Sixty Years Later, Why The Beatles' 'Help!' Lives on

Sixty years ago on this day, The Beatles released 'Help!', their fifth studio album and soundtrack to the film of the same name. It was the last album of the group’s “early” period, which saw them achieve global superstardom on the back of a well-drilled touring act and studio albums that reflected their adoration of late 1950s-early 1960s American rock’n’roll, country and RnB (their heroes included Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, and Little Richard). Although John Lennon and Paul McCartney had already established themselves as world-beating songwriters, the five albums from this period would very soon be eclipsed by the group’s output during its pathbreaking “middle period” from late 1965 to 1967, which was to commence with the release of “Rubber Soul” just a few months later. Still, 1965’s 'Help!' remains a classic Beatles album, packed with well-known hits, a couple of overlooked gems, and one unforgettable moment that hinted tantalisingly at what was soon to come.

I will start by confessing that I have a very nostalgic personal connection to 'Help!'. As an eight-year-old schoolboy, I would eagerly accompany my grandparents on their fortnightly visits to the British Council library on Kasturba Gandhi Marg in Delhi, which had a VHS tape section in the mid-90s. There, nestled among the likes of Inspector Morse and ITV’s Poirot, I spied a VHS tape of the Help! film, with its zany cover featuring the Fab Four entwined in one long red-and-white ski scarf. I convinced my grandparents to let me take it home, and was hooked from the first frame. I was too young to understand that director Richard Lester was affectionately spoofing the still-new-in-1965 James Bond franchise and its penchant for globetrotting, or to be offended by what, to today’s viewer, is the extremely un-politically correct depiction of a cartoonish cult of Hindu zealots, who serve as the film’s villains. What did make an impression on my young self were the exciting locales – the Austrian Alps! Stonehenge! the Bahamas! – the charisma and chemistry of the Fab Four, and above all, the songs.

Following the template set by the previous year’s soundtrack for A Hard Day’s Night, side A of the LP album featured songs that were shown in the film, while those on the flip side were not. The latter notably included the last covers released on a UK Beatles studio album – Ringo Starr’s scene-stealing turn at Buck Owens’ 'Act Naturally', and Lennon’s barnstorming rendition of Larry Williams’ 'Dizzy Miss Lizzy'. To my ears, a sonic signature of the album as available today is its noticeably “wet” production, with a heavier use of reverb than on perhaps any other Beatles album (for example, listen to the vocals on McCartney’s 'The Night Before' and 'Another Girl', and George Harrison’s 'I Need You'). Under pressure to deliver a fresh batch of hits on the kind of tight schedule that an upcoming film release demands, The Beatles came up with a set of 14 songs that somehow managed to nod to their rock’n’roll past, showcase their current influences, and drop clues to the exciting new direction they would very shortly take.

'Help!', track-by-track

'Help!': A classic Beatles hit, the title track’s playful shuffle beat and upbeat backing vocals belie surprisingly vulnerable lyrics. Perhaps owing to his recent discovery of Bob Dylan and his introspective approach to songwriting, Lennon issues an unguarded confession of the despair and doubt he felt at a time when The Beatles were at the peak of their global superstardom.

'The Night Before': An unfairly overlooked gem of a rocker from McCartney that draws freely from his bottomless bag of songwriting tricks, including call-and-response vocals, a smoothly modulated key-change from the verse into the bridge, and a bouncy dual-guitar solo. The lyrics, possibly inspired by ongoing turmoil in McCartney’s relationship with Jane Asher, speak of regret and longing for an earlier, happier phase of a relationship – a theme he would memorably revisit on side B…

'You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away': Betraying Dylan’s influence much more overtly, this Lennon track nevertheless throws in a couple of original twists with a descending 12-string guitar line and a recorder solo that complements the lyrics’ wistfulness. The accompanying film sequence featured actress Eleanor Bron, who is believed to have inspired McCartney’s choice of name for the protagonist of his masterpiece 'Eleanor Rigby', released the following year.

'I Need You': Accompanied by a memorable film sequence shot near Stonehenge, this was Harrison’s star turn on the album, and he made a point of underlining his authorship of this earnest love song by announcing his songwriting credit over the film’s ending credits! The song innovatively features a guitar volume pedal (that would also show up on 'Ticket to Ride''s B-side 'Yes It Is'), and Lennon and McCartney’s subdued backing vocals seem to cede the stage, albeit temporarily, to their fledgling junior partner.

'Another Girl': Another McCartney rocker, defiant rather than regretful in tone this time, with a wonderfully elastic lead guitar line (played by McCartney himself) that weaves in and out throughout. The chorus with its taunting challenge to the narrator’s love interest, contrasts both musically and lyrically with the bridge, in which the narrator’s exposition of the merits of the new companion seems in truth to be an indictment of the old one (“through thick and thin she will always be my friend”).

'You’re Going to Lose that Girl': More call-and-response vocals, gorgeous three-part harmonies, and a circular guitar solo from Harrison make for a memorable and catchy track, but the explicit threat in the title and underlying air of menace reveal this to be a Lennon composition. The cartoonish film sequence features a saw cutting a circle around Ringo and his drum kit, in another ill-fated attempt by the villains to pilfer the film’s MacGuffin – the large ruby ring immovably attached to Ringo’s finger.

'Ticket to Ride': Touted by Lennon as having foreshadowed heavy metal with its booming drums and droning bassline, both of which were unusual in 1965, the instrumental highlight of this track is actually borrowed from the previous year’s bag of tricks – the chiming ostinato riff played on Harrison’s Rickenbacker 12-string guitar, memorably featured in A Hard Day’s Night. The goofy film sequence was shot in the Austrian Alps, with the group later confessing to having used marijuana to relieve their boredom between takes – another Dylan influence!

'Act Naturally': Ringo’s earnest vocal makes this a charming and disarming cover of Buck Owens’ country song about an everyman seemingly pulled off the street to star in “a film about a man that’s sad and lonely”. Harrison shows off his mastery of 1950s-style rockabilly riffs and licks, possibly played on his Gretsch “Tennessean” guitar, which was also featured in the film.

'It’s Only Love': A lesser-known Lennon track, its author was perhaps too unkind to his own creation when he retrospectively dismissed it as “lousy”. The song features a strident vocal from Lennon in the chorus, an innovative vibrato effect on Harrison’s guitar, and in a great example of the songwriting finesse the Beatles brought to every song, an augmented chord that spices up the verses rather exquisitely (listen for it right after the words “when I see you go by”).

'You Like Me Too Much': Another early Harrison effort, the extremely earnest lyrics ride a pleasant country-and-western shuffle leavened with the group’s somewhat faddish use of the Hohner “Pianet” electric piano, which is heard all over this album. The bridge (starting with “I really do…”) takes the song in a surprising new direction before returning us seamlessly to the next verse, showing Harrison’s adeptness at absorbing influences from Lennon and McCartney.

'Tell Me What You See': It speaks to the quality of McCartney’s output in 1965 that a song of this calibre failed to make the cut for the film. The innovatively-constructed chorus features the title phrase amidst some musical tension (provided by a dominant 7th chord), which is then gently resolved in an instrumental passage featuring the group’s new friend, the Hohner Pianet.

'I’ve Just Seen a Face': Kicking off with a complex guitar duet, this breathless country-and-western style McCartney track features an irresistible chorus and elegant 12-string acoustic solo from Harrison. The ease with which this song lends itself to the bluegrass genre speaks to the depth of McCartney’s instinctive feel for American music, as has been borne out by the many bluegrass artists who have covered it.

'Yesterday': Completely against the run of play on this album, McCartney’s solo acoustic ballad of regret and yearning for a lost opportunity, backed by a beautifully-arranged string quartet, would go on to become one of the most-recorded songs in popular music. The label “timeless classic” can be applied to many Beatles songs, but this song is surely the original - and perhaps strongest - claimant to that title.

'Dizzy Miss Lizzy': This Larry Williams track from 1958 seems to have been a favourite of Lennon’s, and he delivers an electrifying rock’n’roll version of it to serve as the album closer. Knowing what we know now, however, one can’t help but wonder if 'Yesterday' might have been a better candidate for that role.

Chaitanya Ramachandran is a Mumbai-based lawyer and lifelong fan of The Beatles.

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