album opens with an all-time classic, the title track. Famous for disguising Lennon's insecure cries for help amid joyful pop music, this is, simply put, a great song. I love George's backing vocals on here. And the lyrics really were great for the time period. The energy on this is so infectious. Lennon dishes out a second classic on "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away." I always read that this is very Dylan-influenced, and perhaps it is with the introspective lyrics, but Dylan could not write a song this catchy to save his life. The descending chords before the chorus are so beautiful. Note the use of an ocarina (I believe it's this) at the end here, foreshadowing the group's extensive use of a variety of instruments. The most famous instrumental innovation on here is the use of a string quartet in "Yesterday," which is perhaps the Beatles' most perfect song. George Martin's idea for this was brilliant and would again point the way towards their increasing use of strings. What separates the strings in a Beatles song from the strings in the typical American pop/soul hits of the day was that the Beatles displayed more of a classical bent in their use of strings (no doubt because of George Martin's influence), in which the orchestration would change to suit the nature of the song. Also, using strings in rock music as opposed to more "adult" fare was a radical innovation. "Yesterday" is devastatingly gorgeous, strings or no. This was also the first track to feature only one Beatle on it.

"Ticket to Ride" just feels like a mid-period Beatles single ("Day Tripper," "We Can Work It Out," "Paperback Writer," etc.) instead of an early one. The group is definitely getting heavier and louder. This song is absolutely propelled by Ringo's thunderous drumming. "I've Just Seen a Face" is a song seemingly unique in the Beatles' catalogue. I've never heard a song better capture the delirious and headlong fall into love like this one. That guitar intro is great and then it just drops away into the undeniable rhythm and vocal melody of Paul's. This song seems to veer away from rock/pop into a folksy influence. As the Beatles' career progressed, they would explore a wider variety of styles like this.

Even the more "Beatles-sounding" songs show innovations here, from the electric piano of "Tell Me What You See" to the volume pedal swells of George's unusually earnest "I Need You" to the saloon-sounding piano solo in "You Like Me Too Much." George is back to writing, and although his songs are not as strong as they would later be, it's always nice hearing the style of another writer on here. While I don't like "You're Going to Lose That Girl" emotionally because it makes me think of having my girlfriend stolen, objectively you can't deny that it's a slammin' song, complete with John's wailing vocals, Ringo on the bongos, and pulsating piano. An underrated aspect of the Beatles is the strength of their rhythm section. They were always coming up with interesting percussion or rhythm guitar parts, and Paul was one of the all-time great bassists.

Even the two covers on here are great. "Act Naturally" is a vehicle for Ringo singing in his preferred country-western genre about starring in a "film about a man that's sad and lonely," and that he'll nail the part because all he's gotta do is "act naturally." How can someone not love Ringo? Is that possible? George's guitar on here is delightful. I love when bands of this time did genre numbers like this. "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" is one of the last remnants of their affection for old-time rock 'n' roll, but it's a great one, full of George's stinging guitar lines and a rhythmic heaviness that updates '50s rock to a new era.

While Rubber Soul always gets all the credit for being the Beatles' first foray into musical innovation--and I can't deny that it took it much farther than this album--I think Help! should get a little more credit for serving as a jumping pad for future experimentation. This began the mid-60s trilogy that culminated in the shockingly new and mature Revolver, which is perhaps the Beatles' finest album.

--Edward