#447 The Beatles, 'Help!' (1965)

 Heck yeah, I know this one. I got turned on to the Beatles when that stupid Sgt. Pepper movie came out in the late 1970s.  My friends Mom was a big Bee Gees fan and took us to see the movie. I didn't really like the move, even as a kid (I was maybe 11).  Soon after, my parents went to flea market and I'm looking through a bunch of used albums trying to find the soundtrack, because I did like the songs.  I couldn't find it, which wasn't surprising because it was new at the time. And thank goodness, because when I told my Mom I couldn't find it, she told to go look for Beatle records.  That's how naive I was, I didn't even realize they were covers.  I didn't find Sgt. Pepper, but I found the 1967-1970 double LP compilation.  It had Sgt Pepper, Little Help From My Friends, Lucy in the Sky, etc. on it, so they bought it for me. Quite possibly changed the direction of my life. I soon after found the counterpart to that album, 1962-1966, another double LP, this one red with the cover reversed.  This one had Help! on it. Those two albums spend many hours on my turntable.  I've been through prog-rock and Jazz kicks and blues kicks since then, but if you had asked me what my favorite bands were at any point in the past 4-5 decades, the Beatles would have been near the top.


So yeah, I know this song. It's great.  I probably won't have much to say...


It is difficult to be objective about a song (or any art, really) but I really can't about this.  I've loved this stuff since I was a kid. It's not nostalgia , though, I was only 2 when they split. It's just a great song. I expect many more Beatle songs on this list.



Comments

  1. RonApril 26, 2022 at 11:41 AM

    Those Beatles 1962-1966 and 1967-1970 compilations were really my intro to their music as well. I have a book called "Beatlesongs" which statistically attributes the songwriting contribution of all their music. "Help!" is definitely a 100% Lennon tune. He was the more prolific songwriter the first few years of their recording career, but eventually McCartney started contributing slightly more than him in their later half of it.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

#490 Lil Nas X, 'Old Town Road' (2019)

 The only thing familiar about this one is the name of the artist. Can't say where I've heard of them.  This just came out 2 years ago. They should probably have some sort of waiting period, like with the Hall of Fame. Even sports hall of fames do this.  To make sure it's going to stand the test of time.  You ever look at Oscar winners from a couple of years and wonder what they were thinking? Let's give it shot.... OK, under two minutes. Did what it needed to do. I do think that in general pop songs have gotten too long. The Supremes song early in the list was around 2 minutes and damn near perfect. I feel like many songs could lose a verse and no one would care. Anyhow,  I like that more than I do most heavily sampled, drum machine sort of songs. Really cool contrast of the urban sounds and a cowboy subject.   Of the three songs released in the 21st century that have been on the list, this is my favorite.  By far.  Well done, Lil Nas. ...
Read more

#495 Carly Simon, 'You're So Vain'

 Ok, last one for tonight. I was five when this came out. I'm sure I've heard it a million times, I can hum the hook - "Bet you think this song is about you, don't you". Starting it up. I don't recall this intro at all.  That's some cool bass.  This song is hipper than I remember.  Nice guitar solo and rhythm guitar on the verse after the solo.  Interesting without taking away from the song. The band is really tight.  Going to look that up...  Jimmy Ryan on guitar, I'm not familiar with him. He doesn't even have a wikipedia entry.  But nice work! Jim Gordon on drums and Beatle connected Klaus Voorman on bass.  Gordon played on a ton of records, including Layla (at least one song from Layla I expect will be on this list).  
Read more

#488 The Weeknd, 'House of Balloons' (2011)

  No idea what to expect.  Can't say anything about this sounds familiar. This is the first one I really don't want to finish.  I've liked them all, but this is the first one I've disliked.  Won't say any more because I'm not going to finish - I gave it 2 minutes.  Sorry about the Weeknd.
Read more