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I gotta say...this could be my favourite Beatles album now....I used to think Revolver or The White but this one has a great set of RNR, folk and ballad type tunes!!! What do you say??? (I mean the original UK Help not the US version with all the incidental music) ;D

For me the weakest pre-Pepper Beatles LP.
John is on full strength throughout, but Paul has a very weak showing until his almost shocking doubleheader near the end. George can barely write a tune here, his songs have terrible lyrics and weak melodies. And Tell Me What You See is one of the worst Beatles tracks. If You've Got Trouble is even better, not to mention the magnificent That Means A Lot.

Ha, and I thought I was alone in loving "That Means Alot."  :D Most people knock it. I remember when that first surfaced in the mid-eighties, I was ecstatic to think that great Beatle songs were still out there waiting to be unveiled.

I never listen to Help, only because I used to get so frustrated at how crappy the damn CD sounds.

I hate the album as it stands. The hits are just that and everything else is turds. The only other good songs are better heard with US Rubber Soul.

You're Gonna Lose That Girl, baby. GREAT song.
Dizzy Miss Lizzy is some of the most primal rock the band cut.

*yawn*

Too much booze, my man. Listen again.

I thought booze made everything better.  :)

I like "Help." I don't think it's as weak as, say, "Beatles for Sale," although there are some low points. But I like "Tell Me What You See." "That Means a Lot" would definitely have improved the album, though.

I find Beatles For Sale the band's most underrated LP. I find every track, besides Mr. Moonlight and the overrated Rock And Roll Music to have some merit. Also, it has possibly my two favorite pure-pop Beatles songs, Every Little Thing and What You're Doing.
And the 3-song despair-and-mourning suite at the top of the album is some of the best programming in their career.

I really like Help!

You've Got To Hide Your Love Away
The Night Before
You're Gonna Lose That Girl
It's Only Love
I've Just Seen A Face
Another Girl
I Need You

These are really great songs!
When I first heard the album in its entirety, what struck me the most was how introspective a lot of the songs are and it has a sort of folk sound. I think its a real step forward for the band. What bugs me about the album is how mushy and saccharine the bad songs are.

Nobody likes the title cut?  "I Need You" is real pretty Ian.

On the topic of the two opening "For Sale", "No Reply" is one of my favourite Beatles tracks... John really turned it on then, great chorus, "I SAW THE LIGHT!"... fuuuuck, I'm listening to that now... Incredible.

"I'm a Loser" however, I don't like much at all...  Very pedestrian after such a powerful opening track.

Yes, I like the title cut?  Along with The Night Before, I Need You, You've Got To Hide Your Love Away, Another Girl, and You're Gonna Lose that Girl

It's also my fiavorite movie.

Read the posts, kids! Of course we like the title cut, I said that ALL John's songs are great on the album, as they are. Paul's stuff is remarkably pedestrian in every way, totally inferior to many other British bands' ouputs of the time. Night Before and Another Girl are very lame attempts to be bluesy and rock from Paul, totally uninspired. When he just was lame old himself Paulie, he was great-Yesterday, I've Just Seen A Face.
George, besides Don't Bother Me, simply couldn't write until Rubber Soul, and even Paul didn't hit his stride until Soul, with a few exceptions.

Did you just knock Another Girl? That means war, my man. From now on, we're bitter enemies, never to reconcile!

Worse, did you just knock "I Need You?" Its two against one in that bitter holy war. "Couldn't write?" FEH! "I Need You" simply put features one of the best riffs of the entire 60s and an insanely great and aching melody, and his performance vocally is top notch.

I *love* Help. I'm gonna go against the grain here: its one of my favorite Beatles albums, and pre-Revolver, I'd say its their strongest set. You heard me. You're partly right as to why: this is Lennon's very best set of songs of his entire career. He was firing on absolutely every single cylinder here, and its a career-defining set of songs. Macca's not as strong but "Yesterday!!" I mean, PERIOD! And as you said, "I've Just Seen A Face!!" And I do also love "Another Girl" very very much. Really, the only song I could live without is "The Night Before," but even that isn't THAT bad. I love "Tell Me What You See!" That's a hell of a chorus, there.

Its one of my desert island discs. If I had to pick a moment that defined Lennon as genius, and the moment the Beatles really began to crystallize as a creative force to be reckoned with it would be this album.

Gotta agree that Help is a letdown album, sounding very transistional to me.  It drives me to the skip button more than any other Beatles album.  The hits are fine, there are a few good album tracks, but there are so many eehh tunes on side 2 it's not even funny.  Two great Paul songs buried among average songs.

Notice I said "average", not bad.  IMO there never was a bad Beatles song released, not really.  Most bands would kill for Help's worst, but in context still a letdown.

I like this album. Like. There are plenty of good songs, and plenty of pretty good songs. It isn't anywhere near the top, but it could be a lot, lot worse. It's toward the bottom of the Beatles' heap, which is still pretty high overall.

Steely Dan's "Barrytown" sounds like it was inspired by "Tell Me What You See"

Søren

Not even Mr. Moonlight?

MISTAAAAAAAA MOOOHOOOHOOONLIIIIGHAAAAAAYAAT!!!!

I love that song.

"If You've Got Trouble" is great, too. That should have been a B-side.

Not even Mr. Moonlight.

I don't like Act Naturally. They perform it fine, it's just that I hate that song.

I love that tune, a wonderful tribute to the great Buck Owens. Great initation of Don Rich, one of the great tenor harmony singers, by Paul.

I remember when I first heard this Beatles album...it was available at our local library, along with "Revolver", "Pepper", "Abbey Road", etc.  Then saw the movie (from thast same library) and was hooked on the soundtrack. 

Fast forward to 1998: "Grease", the movie, was rereleased in theatres.  There was a DJ there who was giving away CDs, and when I say he was giving them away, I mean there was a catch: you had to answer a trivia question relating to the CD.  Long story short: I knew the names of all five Spice Girls, next day I traded it at our local shop (called The Sound Exchange) for "Help!"

I think the album, in its sequencing of all these good tunes, works great. Also, the choice of instruments (and who's playing them): electric piano is one thing that gives this album continuity. John plays it on "You Like Me Too Much" and especially well on "The Night Before", making a cool synthesis with the rhythm guitar...almost like a new instrument (a la Brian Wilson). Paul plays electric piano on "Tell Me What You See". The electric piano doesn't show up again until "I Am The Walrus", right?  If so, it's interesting to hear it so much on here.  Another odd thing is that Paul plays lead on two songs, "Another Girl" and "Ticket To Ride".  Other neat things: George's spot on melodic double-tracked octave solo on "The Night Before" (anyone notice that definite "Yes!!" right before the solo?  Awesome); honky tonk piano on " You Like Me Too Much"; Ringo's bongo playing on "You're Going To Lose That Girl"; springy leslie-fied guitar on "It's Only Love"; All acoustic instrumentation, and flutes on "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away"; beautiful string quartet on "Yesterday".

This is exactly how I feel.  The title alone of "Beatles for Sale" kind of warns you off.  I think that album and "Let it Be" were the two times they took serious steps backwards with an album as a whole.

Decided to listen to the album again in its entirety to make sure what I was saying was true...

...the album really builds up the power of "Yesterday"; after the preceding general upbeatness of the earlier tracks, it leaves you gape mouthed.  The emotional complexity is awe inspiring, in spite of the tune's oversaturation on radio, etc.

Tell Me What You See is the most aweful cut on the LP but everything else is great pop music!!!! Even Act Naturally...

Sad to say there is more that I dont like on Rubber Soul

Run for Your Life
Wait
Drive My Car
You Wont See Me

that is why I am on a Help praise right now

Seriously, what's so bad about "Tell Me What You See"?

I hate that electric piano sound, for one thing, on that, You Like Me Too Much and Night Before. I hate the lyrics and the melody. I like it more than Like Me Too Much though. That one makes me want to rip my ears off.

1. Help! 
2. The Night Before 
3. You've Got To Hide Your Love Away 
4. I Need You 
5. Another Girl 
6. You're Going To Lose That Girl 
7. Ticket To Ride 
8. Act Naturally 
9. It's Only Love 
10. You Like Me Too Much 
11. Tell Me What You See 
12. I've Just Seen A Face 
13. Yesterday 
14. Dizzy Miss Lizzie 

Another Girl: count me in as a subscriber. Let's see....that plus the singles and other undisccountable stuff = bare minimum, 1, 3, 5, 7, 12-14, seven great ones right there. 2, 4, 6, 9, 11 are either decent retread filler or not quite evolved future goodness (4 and 11, George and Paul in transit). 8 either sucks, or is funny and good... just like every other Ringo track that ever was. That leaves only 10 as a really duff cut in my opinion (though I Need You, I'll grant Ian, isn't much objectively, not without knowing Harrisongs to come.)

I will say it's the album that hangs together least well whatever version it's heard in. Hard Day's Night plays like a real record even if it's a soundtrack LP. This one seems randomly arranged  and thrown together by circumstance. Much slagged Beatles For Sale is remarkably on target consistently as a concept: an alternation of favorite oldies and totally modern sounds derived from the same eclectic, creative fan-aesthetic the covers express and their originals made possible, classic and newfangled contaminating each other throughout, and making for a consistency of feel I really, really like. On Help, many individual songs have reached a higher level still than the '65 model,  but the whole doesn't make for a meaningful or particularly fun listening experience for me.

Damn I think some of you guys are off the mark... this is a great album.  I've loved it ever since I sequenced the original UK running order onto a Maxell cassette tape, way way back in the dark (pre-cd) days.  I think it's still one of the most listenable albums ever recorded: 

For starters, you've got more than a few undeniable stone cold classics (the uniformly brilliant title track, "Ticket to Ride", "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away", "Yesterday" and "I've Just Seen a Face").

Secondly, most everything else here is grade "A" pop/rock: "I Need You", "It's Only Love", "Tell Me What You See",  "You're Gonna Lose That Girl" and "The Night Before" are all pretty freaking incredible, IMO.  Not quite a-side material, but real strong album cuts.  I dig all these songs immensely.

Then a couple of not-quite-so-great-but-still-kinda-okay throwaways in "Another Girl" and "You Like Me Too Much".  Not up to par with their best stuff, but the former has kind of a neat groove and an assertive, almost Lennonesque lyric ("I ain't no fool and I don't take what I don't want!") while the Harrison tune gets over on the strength of the arrangement, the guitar solo and the stoned vocal delivery.

That leaves just two out of place cover songs that could have easily been replaced with originals-- Substitute the playful "If You've Got Troubles" and the brilliant UK wall of sound pastiche "That Means a Lot" in place of "Act Naturally" and "Dizzy Miss Lizzy", and you've got an even better record consisting of all original material.  I'm feelin' it!

Seriously, I don't see what's not to like about Help!  Definately their most underrated LP by far.


By the way this is my first post to the new Smiley Smile board... for some reason it took me forever to figure out how to register here!

I really love this album - one of my favourite Beatles albums.  The Night Before and Another Girl are two of my absolute favourites - just beautiful quintessential pop music.  Something very evocative of the mid 1960s about those two songs.  No, there's not one song I'd skip.

Well, most everyone still loves everything The Beatles ever did unreservedly. *sigh*

Thanks for an objective review, Cabin.

Welcome, Jason.

I sure don't love everything the Beatles ever did, as you know. I think my review was pretty, er, "objective," in the sense that I'm at least considering both perspectives and I'm not a 100% apologist. Its not a *perfect* album but I'm pretty damn enthusiastic about it for some pretty right on reasons -- namely, and once again, I think its an absolute career high for Lennon, and that alone cannot be discounted. And I still think George acquits himself masterfully here. Oh, and "Act Naturally" rules. I agree that Ringo does a great job with this one and the band's cod-country is actually pretty cool.

Hey Ian, that's not fair! I didn't even go so far as to say it was a "good" album. I just like "Another Girl".

And what of "The Night Before"?

No no no, I like more than Another Girl, it's just that I only posted in this thread in the first place to defend that underrated gem.

That's very chivalrous of you, in a way - it was in need of your defense!  No one should doubt your courage!  Fill the tawny bowl!

If any song needs defense it's "Tell Me What You See"... Why do so many people hate this gem?  Okay, lyrically it's weak, but so is "What You're Doing" and everyone seems to love that track.  Also, while it's certainly not the most innovative song structure they ever came up with, it's catchy and memorable, and isn't that what all writers should strive for?  It succeeds on its own terms is what I'm saying.

And I don't love everything they did unreservedly... ask me about "Honey Pie" or "Bungalow Bill" sometime!  ;)

Help to me is like the Beatles version of "Party"

Controversy on Help?  Here's mine--it is NOT as good as Beatles for Sale.  John was just as good on "For Sale"--Spoil the Party, Loser, Eight Days a Week, and No Reply--those are great songs.  Help and Ticket Ride are phenomenal recordings of great songs, and move out of the country vein into something a little more unique.  Ian, I am with you 100% on "You're Gonna Lose that Girl"--that's the "Any Time At All" or "Baby's In Black" of this album--a great example of Lennon's capability to write album tracks.

Help would have been a little better with "That Means Alot" but unquestionably superior with "Yes It Is"--which is quite possibly the greatest pure B-side that the Beatles ever released.  An unfathomable omission by today's standards.

I agree that "Another Girl" and "The Night Before" are redundant.  I would go with another girl because I like the 'country' Beatles and I love the lead guitar, especially at the end.  And it goes so nicely into the genre-defying into of "I've Just Seen A Face." (now, who wrote that intro!?)

"Yesterday" "Ticket To Ride" and "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away?" all very very great tunes.

"It's Only Love?" A peculiar but interesting short little number.  Extremely schmaltzy.  I have always liked the little Roy Orbison bit at the end.  Non-essential though.

"Tell Me What You See" I agree is really thin.  I have always liked it though because I have always been charmed by Paul's aw-shucks gentlemanly schtick. 

"I Need You" is worth it for the volume pedal swells and the harmonies.  It's no "IF I Needed Someone" but it's just charming.  "You Like Me Too Much" is fun--I've always enjoyed this one in a "Tell Me Why" kind of way--lots of novice jazz runs and turnarounds.

This leaves the covers of "Dizzy" and "Act Naturally."  To us, the difference of 63 and 65 Beatles is huge, but think about your own personal growth and development.  It's nothing really.  "Dizzy" is just an able throwback--a "Roll Over Beethoven" or a "Bad Boy"--with some nice Lennon screaming (I bet he was having fun) and "Act Naturally" was a perfect song for Ringo.  "They're gonna put me in the movies" is all about the 'role' he had to play in the Beatles.  "the biggest fool that ever hit the big time"---perfect.  Plus, the lead guitar coming out of the bridge ('cause I could play the part so well') is so dope!  Just like the guitar and bass breakdown on "I'll Cry Instead" ('and show you what you're lovin man can do')

An album that hit me deeply when i first got into it in '96

How come no one has mentioned that I'm Down would have made the album a thousand times better?

Forgot about that one, YES!

"I'm Down" and "Yes It Is" replace "Tell Me What You See" and "You Like Me Too Much" and THOSE songs can live as B-sides, or Monkee songs.

Ian, when I see your avatar out of the corner of my eye it looks like Fernando Valenzuela winding up for a fastball.

(http://www.skylinepictures.com/Los_Angeles_Fernando_Valenzuela_la14_small.jpg)

EXACTLY! And That Means A Lot replaces either Another Girl or Night Before in the film and album.

why don't they seek our counsel on these things?!?!?!

Wait, let me put in the time crystals....

Grandma just called and said you're supposed to go home...

(http://www.ritilan.com/archives/images/2005/04/22/uncle-rico-time-machine.jpg)

...she said she doesn't want you here when she gets back, because you've been ruining everybody's lives and eatin' all our steak!