Help!
Help! is a 1965 movie starring The Beatles, and also the name of the movie's theme song, and of its soundtrack album. The movie was directed by Richard Lester, the same as their first movie, A Hard Day's Night. While A Hard Day's Night was filmed in black-and-white, Help! was in color. George Martin produced the Beatles's songs for the album, and all their recordings for the movie.
| Help! | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 6 August 1965 | |||
| Recorded | 15–19 February, 13 April, 10 May 1965, 14–17 June 1965, Abbey Road Studios, London, England | |||
| Genre | Pop rock, folk rock | |||
| Length | 34:20 | |||
| Language | English | |||
| Label | Parlophone, Capitol, EMI | |||
| Producer | George Martin | |||
| The Beatles chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Help! | ||||
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Movie
Help! is a fantasy story, that makes fun of spy movies, which were popular at the time. A religious cult has lost a special ring, worn by people they plan to sacrifice to their goddess, Kaili. It turns out one of their members sent the ring to Ringo Starr (drummer for the Beatles, who loved to wear rings). When the cult finds out, they try to capture Ringo, and either sacrifice him to Kaili or get their ring back. He tries to give it back, but the ring will not come off his finger. The other Beatles try to help, but also end up in danger. A defector (quitter) from the cult tries different ways to remove the ring, and a scientist also tries to steal it. Scotland Yard hides the Beatles at Buckingham Palace, but the cult even sneaks in there. The band escapes to the Bahamas in disguise, but are followed. Tired of running, the Beatles finally face down the cultists.
The movie's co-stars were Leo McKern, Eleanor Bron, Roy Kinnear, and Victor Spinetti. Spinetti also appeared in A Hard Day's Night, and later in Magical Mystery Tour. The movie was going to be called Eight Arms to Hold You, but the title was changed when John Lennon wrote a song titled "Help!" that suited the movie's theme.
Help! was filmed partly in England, partly in Austria, and partly in the Bahamas. The Beatles started a company in the Bahamas, as a tax shelter, but it did not work out. While they were filming, a Hindu believer gave each Beatle a book about reincarnation. George Harrison resonated very strongly with Hindu ideas and beliefs, and ended up becoming a follower of Hinduism. He also enjoyed the Indian classical music featured in Help!, bought a sitar, and took music lessons with Ravi Shankar.
Soundtrack album
Help! was the fifth album by The Beatles. The first seven songs appeared in the movie. The album includes the title song, "Ticket To Ride", George Harrison's "I Need You", and Paul McCartney's "Yesterday", the song with the most versions by other artists of all time. Help! was the last Beatles album with songs written by other people.
Songs on the album
The album is ranked number 332 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[1] All songs were written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney unless noted otherwise.
All songs written and composed by Lennon/McCartney, except where noted.
| Side one | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Lead Vocals | Length | ||||||
| 1. | "Help!" | Lennon | 2:18 | ||||||
| 2. | "The Night Before" | McCartney | 2:33 | ||||||
| 3. | "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" | Lennon | 2:08 | ||||||
| 4. | "I Need You" (George Harrison) | Harrison | 2:28 | ||||||
| 5. | "Another Girl" | McCartney | 2:05 | ||||||
| 6. | "You're Going to Lose That Girl" | Lennon | 2:17 | ||||||
| 7. | "Ticket to Ride" | Lennon | 3:10 | ||||||
| Side two | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Lead Vocals | Length | ||||||
| 1. | "Act Naturally" (Johnny Russell, Voni Morrison) | Starr | 2:29 | ||||||
| 2. | "It's Only Love" | Lennon | 1:54 | ||||||
| 3. | "You Like Me Too Much" (Harrison) | Harrison | 2:35 | ||||||
| 4. | "Tell Me What You See" | McCartney | 2:36 | ||||||
| 5. | "I've Just Seen a Face" | McCartney | 2:04 | ||||||
| 6. | "Yesterday" | McCartney | 2:03 | ||||||
| 7. | "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" (Larry Williams) | Lennon | 2:53 | ||||||
References
- ↑ Rolling Stone 2003.
- ↑ "Release: Help! - MusicBrainz". musicbrainz.org. Retrieved 2010-07-28.
- General
- Help! (CD liner notes). The Beatles. Apple Records. 2009.
- "Help". Beatles Interview Database. 2009. Retrieved 21 November 2009.
- Freeman, Robert (2003). The Beatles: A Private View. NY: Barnes & Noble. ISBN 1-59226-176-0.
- Kozinn, Allan (8 March 1987). Interview with George Martin. http://abbeyrd.best.vwh.net/kozinn.htm. Retrieved 18 November 2009.
- Lewisohn, Mark (1988). The Beatles Recording Sessions. New York: Harmony Books. ISBN 0-517-57066-1.
- Lewisohn, Mark (1996). The Complete Beatles Chronicle. Chancellor Press. ISBN 0-7607-0327-2.
- Pollack, Alan W. (2009). ""Notes on... series"". Retrieved 21 November 2009.
- "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. 1 November 2003. https://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6599255/332_help. Retrieved 19 November 2007.
- Ruhlmann, William (2009). "Review of Help! (US)". Allmusic. Retrieved 21 November 2009.
- Sheff, David (2000). All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-25464-4.
- Stannard, Neville (24 June 1982). Tobler, John (ed.). The Long and Winding Road: A History of The Beatles on Record. London: Virgin Books. ISBN 0-907080-46-4.
- Unterberger, Richie (2009). "Review of "I've Just Seen a Face"". Allmusic. Archived from the original on 2 February 2011. Retrieved 21 November 2009.