I recently bought a few 1970’s Japanese pressings of a few Beatles albums, and one of them is their fifth album Help! It was on the turntable most of yesterday, and I loved every minute of it. This album is the soundtrack to their second movie. Before settling on the name Help, other names were suggested: Beatles II and Eight Arms To Hold You. Once help was decided, John Lennon went home to write the title track as he had done on the previous movie, A Hard Day’s Night. John Lennon said this about the song/album:
The whole Beatle thing was just beyond comprehension. I was eating and drinking like a pig, and I was fat as a pig, dissatisfied with myself, and subconsciously I was crying for help…
“When ‘Help!’ came out, I was actually crying out for help. Most people think it’s just a fast rock ‘n’ roll song. I didn’t realize it at the time; I just wrote the song because I was commissioned to write it for the movie. But later, I knew I really was crying out for help. So it was my fat Elvis period. You see the movie: he – I – is very fat, very insecure, and he’s completely lost himself. And I am singing about when I was so much younger and all the rest, looking back at how easy it was.”
This is an interesting Beatles album because of its diversity. Each song is very different and incorporates many different styles and subgenres. Not only were the songs unique, but the album cover was an instant classic and continues to be a recognizable asset to the album. Robert Freeman was the photographer for this album cover shoot. He said that the plan had been to have the Beatles spell out the letters H-E-L-P in semaphore (a system of sending messages by holding the arms or two flags or poles in certain positions according to an alphabetic code). Apparently they tried out the word help, but it didn’t look good artistically. They decided to scrap the idea of spelling help and readjusted their arms. The picture was taken, and now instead of spelling help, the Beatles are standing there showing the letters N-U-J-V.
Listen for… Ringo’s drumming. So often folks rag on Ringo as a clumsy, unskilled drummer, but this track shows otherwise. I believe he wasn’t the most technical drummer, but his ear and feel were unmatched by their contemporaries. Notice the feel during the verses and choruses vs. the bridge. Ringo’s pattern in the V&C gives a bit of uneven tension, but it’s resolved during the bridge: “I don’t know why she’s riding so high…”
Paul and John sound so great together. I love the falsetto bit at the end of the song during the fade-out. One thing the Beatles were so masterful at was their ability to move from a solo voice to two voices singing unison to a 2 part or 3 part harmony. This skill adds so much excitement and warmth to the song.
Hope you enjoy this great Beatles track!
Song: “Ticket To Ride”
Artist: The Beatles
Album: Help!
Year: 1965
Other great tracks on the album:
“Help!”
“Yesterday”
“You’ve Got To Hide You Love Away”
“I’ve Just Seen A Face”
I think I’m gonna be sad
I think it’s today, yeah
The girl that’s driving me mad is going away
She’s got a ticket to ride
She’s got a ticket to ride
She’s got a ticket to ride
But she don’t care
My name is Michael Sanchez and I’m an avid record collector and obscure song searcher. My goal is to post one song a day that’s been on my stereo/turntable frequently. If you don’t like the song… too bad 🙂 I do.
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