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[Kevin]

Again, just thoughts. I was reading about RS on Wikepedia (it's slow here today) and rightly so it sung it's praises.
Firstly, it said Nowhere Man was the first non boy-girl song they did. But surely that honour should go to Help. Also praised the use of new instrumntion (the sitar & "harpsicord"of course), but Help has the flutey thing on YGTHYLA and the string quartet on Yesterday. It makes much of RS having the first real dose of "reflective" songs, but Help has Help, YGTHYLA  and Yesterday.
I'd always dismissed Help, but now I see a nice continuity, and think it deserves more praise than it gets, and should certainly share some of the glory normally bestowed on RS
But for pure listening pleasure RS wins of course. It definately has more of an album feel. There's a buzz running through it that I can't explain (unless it's the grass) (theirs, not mine)

[Indica]

Yeah - On the anthology George says Rubber Soul & Revolver can be seen as volumes 1 or 2 - but I always think this link can seem to be more appropriate when seeing the correlation between Help & Rubber Soul. Personally, the mood of both albums are somehow spliced with a more relaxed and soothing quality whilst also brimming with a dark brooding tone; Lennon's acidic vocal attack on 'You're Gonna Loose That Girl' has a quality later seen on 'Run for Your Life', while Mccartney's more hard-boiled view of romance bites through in songs such as 'The Night Before' & 'I'm Looking Through You'. Such bittersweet melancholy can be seen in a wide variety of songs on both albums - 'Girl', 'Help', 'Yesterday', 'Think For Yourself', 'Nowhere Man',  'You've Got To Hide Your Love Away'...the list goes on.
 I guess I always see With The Beatles as the early signal post to what lay ahead in respects to Help & Rubber Soul. As well as neatly packaging The Beatles energy, it has a darker side (The album cover for a kick off) and I think the sadness of 'Don't Bother Me', 'All I've Got To Do' and 'Not A Second Time' translates into a maturity that highlighted a band that didn't just shake their heads and scream.

[Kevin]

^You're right. The RS/Help link seems much stronger than any RS/Revolver link. Songs, sound and production are much closer.
Haven't heard WTB for years, but hope to soon (I'm getting my vinyl together again).

[The End]

Strangely enough the US version of Rubber Soul, which used some tracks from Help, is probably a little bit more coherant that the UK release  - mainly because the two tracks they took from Help were very acoustic and that meant that the US LP had a more folky feel to it.

Here's the track listing from the US release:

Side One
I've Just Seen a Face (from Help)
Norwegian Wood
You Won't See Me
Think For Yourself
The Word
Michelle

Side Two
It's Only Love (from Help)
Girl
I'm Looking Through You
In My Life
Wait
Run For Your Life

[ma_tt2]

I prefer Help!, I love I've Just Seen A Face and I Need You

[SallyG]

I can see where a litany can be found with the 3 albums. Perfect order though. Remarkable considering one is a Soundtrack. They just kept marching forward.

[adamzero]

I was always a fan of the US Rubber Soul for that folkiness.  I've Just Seen a Face is a killer acoustic opener.  

[adamzero]

And works real well as a contrast to I'm Looking Through You.

[raxo]

It's amazing how some things are so clear when someone else tells them to you ...
In my case I've always seen both more similar than most of the fans seem to (but I'm a wierdo ... liking Guys For Sale  , so I guess nobody here will be sur-prized of that  ) ...

Let's remember that Help! was released in August and Rubber Soul only 4 months later, in December 1965 (more or less the same time between A Hard Day's Night and Guys For Sale) ... and that Wait was intended for Help!  

Help! has more keyboard sounds (mainly pianos) but the lyrics are a half step between Guys For Sale and Rubber Soul ... musicalley Help! is not one of my favourite ones  :-/ but I've always noticed a return to some acoustic numbers like on A Hard Day's Night LP and some sharp electric guitars provided by George like on Guys For Sale ...

There are vocals that remind me of some of the best moments of the Guymania on both albums (they were not composing in a very different way): Yes It Is & You're Going To Lose That Girl and Nowhere Man or even Girl could have been great numbers by late 1963 or early 1964 sung at one mike on stage (so it was Nowhere Man during some concerts in 1966  ) ...

And there are some strange numbers on Help! that didn't fit too well with the previous albums (Tell Me What You See lyrics are silly but musicalley is simple like future tracks -Tomorrow Never Knows- but with mature or at least experimental arrangements and different instruments ... they forgot the harmonica in 1965 but played others) ...

We could say that they were more electric on Help! and more acoustic on Rubber Soul ... but to me there are not so many "electric" numbers during Help! sessions ... the following are more acoustic and musicalley could fit on Rubber Soul sessions:
Yesterday
It's Only Love
You've Got To Hide Your Love Away
I've Just Seen A Face
Help
I Need You
Tell Me What You See

On the other hand, Rubber Soul has got some "electric" numbers:
Drive My Car
Think For Yourself
What Goes On
If I Needed Someone
The Word
and from the same sessions: Day Tripper

... and we could say that on Revolver they were both electric and acoustic (I'm Only Sleeping, Yellow Submarine, Good Day Sunshine, Here There And Everywhere and Eleanor Rigby) ... but that's a different story  

[pc31]

i prefer help in its original form...from england...it wins hands down...the effort paul put in this project is just phenomenal.....he sings or backs on almost every track...he is at the top of his beatle game here...and without his enthusiasm help would be a paler prospect...so thanks paul for one of my favorite beatle albums....

[Wayne L.]

Revolver is the Beatles ultimate psychedelic masterpiece above Sgt. Pepper from beginning to end.  

[Hello Goodbye]

I grew up with the US/Capitol releases of Help! and Rubber Soul and always considered them related in style and mood.  I heard the sitar for the first time on Help!  As raxo mentioned, they were released here just a few months apart in 1965.  I bought Revolver in the fall of 1966.  I sensed changes to come with that album....I was changing too, perhaps very much influenced by the Beatles.

There are some thoughtful observations in this thread which I shall continue to follow with interest.