The Beatles' "HELP!" - A Closer Look
The Beatles' "HELP!" - A Closer Look
We are drawing again today from "Recording The Beatles," Brian Kehew and Kevin Ryan, Curvebender Press, 2008.
The Beatles were once again off to make a movie in 1965 and like they did in 1964, the band, specifically John and Paul, needed to come up with an appropriate theme song. Coming to the rescue was John Lennon. As he did with "A Hard Day's Night," John presented "HELP!" to the band and the producers who loved it.
TRIVIA: HELP! is vintage, classic mid-1960's super pop as only the Beatles could write, sing and play it. It was also the first released Beatles song that received the four-track-to four-track reduction mix. There would be many more.
Technical note: Four-Track to Four-Track Recduction Mix: In yet another innovative recording first by the Fabs and their recording staff at Abbey Road studios, when more tracks were needed above and beyond the four track equipment then available, the first four tracks of recording tape were recording onto a second four track machine. This retained the musical information but with a reduction in the total number of occupied tracks. As the Beatles' music became more complex, the four track machines that seemed so luxurious and expansive in 1964 became woefully inadequate by 1965. Thus, the "reduction mix" invention had to be created. Only two Beatles songs released in 1965 actually required reduction mixes, "HELP!" and "Michelle" and both mixed the four tracks of one tape onto three tracks on a second tape leaving one free track to record additional material. In the case of "HELP!", the reduction mix wouldn't have even been necessary if George Harrison hadn't struggled as he did on this song. Let's see what happened . . . .
The April 13, 1965 session for HELP! began with the band recording instruments only backing tracks as follows:
Track 1: Drums and Bass
Track 2: Rhythm and lead guitars
Track 3: open
Track 4: open
By the fourth take however, it was clear George Harrison wasn't getting his descending arpeggio down correctly. That jangly arpeggio is one of the standout musical effects on this great Lennon tune and another great example of how the Beatles came together on each other's songs and added crucial musical/vocal arrangement ideas that enhanced the raw material brought into the studio.
More discussions followed with Paul McCartney becoming increasingly frustrated with George Harrison. On available source tape, Paul can be heard telling Ringo to quietly tap out the quarter note beat during the "Won't you Please Please, help me" vocal refrain to better guide Harrison on his lead riff, that as yet, hadn't been perfected. Even George Martin chimed in with the idea of a half-speed recording a la "A Hard Day's Night" lead solo to get this lead riff down pat once and for all.
The band proceeded to record the song without the descending argeggio. By take 9, the group was satisfied with the backing tracks. At that point, it was time to lay down the vocals on the remaining two tracks. John recorded two lead vocal performances while George and Paul contributed their awesome "lead in" backing vocals (*Yet another recording first: the backing vocalists leading the lead singer into each new line.) All this was done on tracks 3 and 4.
With no room for overdubbing, George Martin and first engineer Norman Smith bounced down the recorded four tracks onto another four track machine and thus reduced the four tracks to three and in the process, made available one additional track. This would be used for George Harrison's lead arpeggio riff. What happend basically was that all the vocals from tracks 3 and 4 were reduced to one track in this process. George finally got his guitar riff down and it was recorded onto the new available spare track for final mixing with the rest of the finished tracks. The authors suggest that either John or Paul played the riff along with George.
Another smash #1 transatlantic hit for the Beatles. Years later, Lennon would single out HELP! along with Strawberry Fields Forever, as the only "true" lyrics he wrote at the time. Here was John Lennon crying out for "help" from the pop idoltry he had formerly vowed he would never succumb to. 1965 was what Lennon later referred to as his "Fat Elvis" period: eating like a pig, drinking like a pig and become fat as a pig as a result of his pop stardom. Notice that as of late 1965, Lennon became extremely thin and lean and remained that way for the rest of his life. With the end of the Beatles, Lennon became free to become an anti-pop star and in the process, became one of the legendary figures in history. In the process, the Beatles themselves took on an aura of magical immortality.
By John Haberstroh (Bassist for BeatleTracks) Find us at www.beatletracksband.com
We are drawing again today from "Recording The Beatles," Brian Kehew and Kevin Ryan, Curvebender Press, 2008.
The Beatles were once again off to make a movie in 1965 and like they did in 1964, the band, specifically John and Paul, needed to come up with an appropriate theme song. Coming to the rescue was John Lennon. As he did with "A Hard Day's Night," John presented "HELP!" to the band and the producers who loved it.
TRIVIA: HELP! is vintage, classic mid-1960's super pop as only the Beatles could write, sing and play it. It was also the first released Beatles song that received the four-track-to four-track reduction mix. There would be many more.
Technical note: Four-Track to Four-Track Recduction Mix: In yet another innovative recording first by the Fabs and their recording staff at Abbey Road studios, when more tracks were needed above and beyond the four track equipment then available, the first four tracks of recording tape were recording onto a second four track machine. This retained the musical information but with a reduction in the total number of occupied tracks. As the Beatles' music became more complex, the four track machines that seemed so luxurious and expansive in 1964 became woefully inadequate by 1965. Thus, the "reduction mix" invention had to be created. Only two Beatles songs released in 1965 actually required reduction mixes, "HELP!" and "Michelle" and both mixed the four tracks of one tape onto three tracks on a second tape leaving one free track to record additional material. In the case of "HELP!", the reduction mix wouldn't have even been necessary if George Harrison hadn't struggled as he did on this song. Let's see what happened . . . .
The April 13, 1965 session for HELP! began with the band recording instruments only backing tracks as follows:
Track 1: Drums and Bass
Track 2: Rhythm and lead guitars
Track 3: open
Track 4: open
By the fourth take however, it was clear George Harrison wasn't getting his descending arpeggio down correctly. That jangly arpeggio is one of the standout musical effects on this great Lennon tune and another great example of how the Beatles came together on each other's songs and added crucial musical/vocal arrangement ideas that enhanced the raw material brought into the studio.
More discussions followed with Paul McCartney becoming increasingly frustrated with George Harrison. On available source tape, Paul can be heard telling Ringo to quietly tap out the quarter note beat during the "Won't you Please Please, help me" vocal refrain to better guide Harrison on his lead riff, that as yet, hadn't been perfected. Even George Martin chimed in with the idea of a half-speed recording a la "A Hard Day's Night" lead solo to get this lead riff down pat once and for all.
The band proceeded to record the song without the descending argeggio. By take 9, the group was satisfied with the backing tracks. At that point, it was time to lay down the vocals on the remaining two tracks. John recorded two lead vocal performances while George and Paul contributed their awesome "lead in" backing vocals (*Yet another recording first: the backing vocalists leading the lead singer into each new line.) All this was done on tracks 3 and 4.
With no room for overdubbing, George Martin and first engineer Norman Smith bounced down the recorded four tracks onto another four track machine and thus reduced the four tracks to three and in the process, made available one additional track. This would be used for George Harrison's lead arpeggio riff. What happend basically was that all the vocals from tracks 3 and 4 were reduced to one track in this process. George finally got his guitar riff down and it was recorded onto the new available spare track for final mixing with the rest of the finished tracks. The authors suggest that either John or Paul played the riff along with George.
Another smash #1 transatlantic hit for the Beatles. Years later, Lennon would single out HELP! along with Strawberry Fields Forever, as the only "true" lyrics he wrote at the time. Here was John Lennon crying out for "help" from the pop idoltry he had formerly vowed he would never succumb to. 1965 was what Lennon later referred to as his "Fat Elvis" period: eating like a pig, drinking like a pig and become fat as a pig as a result of his pop stardom. Notice that as of late 1965, Lennon became extremely thin and lean and remained that way for the rest of his life. With the end of the Beatles, Lennon became free to become an anti-pop star and in the process, became one of the legendary figures in history. In the process, the Beatles themselves took on an aura of magical immortality.
By John Haberstroh (Bassist for BeatleTracks) Find us at www.beatletracksband.com
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