Help!

Pt. 5 in my deep dive of The Beatles:

Much like how “A Hard Day’s Night” marked an undeniable step forward for the Beatles, “Help!” is a great return to form. Featuring two of my favorite tracks so far through my journey through the Beatles discography - the touching “Yesterday” and “Ticket to Ride” - this record had quite a bit to enjoy. 

Of all the Beatles albums I’ve checked out, this is the one that seems like it’s starting to fully break the Beatles out of the “60s boy band” box that the band was previously in.

While their catchy hooks, short and sweet vocal melodies, and simple lyrics are still there, this record, if anything, takes clear influence from the old-school country and folk of the era. In fact, it’s really striking how much of this was ahead of the time as well. For example, take the surprisingly touchy “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away,” has shades of Billy Joel in it. Meanwhile, the song, “I’ve Just Seen a Face,” straight up sounds like it belongs in a Mountain Goats release. It’s absolutely wild that even the relative “throwaways” on “Help!” continue to sound ahead of the era. I don’t really know why the album ended on Dizzy Miss Lizzy - this was, by far, the worst track - but I can tell I’m about to hit the good stretch of Beatles releases.