THE BEATLES HELP Vinyl LP British Import Stereo EMI Parlophone PCS 3071 1965

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THE BEATLES  HELP!  Vinyl LP British Import 
Stereo EMI/Parlophone PCS 3071 (1965)

Label: Parlophone ?– PCS 3071 Format: Vinyl, LP, Stereo
Country: UK Released: 06 Aug 1965 Genre: Rock Style:  

Tracklist

In A Hard Days Night, after throwing a sarky George Harrison out of their studio, a fashion-maven TV producer and his assistant try and make sense of him. Such a rude young man-- but is he "an early clue to the new direction"? They consult the calendar: no, the new trend isn't due for another three weeks.

It's a gag, and not an original one, but born of truth: the fashion watcher's assumption was that things ran on a two to three year cycle. As 1965 began, the Beatles obviously weren't going away, but being pop's aristocracy didn't necessarily make you pop's leading edge. The kids were coming up from behind. Commentators like Nik Cohn had noted sections of the pop audience looking to R&B clubs for their harder-edged, bluesier sound, and this was bleeding into the mainstream. The Animals could claim a no. 1, the Stones had two. So did London's Kinks, and if the Who didn't it was only because their routines were too extreme.

And so, two years and four albums into their career, the Beatles at last had rivals. Serious ones, who'd rampaged through the door the Beatles opened and blithely ignored the showbiz conventions the Beatles were contractually tied to. While the Rolling Stones recorded "Satisfaction", the Beatles were being trotted around the world shooting the ambitious, ridiculous Help!. Its soundtrack album is as haphazard as Beatles For Sale, but lacks that record's glowering intensity.

Luckily, it replaces moodiness with curiosity and a much-expanded instrumental palette. They'd been intermittent experimenters from the start, but Help! is where the band's interest in sound and arrangement really starts to flower, and this remastered version is a particular feast of new timbres and ideas: the percussion on "You're Gonna Lose That Girl", Indian instrumentation appearing on "Ticket to Ride", the weary woodwind on "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away".

All this is put into the service of some of the band's best pop songs. The title track, for instance, where Lennon's as confused and angry as he was on "I'm a Loser", but now the music doesn't follow suit-- its briskness blanks his pleas, and his bandmates sound more mocking than sympathetic. Paul gets similar finger-wagging backing on "The Night Before", a wonderfully jaunty song about being dumped after a one-night stand. "You're Gonna Lose That Girl" is another song happy to marry beauty to venom-- its words an explicit threat, its harmonies an example of the seemingly effortless loveliness that makes people go gooey and mystical when the Beatles are mentioned.

Obviously, their new interest in texture wasn't wholly distinct from their new interest in drugs. The "reference" in "It's Only Love" is played for laughs, but "Tell Me What You See" falls halfway between romance and mysticism and is rather awkward despite its marvelous period percussion. The album has other murky spots-- Harrison's songs are fine, but "Act Naturally" suggests that finding a tune for Ringo every album was becoming an issue. And the closing version of "Dizzy Miss Lizzie" is a farewell to the "end it with a rocker" formula that drags despite Lennon's best efforts to rouse it.

It doesn't help "Dizzy" that it's placed just after two personal breakthroughs for McCartney. "I've Just Seen a Face" and "Yesterday" are both love songs, rich with feeling but never overwrought, with the deceptive lightness that would become trademark and millstone for their writer. "Face", a folksy country song, demonstrated the gift for pastiche that would help give the rest of the Beatles' career such convincing variety. "Yesterday" went further, demonstrating that you could arrange a pop song orchestrally in a way that might deepen it, not just turn it into kitsch. Of all their tracks, "Yesterday" is surely the one that's hardest to listen to with new ears. This remaster, capturing its preternatural serenity, is a terrific opportunity to do exactly that.

Help! is almost the last twitch of the Beatles as a working, gigging beat group. It's a great but confusing record, and no wonder contemporaries felt they might at last be losing direction. With hindsight confusion looks like transition, and the remasters-- issued all at once and linked to a game designed to present the band's story as a story-- can't help but invite that hindsight. But the story could have turned out differently, and these early records are still so fierce and alive. Taking the Beatles one disc at a time lets us recover their precariousness, the risks they took, what they lost as well as what they gained.

Condition 

I grade records conservatively and try to be as comprehensive as possible.  Records can look fine, yet sound crap. For this reason, I listen to every record/song I sell. Any dust you see in my pics is gone when you receive it. I thoroughly clean each LP after I shoot the pics and before I listen to them. I also grade cover and record separately. If you collect for aesthetics, this is important. I care more about the vinyl than the packaging but want you to have no surprises, so I try to explain both with as much detail as possible.

These are used records. That doesn't mean you must tolerate bad vinyl. I can't stand surface noise but can tolerate it only if it's low-level, intermittent and doesn't spoil the listening experience. If it's wall to wall, that record is junk and I refuse to pass along bad vinyl. I want you to be happy with your purchase.

Be advised, though, it's all about the music with me.  I can tolerate a shitty cover on a decent LP so long as it's sturdy and doing its job; protecting the LP as designed--especially if it has some historic or artistic significance (design, etc.).  In such cases, I am willing to hold on to a damaged cover even though it has outlived its monetary or collector's value. I also use center-hole, plain white covers when an original cover is beyond saving.

I rate this vinyl as Near Mint: 

Few to no visible flaws. No skips.  Very little surface noise.  The labels are clean, vivid and bright, lead-in grooves are clean. The vinyl shines. The pressing is very good.  Always stored in audiophile inner sleeve.

I rate this cover as Near Mint:

Has always been poly sleeved...looks great.  Wear is minor, a little creasing...no issues, nice bright graphics.

Ships in new Mobile Fidelity Master inner sleeve and poly outer. Will be packed carefully to ensure safe arrival.

Shipping

I want to be certain you are happy with your purchase and do all I can to ensure it is described accurately.

Your record will be thoroughly cleaned, ship in a new audiophile-quality paper/poly inner sleeve and a heavy-duty poly outer bag. I use pro-quality cardboard mailers and expert packing to ensure your order arrives in even better condition than when I took its pictures.

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I love music and records. This is my private collection, one I accumulated over the last 40 years. I bought many of them new and have kept them that way. Some were gifts, some are promo copies I got while working in radio or bought used. All have been cleaned and stored properly. Unless otherwise stated, albums that came with printed sleeves or other promotional items still have them.

PLEASE NOTE: To prepare my listings, I copy and paste from numerous sources. I try to proofread and edit closely but do mess up occasional. Although infrequent, any such error is accidental and NOT meant to mislead you in any way. If you encounter one, please bring it to my attention. I promise to do all I can to make it right. I want you to be completely satisfied with your purchase.

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