The Beatles, Help! - A Classical Musician’s First Listen and Reaction / Excerpts
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- čas přidán 10. 03. 2024
- #thebeatles #johnlennon #paulmccartney #georgeharrison #ringostarr
My first song from this album! And it certainly didn’t disappoint. I was interested to notice that, in addition to all the wonderful musical details, it also manages to present a compelling scene that is NOT a recitation of a story; a bit of a twist when it comes to the “folk” element!
Here’s the link to the original song by The Beatles:
• Help! (Remastered 2009)
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Amy Shafer, LRSM, FRSM, RYC, is a classical harpist, pianist, and music teacher, Director of Piano Studies and Assistant Director of Harp Studies for The Harp School, Inc., holds multiple degrees in harp and piano performance and teaching, and is active as a solo and collaborative performer. With nearly two decades of teaching experience, she teaches privately, presents masterclasses and coaching sessions, and has performed and taught in Europe and USA.
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Credits: Music written and performed by The Beatles
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The leap they took on Help! was like going from radio to TV, the leap they took on Rubber Soul was like black and white to color. The leap they took on Revolver and Pepper was like standard def to 4K. All of that in about 2 years or so. Amazing.
Nah.
@@MidwestFarmToysHah
I remember the first time I heard this, when my older sister first brought the album home. The needle touched down on the record, a moment of anticipation, and then this song LEAPED out of the speakers. I started begging for guitar lessons the next day.
Yep the geezers here. ( I'm 70+ ). coming home from store with a New Beatles... 11 th grade, Revolver. or sneaking into the drive in, more than twice, for ' Hard Days...' the old days. also the days of ' qucik, duck under Yer desks, here come the Nukes'
im a paul guy, but john lennon has one of if not the best rock n roll voices ever his clarity ,ripp, guile,pitch etc.. you know who you are hearing the most and thats Lennon.
Meh
@@MidwestFarmToys 🤫 Just listen. You might learn something.
@@MsAppassionata lol.
meh@@MidwestFarmToys This channel doesn't have any content
Also: DON'T IGNORE THEIR SINGLES!!! They have some absolute gold that was released as Singles.
Underrated comment! "Nowhere Man," "Day Tripper," "Hey Jude," the list goes on and on!
this is a single and they didn't ignore a single yet..
He means song that were released on singles only.
@@garylee3685 They can’t include every B side but they surely will consider Rain etc
Non album singles? yes must be considered.
Finally reaching the stage when the 'early Beatles' stuff becomes VERY interesting: lyrically & musically.
#rockOnAmy
Yep. I think George took a liking to the ' Indian' bit in this flick... ? and helped start a segment of psychedelia
I very much enjoyed this reaction ... again 👌😊 I was very much puzzled to hear you say, you don't know if you ever heard "Yesterday". While certainly many of us are asking themselves how is that possible, I realize how new all these Beatles songs must be to you. No wonder you have difficulties to put the names to the songs if they suddenly pop up in your mind, given that you had to learn to know them in this short amount of time. You have my full admiration for what you do and I'm looking forward to all of your reactions to Beatles songs in the future.
I'm so excited you have now moved onto the Help album, which I think is a fairly big step up over their prior albums. I loved your enthusiasm. On Patreon I could see from your facial expression on the first listen that you were noticing this as being special. You really made some great observations throughout, such as on the counter melody in the backing vocals. I always appreciate how you highlight how effective Ringo's drums are, especially when you add your own air drumming.😉 I think you are now ready to advance to air guitar. All the cool kids play both air guitar and drums.😉
Great comment Lee. I think this song had everything and was a landmark song.
@@Hartlor_Tayley Thanks Hartlor. I agree, a landmark.
@@LeeKennison hey Lee I got one for you. Check out “Gonna Be a Big Thing” by the Sapphires, from 64-65. The drum groove and feel with these really zippy fills. Feels so pushy it rains sparks. The whole song is pure joy and a two minute wonder. As a drummer I’m interested in what you think.
The whole Help album is a fantastic listen from start to finish, imo.
To hear a version of Help close to how Lennon first envisioned the song, I recommend Australian singer John Farnham’s take on it. Farnham recorded it in 1980, months before Lennon’s death, and supposedly Lennon did get to hear it and remarked on how much he admired Farnham’s version, and how it fit the original conception. There’s an outstanding live performance of Farnham singing this with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra that is truly outstanding.
Supposedly? How do you know he heard it? Released in Australia the same year Lennon died in New York it was probably never on his radar. He never mentioned it in his final interviews when he talked about 'Help!'.
John's version was released in June 1980
It's amazing that the Beatles' first album came out in 1963, and only two years later, they were recording "Help!"
Why's that amazing?
@krvnjrcbs Because of how their sound and compositions evolved so quickly.
@@makeadifference4all I don't think their sound changed that much in that period, I think the industry technology and recording quality changed that much, which gave that effect. The music itself is not all that different.
@krvnjrcbs To me, nothing in their earlier catalog sounds like " Help," "Norwegian Wood," "Ticket to Ride," "I've Just Seen a Face," or "Yesterday."
She definitely can play more of the song ,without worrying about copyright problems ,because of fair use...others play more of the song.
Yes I think she is leading us on.
I've always been able to relate strongly to the lyrics.
Lennon was phenomenal at getting to the point, musically,, lyrically and spiritually
Can I make a suggestion? After you've reacted to HELP, before you move on, can you reflect on the Beatles journey up to this point because I always consider HELP as the midpoint to the Beatles career .
There cannot be many English speaking adults who have never heard the songs Yesterday and Help!
Brilliant analysis, giving me deep new insights into a song seared for decades into my psyche.
Bravo Rick. It is so exciting to see this classic number covered in educational detail. It is so special and gets my Ian Fleming pulse rocking. Bravo!
Awesome, I'm so delighted to watch now this reaction 👌😀
one of my favorites from the beatles :-]
I think the most unique and refreshing part of this song is the way the lead vocal follows and repeats the chorus..I do not think I have heard that in any other song... ever.
Nah
Your reactions are getting better and better!
Your breakdowns make me revisit the sings and remind me of some of the tricks they use. Thanks
Kind of a perfect song. I thinks it’s incredible. I had the 45 with I’m Down on the flip side. I wore it out. I think it’s rock and roll. The stress and pressure just exploding out and running for relief. Thanks Amy and Vlad this was great
This middle period is the most interesting for many people because it's where the Beatles proved that they could be much more than just a boy band singing 'silly love songs'. BTW, it was George who was actually most affected and disillusioned by the fame of being a Beatle, which explains why he was the first to first seek some kind of spiritual meaning to it all. That doesn't mean John didn't feel it, although John enjoyed greater financial renumeration as a songwriter, which maybe helped him weather it all. Although it wasn't long before he made his famous "(The Beatles) are more important than Jesus" comment, which was of course taken way out of context in places like Nashville, TN. 😉 But he himself was obviously struggling with the beast they had created, and what it all meant.
The more I watch this series, the more aware I become of the Beatles being guided by educated musicians. That seriously diminishes the perception of them being ground breakers. More so because the guidance they had is downplayed or denied.
@@isheetfromaswhole3657 Well, it might be good for an 'educated musician' like Amy to respond to this. I'm guessing she'd agree that while it was definitely helpful to have someone like George Martin around, he didn't come up with the melodies or hooks that made all those songs famous. And I'd disagree that any outside help has been downplayed. It's perhaps not fully appreciated just because exactly who contributed to what isn't general knowledge. But serious fans know, and don't deny it.
Deep Purple made that down beat version of “Help!” on their debut album in 1968.
It was, as their first album, recorded when they were trying to figure out which way their musical direction was supposed to go, and way before they found their footsteps of hard rock to follow.
Appreciate you getting this out. This starts the album in my parents’ collection that I listened to most when I was single-digits. (Second-most was Tchaikovsky’s Marche Slave, which I used to play relentlessly on a kazoo, apparently.)
Help is a great album, with some of their best melodies!
I'm sorry, I disagree. It's a falling off, but a falling off any other music group would have been thrilled to come up with. But in the year between the underrated Beatles For Sale and Rubber Soul, the year of I Feel Fine, then Help!, the music just wasn't as appealing, at least to me. As they say, your mileage may vary.
@@bobtaylor170 partially agree.
But an album with Help!, You've Got to Hide Your Love Away, Ticket to Ride, It's Only Love, I've Just Seen a Face and Yesterday... falling off from where, I ask 🤔
@@Pjaypt I still think in terms of the American releases, I guess. I agree about Ticket to Ride, I've Just Seen a Face, and It's Only Love.
Along with 'Help,' some of their very best songs are on this album, including 'Ticket To Ride,' and 'Yesterday.'
This is the moment where you can easily identify a John song, Paul song, George song, & even Ringo.🫠
My Favorite Group and my Favorite Channel! Peace
Would be interested in you watching the Hard Days Night and Help movies.
You are wonderful!
Great song with lyrics everyone can relate to.
Glad you have got to Help!, the true hidden gem of the Beatles albums, my second favourite after Abbey Road in fact. Can't wait to see what other songs from the album get listened to. I hope you do 'You're Gonna Lose That Girl', the hidden gem on the hidden gem and the Beatles best 'call and response' song.
No music. Just you! Only YOU!
As ALWAYS Your in Depth Knowledge of Music is Astounding ..and
You're so Cute n Fun to watch
Hey 😊 have you ever heard of The Rutles? 😉
Check out 'OUCH' 😊 and the genius of Neil Innes
Oh! I wonder if Veruca Salt had actually taken inspiration from Ringo's suggestion when they chose 'Eight Arms To Hold You' as the title for one of _their_ albums, in the late Ninedies!? 😀
In later interviews John said that he wanted to record Help at a slower tempo, to give it more of a blues feel but he bow to pressure to make it sound more commercial. There are two other songs of John's that he presented slower but were recorded at a faster pace. George Martin suggested that Please Please Me be speeded up instead of the slower Roy Orbison style. Revolution I which is on the White Album is much slower but was rerecorded at a faster rate and placed as the B - Side of Hey Jude.
In ‘68 Deep Purple recorded that slow bluesy version of Help!
Was it like John Lennon would have wanted it? I don’t know, but I like it.
@@kasperkjrsgaard1447 Best of both worlds. :)
John Farnham first did a slow version back in 1980, his best version would have to be the one he did live in concert with The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, I think 1989. The first one is around on the internet but the second one is easier to find, there have been a lot reactions to it.
Several other people have written an "Eight Arms to Hold You" song or album since then, though! A very young Al Stewart came up with a very catchy, very pop-Beatlesque one. The Beatles just TOYING with a title made us ache to hear it.
An interesting addition to your "covers" project would be comparing the Beatles original version of this song to John Farnham's cover, which was inspired by that quote from Lennon saying he had originally envisaged it as a down-tempo piano-driven ballad. Farnham and his collaborators attempt to return it to its stylistic roots as a ballad, but in the process basically make a different song with the same words. The vocals are incredible.
Some months before John Lennon died, John Farnham did his cover of the song. When Lennon heard it he said that's the way he wished the Beatles had done it.
Your discussion around 30:00 reminds me of an observation (by Ian McDonald, Revolution in the Head, I think) that Lennon’s music was horizontal and McCartney’s vertical. One of the reasons they complemented each other so well
What he meant in musical terms was that Lennon's melodies were more static, while McCartney's were much more intervallic. That's not a knock, it's a description of style, and yes, horizontal and vertical are quite good terms to apply.
Another call for the song "Travel" by The Gathering, the TG25 live version. "I wish you knew your music was to stay forever".
Ringo was the oldest, and was playing drums before the others knew what a guitar was. When "The Beatles" were barely a band he was the drummer in the #1 group in Liverpool. The others only got to know him in Hamburg, where members of the several groups sat in with each other.
So when Pete Best was booted they already knew who to call for his replacement.
I encourage you to find Tina Turner's live version of "Help!", which can be seen in the HBO documentary "Tina". She completely understood the pathos and delivers a heartbreaking performance.
Deep Purple made a great cover also.
If she gets to the song Yesterday on this album, and has never heard it, I will be shocked. 😮😂😂
Deep Purple did indeed a slow version cover
Curiously I heard that one today 😅
@@Eduardo-Ferreira1982 🤟
I think that the background voices sometimes leading the John Lennon lyrics is also something that I think is kind of new. Maybe not totally new, but rarely used in my mind prior to hearing this song...
What's important about this song is that John Lennon lost his mother when he was quite young. The title "HELP!" was conceived first for the movie idea. Come up with a title song now, is what was called for. The requirement was also the result. HELP! was what Lennon needed and wanted, long before the title song was requested. Paul also lost his mother when he was young. That's one of the reasons John and Paul connected so well - whether they really understood that or not.
There's a Help! movie, it's pretty enjoyable though the director didn't trust the Beatles' talents quite as much as they deserved. A memorable scene from the movie where Lenon got mad at a jewler for failing to help Ringo with his ring problem, I don't remember any other actor who has captured the feeling of frustration as poingenly as John did.
When the Beatles travelled all over the world touring, for three years, they weren't able to leave their hotel rooms because of their fans. In Japan, Paul left his hotel room and was brought back by police.
Hello Amy I have just listened to your reaction to the great Jimi Hendrix. As I have scrolled through your YT videos I see that you do not seem to have any Eric Clapton. Still the best blues guitarist today as far as I'm concerned and an all round great guitar player, as you stated you were getting used to listening to guitar. I used this video to try to get to you with my request, please forgive me.
John Lennon had deep personal problems which playing in the band was helping him to avoid. Here for (almost) the first time he realises that fame and money are not the way out. Over the next five years he worked through this dilemma until we reach the astonishing Plastic Ono Band solo album where it all comes gushing out. Thank you for another insightful analysis.
I quite like the version by the `Damned`.
Interestingly, the US album version of this song has a James Bondish intro on it. That’s what I grew up hearing. I now prefer the UK version.
Great album. I think the Beatles found their sound with Help even though many argue it was Rubber Soul. They pay homage to the Bakersfield Sound with a cover of a Buck Owens song Act Naturally.
Here we are 23 minutes into your analysis of the song and you still haven't got beyond the first word! You are "having a laugh" as we say in the UK!
😂 I like her though 😊 I did nod off half way through !
It is also the extraordinary admission in the word "insecure". No one, especially males, would ever publicly admit such a thing.
George Martin wrote that "Help!" was the first LP recorded -- by Martin also -- in stereo, and that its mix was a "mess".
As for "multitracking": some are confused by that: during their first recordings of singles and LPs they used two two-track machines. The second was for overdubs -- so it was not "four-track" recording.
And the results -- all music on one track, all vocals on the second track, and the overdubs recorded to whichever was the correct track -- were then mixed to the market standard of MONO.
The American version of the album differs vastly with the UK version, with its James Bond-ish interludes, etc. It's the version I grew up listening to.
Leonard Bernstein defended and praised "The Beatles" music in 1964. "Help!" was released in 1965.
The original release of the US Capitol single had under the title, "From the Movie "Eight Arms to Hold you" -- which was the proposed title for the film, if not for the song.
While "Help!" was #1 it was blocking Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" from going higher than #2.
Lennon described the time when he wrote this as his "fat Elvis period".
Note that John understood that art is a criticism of disappointing reality, but because it never can live up to the artist's vision, it is a "failure". He actually named songs that he wrote that he hated.
You'll never hear that mature and humble honesty from Paul McCartney about any of the songs he wrote.
I've been waiting so long for the Rubber Soul analysis to start--when the really explosive growth starts! Now I'm on the edge of my seat! This is so much fun!
The Capital/American release of Rubber Soul is what you want. The only example where the American LP is the better choice and by far. It's the version that scared Brian Wilson half to death--because it is so remarkably cohesive, despite its diversity! The English/Parlophone version is great, yes, but does not have anything like the unified identity of the collection and sequence in the American version. If you doubt me or consider my opinion too personal or subjective, please Google anything that compares the two. I really think the American Rubber Soul is the first album that was a thing in its entirety, rather than just a collection of songs sold in bulk. Whether intentional or not--it doesn't matter--that's what it is.
I ain't never hear no Rubber Soul album.
@isheetfromaswhole3657 Yo, why you frontin' on me?
No Help wasn't there breakthrough album Rubber Soul was
Love your reactions. But not everything on this album is a jump forward. There are two songs that didn't make the album. Yes It Is, one of my personal favorites, was the flipside to Ticket To Ride. I'm Down was the flipside to Help! A McCartney up tempo song which kind of contradicts the title and lyrics. Which I always considered a throw away tune. It would be interesting to get your takes on both of them.
The fast pace intensity of the song gives urgency to the lyrics. The Beatles were brilliant, so they could have made a slow ballad work, but I have difficulty seeing how it would have worked as well as this style.
Hindsight is a gift, as well as this inspiring, and informal musical extravaganza. 🎧🎷🎸🎻🪕🎹🎼🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶
Never again the first time. Never the same river twice.
You have to be able to play more than just the one word HELP..COME ON DON'T BE SO SCARED !!!
It's fun to watch them perform this live... they were still a very tight band...czcams.com/video/CTsB-llTzyc/video.html
help me understand these beatles songs/ cuz i do appreciate you're never wrong 🎸🥁
Can you imagine if Paul stuck with "scrambled eggs" instead of the final lyrics?
Lennon's goal was to become rich and famous. Once got there he found there were aspects to it that were unanticipated. And it turned out to be a trap, a prison of -- in part -- his own making. So where does one go from there -- which way to turn to escape? He later said that he thought of leaving "The Beatles' in 1965, but he didn't have the courage to leave the palace.
Amy, where Bowie? :о
CZcams seems to erase my 1st commentary...
Seems they don't like when you notice they making enough money with your work, vidéo, with the several adverts they add, to pay the copyright.
In France, you have the right to use a part of a création, for making a study, à critic... But not for using it as an original création. What are the law in U.S. for this kind of thing, because some time the algorythm seems to be harder than the real law. ✌️😢
Please listen to John Farnham's version of Help at the speed JL wanted
I would be interested in your opinion to Tina's cover version...
That cover is absolute shit
McCartney was the master of counter melody. Not surprised you are picking that up. Also that Lennon songs traditionally stayed within a narrower range than McCartney songs. Where there is ambiguity that is one metric people use to analyze who wrote the music. You really have some amazing songs coming up
Aussie singer John Farnham did a downbeat version of Help if that helps. I prefer the Beatles version, but it's there if you want to check it out
I guess I need to join Patreon, finally.
You absolutely don't...!!
Just play the track on another device while listening to Amy....
.....simples....!!!
The explanation of the title needing an exclamation point makes no sense. You can't copyright a song title or a movie title. There are plenty of songs and films that have the same titles.
Listen to the John Farnham cover for an emotional downbeat version
Lennon was definitely the most "troubled" and complex Beatle, on a personal level. Although Starr nearly died as a child after a long bout with illness and was basically bedridden for a long time, Lennon lost his mother, effectively twice, along with his father. His father abandoned them when he was quite small, and then his mother, Julia, unable or unwilling to take care of him, handed him over to his aunt Mimi, and he rarely saw her for several years. When she finally did come back into his life they really bonded, and she gave him his first musical lessons, teaching him banjo chords on the guitar.
But then he lost her again, as a teen, when she was struck and killed by a car. That must have been devastating. Both, really, plus being abandon by his dad. Which made his death all the more tragic, as it was just as senseless and after all that he'd been through, for that to happen to him to, it's just unimaginable. When he was killed it really affected me strongly and was probably the most upsetting death of a public figure in my life, even now. He wrote at least two songs about her, Julia, from the White Album, and Mother, after he left the Beatles. Both are great songs but the latter is especially moving.
It's great how the double tracking doesn't line up perfectly on the word "insecure", making the arrangement a bit "insecure" to match the lyric.
Sorry virgin but I knew a drummer way back who told me he played the drums on a lot of the Beatles studio work
And to think, this song was intended to be slow. Not upbeat as the recorded version was.
U2 used to do a slow version of Help! in their concerts over decades. I saw them on November 12, 1987 on the Joshua Tree Tour in Vancouver, B.C. and Bono sang it like a prayer to God on his knees, bowed head, and closed eyes.
Can you react to Rebirth by Angra?
This is Beethoven 5th symphony!
Bum bum bum bum
Help!
Help seems to usher the way out of Beatles Phase One.
Thank you. You gave me insight into one of my favorite songs.
The B side of the Help single is less well known but somewhat on the same theme-
I’m Down. czcams.com/video/lOWrScjXMRE/video.html
It was written mainly by McCartney and might be worth your analysis. It is very different.
It is not on the album.
I would appreciate your thoughts on it.
I understand Lennon's regrets about the arrangement of this song, but it really is rather poignant that the lyrics he wrote ended up with this very Beatles, high energy, movie theme arrangement. It ironically adds to the authenticity of his situation at the time.
This song is another example of how the Beatles can change keys for a bit without a person realizing it, and then they switch back before you realize what happened. You have a Bm on "Help me if you can, I'm feeling down.", which is fine in the key of A. But then they go to G, which works with Bm (the III chord in the key of G), but isn't in the key of A. Then they go to E, which isn't in the key of G, but is the V chord of A again. They were intuitively good understanding chord relationships and what sounds good.
HELP! CZcams is dwindling away some of my favorite reactors, lol!
23:30, In 1965 The Beatles would have been paying 90% tax on their earnings.
166th liked 1,548 views posted 2 hours ago
Any Slayer
The irony of reaction channels is that it's great classic rock and pop songs are featured, but really sad that it's the first time the channel hosts are hearing the song. BTW - at the time this was released. the focus wasn't on albums. Many Beatles songs were first released and heard on singles (and you could buy the 45rpm singles also). Album rock didn't really start until Revolver or Sgt. Peppers. Whoever called this folk rock should not be writing music descriptions at all.
He is always wished you never got it...help....
I feel the distinction between early and middle-period Beatles is being overdrawn. Yes, recording techniques, proficiency on instruments, and arrangements became more sophisticated. But a song like "Not a Second Time," from very early in their careers, to cite just one example, is as personal and as interesting musically and structurally as anything on "Help!"
Under which rock did this woman exactly live having not heard any of the very popular songs she reviews? Even if you go to any supermarket or a hairdresser, or switch on the TV you might hear any of them.
The psychology is easy to understand if you think. Maybe, I don't know, think and figure it out. The psychology of Amy Shafer not hearing is not lost on anyone who thinks about it.
LOL - soon we should see other YT channels like "pop musician reacting to classical music first listen" hahahahaha. Just imagine: "selfie with Beethoven 5th"!