Best Song on The Beatles’ ‘Help!’ Album? Poll

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by A Saucerful of Scarlets, May 23, 2018.

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  1. I love "Help" as it isn't JUST a soundtrack but a step forward musically (for the most part).

    "Help", "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away", the marvelous "You're Gonna Lose that Girl", "Ticket to Ride", "I've Just Seen A Face", "Yesterday", "I Need You", and Paul's potboilers "The Night Before" and "Another Girl" are musically fun with killer harmonies.

    John is at full force here and, while Paul musically is a step behind (except for "I've Just Seen A Face" and "Yesterday"), he's only just behind John developmentally as a songwriter here. George has one great moment with "I Need You". Heck, "Act Naturally" is also a fun cover (and gave attention to the woefully underappreciated--at the time--Buck Owens).
     
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  2. Luke The Drifter

    Luke The Drifter Forum Resident

    Location:
    United States
    This album is the bridge between the early and late Beatles. Some of the songs would fit on albums from 1964, or even 1963. Others (the best songs) would fit on Rubber Soul.
     
  3. Thievius

    Thievius Blue Oyster Cult-ist

    Location:
    Syracuse, NY
    Meh. I went with the title track. This is actually one of my least favorite Beatles albums.
     
  4. edenofflowers

    edenofflowers A New Stereophonic Sound Spectacular!

    Location:
    UK
    I voted "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away". It was a meaningful and supportive song for a lot of folks at the time whether it was designed as such or not. I'm sure Eppy loved it.
     
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  5. DK Pete

    DK Pete Forum Resident

    Location:
    Levittown. NY
    I agree on DML...along with Bad Boy, they are their two most unispired covers in my opinion.
     
    forthlin likes this.
  6. I do find it funny that "She's A Woman" is briefly played in the film and that surprised me that Capitol in retrospect didn't use that as an option to add it to the soundtrack and take another song for "Yesterday and Today" or another project.
     
  7. Yep and there has been speculation by others that Lennon wrote it with Epstein in mind. I don't believe that but, if so, it's nice that he wrote something like that for Epstein.
     
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  8. lee59

    lee59 Member Envy

    Location:
    Temecula, CA
    Title track.

    Over the years I've absorbed just how naked the lyrics are despite the jingle-janglety and nonchalance of the arrangement.

    A juxtaposition that is so bittersweet to listen to now.

    A lot of great songs to choose from, but this is John's first step towards 'Mother'.
     
  9. Hey Vinyl Man

    Hey Vinyl Man Another bloody Yank down under...

    I went with "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away," as I believe that's pretty much the beginning of "adult rock". To me, this album marks a remarkably clear line for the exact moment when rock and roll stopped being only about girls and cars and started also encompassing some more adult topics, as reflected by the fact that it has some songs on both sides of the line. (You could argue that Dylan beat them to it with "Like a Rolling Stone," and there is merit to that, but that's a debate for another thread.) To me, "You've Got to..." is the moment that leaves no doubt rock has grown up.
     
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  10. A Saucerful of Scarlets

    A Saucerful of Scarlets Commenter Turned Viewer Thread Starter

    No need to go to the trouble of separating the two. It's about what you voted for. So what did you vote for?

    AHDN, Help!, Mystery Tour and Let It Be are all step forwards musically imo, I agree.
    I think John was quite a bit ahead of Paul from here to Revolver, then they were about equal from Sgt. Pepper's on to my ears.

    Can't say I agree at all. A lot of the stuff is too simple musically to be on Rubber Soul, or far too folky. RS had hints of folk, I guess, but I think it was quite a different take. I think If I Needed Someone is the closest thing that could correlate, and even then there's bits in the song that could only sound like it came from RS to me. Such as the harmonies. As far 1964 and before, I think some songs are similar enough to the originals on Beatles For Sale perhaps. Hard to tell. I've Just Seen a Face could've been on AHDN to me if it weren't for the vocals, since Things We Said Today is on there. I also think Another Girl would've fit nicely enough too and moreso You Like Me Too Much as well. But again, I just think the folk take on Help! is too different to AHDN to correlate well enough. I definitely don't think any are even remotely similar to stuff from 1963, though. Not nearly rocky enough. Dizzy Miss Lizzy could have been on With the Beatles, but that's about it.

    tl;dr
    Personally the closest thing Help! has in correlation to another album is AHDN but I still think the musical style is too progressed. Besides I Needed Someone off of Rubber Soul, Dizzy Miss Lizzy (for With the Beatles) and Act Naturally (for Beatles For Sale), I don't think it has any other similarities to other albums. I see where you are coming from, though.
    Although it really should go without saying, just my opinion of course.

    I think "Help!" would fit as well.
     
  11. Hey Vinyl Man

    Hey Vinyl Man Another bloody Yank down under...

    I agree, but if forced to choose one, "Help!" loses a point or two for disguising its seriousness beneath the same pop-friendliness that marked their earlier hits. "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" is much more unmistakably soul-baring, whereas with Help you have to listen pretty carefully to the lyrics to get that. (And you know how closely most people listen to lyrics, unless they're forced to!)
     
  12. Andersoncouncil

    Andersoncouncil Forum Resident

    Location:
    upstate NY
    Help is a strange album in the discography. The first side (track 1-7) are perfect IMO---in fact it may be the most cohesive album side by the Beatles sans side 2 of Abbey Road. Problem is, the second half is VERY disjointed. It starts off with four below average tracks. Following that, I've Just Seen a Face is wonderful, but extremely out of place with the feel of the album. Same with Dizzy Miss Lizzy. This could be another album where the US Capitol makes better sense, soundtrack music and all.
     
  13. A Saucerful of Scarlets

    A Saucerful of Scarlets Commenter Turned Viewer Thread Starter

    Yes, good point. The melody doesn't support the lyrics in the same way that You've Got To Hide Your Love Away does, I agree.
     
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  14. Pizza

    Pizza With extra pepperoni

    Location:
    USA
    When I was a kid and first heard the Beatles music, Help! was the clear winner. Now decades later, easily Ticket to Ride, which amazingly, I didn't even think twice about when I bought my first copy of the album.
    As for Yesterday, never understood what all the futz was about and I'm a major Paul fan. I don't dislike it but I always found it a bore.
     
  15. Hey Vinyl Man

    Hey Vinyl Man Another bloody Yank down under...

    It's a beautiful melody, but overall I find it depressing. Which does at least fit the title well enough: "Yesterday" does indeed capture that sense of absolute despair that prevails immediately after you've been dumped. I know a lot of people consider "For No One" the saddest Beatles song, but I've always argued that one at least reflects a sense of awareness that the relationship wasn't going to work, which is the first step towards mending your heart. "Yesterday" doesn't even have that, quite the contrary ("Why she had to go, I don't know...").
     
  16. pblmow

    pblmow Forum Resident

    Location:
    Fresno.
    *
    Help!
     
  17. Shaker Steve

    Shaker Steve Beatles & Elvis Fan

    I've gone for - The Night Before.
    They're all good songs but I think I like that one best.
     
  18. abzach

    abzach Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sweden
    Ticket To Ride
     
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  19. "Tell Me What You See" got my vote because it had the least votes among the faves I couldn't choose between, which also included "It's Only Love", "Help", "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away", "Ticket To Ride", "I Need You" & "I've Just Seen A Face"...

    "Help" is my fave early Beatles album (although it could be argued it's really the transitional album between early & late) - where "early" means pre-"Rubber Soul"...
     
  20. Hadean75

    Hadean75 Forum Moonlighter

    Act Naturally

    What can I say? I'm a Ringo fan lol.
     
  21. My seven favs in order
    Help!
    You’ve Got zto Hide Your love Away
    I’ve Just Seen A Face
    Ticket To Ride
    I Need You
    You’re Gonna Lose That Girl
    Yesterday
     
  22. One of the reasons that For No One feels like a sequel to Yesterday.
     
  23. Somerset Scholar

    Somerset Scholar Ace of Spades

    Location:
    Bath
    Ticket to Ride is winning by a country mile. I thought that might happen. What a cracking track! I'm really enjoying the remix of it on the "1" album. Anybody else like this version the best?
     
  24. A Saucerful of Scarlets

    A Saucerful of Scarlets Commenter Turned Viewer Thread Starter

    Yep, besides Paperback Writer I think all of the 1 versions are far better.
     
  25. Uncle Meat

    Uncle Meat Forum Resident

    Location:
    Houston, Tx, US
    On a side note, I always liked the little funky instrumental bits on the US album... some cool stuff in there..
     
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