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Author Topic: Does anyone feel that Help! is underrated?  (Read 29449 times)

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Frightwolf

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Does anyone feel that Help! is underrated?
« on: September 10, 2004, 05:23:38 AM »

What I mean by this is that Help!, by itself, people feel is a good album.  However, when compared to ANY album after it, it seems to get a bit of a shaft.  "Help! is good, but the rest is better." Instead of Help! being the album where they experimented a bit with sounds, Rubber Soul gets the credit.

I feel that, because of this, Help! is a bit underrated as a Beatles album.  I'd go as far as to say that it's superior to Rubber Soul.  I think the title track is great, and it is part of the 1 trinity (along with Yesterday and Ticket To Ride, both awesome songs.) Ticket to Ride was one of the first tunes to have a bit of a different sound to it, if I remember correctly.  Then you have a great Lennon tune (You've Got To Hide Your Love Away), songs that are just REALLY REALLY catchy (You're Gonna Lose That Girl, The Night Before - and the latter is so, SO fun to listen to and get into), George starting to be different (I Need You), some very fast singing by Paul (I've Just Seen A Face, which is a really cool song), and another Paul dittie called Another Girl.

It's such a well put-together album, and most of the songs are pretty darn good.  But it never seems to hold up if compared to any later albums.  Heck, if you look at the "What is the best album?" thread, Help! isn't even listed as a contender.  Why is this?
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Kiss My Bad Self

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Re: Does anyone feel that Help! is underrated?
« Reply #1 on: September 10, 2004, 08:27:15 AM »

Help usually does get a bad press compared to the other albums. I've always found it a similar album to beatles for sale. The bealtles are bored with the whole beatlemania thing an want to try some newer interesting musical ideas. But they havnt got enough time because of there scheduals to really put some huge effort into the music. Also at the time they were almost permantly stoned which means they wernt in the fittest state for making a album. I've always thought help sounded half baked, like they wanted to try something serious but couldnt quite pull it of, and Rubber Soul was the first album where they truly realised wat they wanted.

But when you look at it i suppose it has got some great songs. I really like tell me what you see, and your gonna loose that girl. Then it has on the hits such as help, ticket to ride, and yesterday. I suppose help isnt as bad as i heard some people say it is, but i still think its only a warm up to rubber soul.
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zipp

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Re: Does anyone feel that Help! is underrated?
« Reply #2 on: September 10, 2004, 09:53:09 AM »

I agree.
Help is a great album.
And you didn't even mention the divine 'It's Only Love'.
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Kiss My Bad Self

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Re: Does anyone feel that Help! is underrated?
« Reply #3 on: September 10, 2004, 11:15:48 AM »

i've read that lennon hated that song
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tkitna

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Re: Does anyone feel that Help! is underrated?
« Reply #4 on: September 10, 2004, 04:17:15 PM »

[quote by=Frightwolf link=Blah.pl?b=albums,m=1094793818,s=0 date=1094793818]
songs that are just REALLY REALLY catchy [/quote]

I think you answered the question yourself. I like the album alot, but the songs still hover around their earlier work in my opinion. Rubber Soul songs have more substance and sound a bit deeper to me. It really doesnt matter though, as long as you like it, thats all that matters.

(it was the first Beatle cd I ever bought)

Sadie4

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Re: Does anyone feel that Help! is underrated?
« Reply #5 on: September 10, 2004, 05:07:12 PM »

[quote by=Kiss_My_Bad_Self link=Blah.pl?b=albums,m=1094793818,s=3 date=1094814948]i've read that lennon hated that song[/quote]

That's true. Its originla title was "That's a nice hat", and JOHN always felts it had terrible lyrics, written beacuse they needed another song for the album.

However, I absolutely ADORE this song! I love it. It's divine, as you say.


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zipp

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Re: Does anyone feel that Help! is underrated?
« Reply #6 on: September 10, 2004, 05:16:51 PM »

It's also a song that talks of Lennon's shyness with women.

A lot of people would have loved to have written this song and in any case Lennon was very critical of a lot of his own work.
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Soft_Guitar60

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Re: Does anyone feel that Help! is underrated?
« Reply #7 on: September 10, 2004, 05:33:05 PM »

[quote by=Kiss_My_Bad_Self link=Blah.pl?b=albums,m=1094793818,s=3 date=1094814948]i've read that lennon hated that song[/quote]

Yeah, but he hates most songs he'd written. Except for "Help!" and "Strawberry Fields", I think...
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Frightwolf

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Re: Does anyone feel that Help! is underrated?
« Reply #8 on: September 10, 2004, 05:41:31 PM »

[quote by=tkitna link=Blah.pl?b=albums,m=1094793818,s=4 date=1094833035]

I think you answered the question yourself. I like the album alot, but the songs still hover around their earlier work in my opinion. Rubber Soul songs have more substance and sound a bit deeper to me. It really doesnt matter though, as long as you like it, thats all that matters.

(it was the first Beatle cd I ever bought)

[/quote]

And you're right, of course, with your last sentence.  I know that I consider it a great album, and I made this topic strictly for clarification and debate.  It's true that some stuff like You're Gonna Lose That Girl and The Night Before are like early rockers and tunes, but that's the beauty of it.  It has the introspective pieces like Help! and deeper things like Yesterday, but it still has a few of those catchy tunes mixed in and different sounds like Ticket to Ride.

I know you said you liked it, but I'd like to make that point as well.
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Frightwolf

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Re: Does anyone feel that Help! is underrated?
« Reply #9 on: September 10, 2004, 05:42:55 PM »

[quote by=Soft_Guitar60 link=Blah.pl?b=albums,m=1094793818,s=7 date=1094837585]

Yeah, but he hates most songs he'd written. Except for "Help!" and "Strawberry Fields", I think...[/quote]

Probably.  During a Lennon tribute by Macca, Paul sang Strawberry Fields Forever, Help!, and Give Peace a Chance, which would definitely be three songs that I think John really liked.
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Kiss My Bad Self

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Re: Does anyone feel that Help! is underrated?
« Reply #10 on: September 10, 2004, 10:02:47 PM »

i think lennon hated his songs that didnt really mean much to him, that he mainly wrote for fun, such as dig a pony. but although songs like that arnt really that meaningful i think there still good in there own right.
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Joost

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Re: Does anyone feel that Help! is underrated?
« Reply #11 on: September 11, 2004, 09:36:05 PM »

Help! is probably my least favorite Beatles album.
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SieLiebtDich

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Re: Does anyone feel that Help! is underrated?
« Reply #12 on: September 12, 2004, 03:26:57 AM »

[quote by=Sadie4 link=Blah.pl?b=albums,m=1094793818,s=5 date=1094836032]

That's true. Its originla title was "That's a nice hat", and JOHN always felts it had terrible lyrics, written beacuse they needed another song for the album.

However, I absolutely ADORE this song! I love it. It's divine, as you say.


[/quote]


yeah i agree  :-)
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sregis

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Re: Does anyone feel that Help! is underrated?
« Reply #13 on: September 18, 2004, 07:36:41 PM »

[quote by=Kiss_My_Bad_Self link=Blah.pl?b=albums,m=1094793818,s=10 date=1094853767]i think lennon hated his songs that didnt really mean much to him, that he mainly wrote for fun, such as dig a pony. but although songs like that arnt really that meaningful i think there still good in there own right.[/quote]

i think hated is much too strong a term.  if you go strictly by the bitter RS interview, lennon was disliking just about everything except his new album & yoko.  he'd warmed up considerably by the '80 playboy, where he seemed relatively happy w/ a good chunk of his catalog.
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number14

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Re: Does anyone feel that Help! is underrated?
« Reply #14 on: September 25, 2004, 05:26:18 PM »

i agree with kiss my bad self, its a warm up to the great rubber soul
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Wonderwall

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Re: Does anyone feel that Help! is underrated?
« Reply #15 on: September 27, 2004, 11:18:01 PM »

  I agree Help! is really a great album and goes unnoticed.  The songs are just as good as those on Rubber Soul but the sound is a bit more stripped.  To me I think the way the songs were mixed to cd gives it a much 'dry' edge.  I think George Martin did a totally new mix for Help! and Rubber Soul in stereo for their cd release. For some reason I dont think the songs on Help! were transfered well on cd.  Thast's my opinon anyway..
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Mendips

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Re: Does anyone feel that Help! is underrated?
« Reply #16 on: September 30, 2004, 12:03:57 PM »

You Like Me Too Much is one of my all time favorites!
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Indica

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Re: Does anyone feel that Help! is underrated?
« Reply #17 on: September 30, 2004, 03:02:44 PM »

I feel Help is still, by any strectch of the imagination..a classic Album.
But when comparing it to other Beatle Albums such as Rubber Soul etc ..The package seems slightly weak.
I see Help as the end of Beatlemania, a firm Winkle stomp, crushing the screaming culture which developed from earlier smash hits like With the Beatles & A Hard Days Night.
With this inevitable end, we also see glimmer of whats to come, which creates a better footing for Help when defending it.
 The Dope nature of Help has not fully saturated the mood of the Album (unlike the follow up - Rubber Soul)..but again, the listener can see shades of future mind-sets.

This in itself, makes Help a fascinating listen.
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The End

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Re: Does anyone feel that Help! is underrated?
« Reply #18 on: October 02, 2004, 02:47:24 PM »

[quote by=Mendips link=Blah.pl?b=albums,m=1094793818,s=16 date=1096545837]I ADORE Tell Me What You See.[/quote]

I love the way Paul and John blend their voices on this track - "Look in to these eyes now..."
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Sadie4

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Re: Does anyone feel that Help! is underrated?
« Reply #19 on: October 02, 2004, 03:59:48 PM »

[quote by=IndicaWalrus link=Blah.pl?b=albums,m=1094793818,s=17 date=1096556564]I see Help as the end of Beatlemania.[/quote]

I've always thought something similar to this. I think help is like the transition album, from Beatlemania to moer psychedelic lyrics. It's like the album that belongs to no period, it's in between changes or something...

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