I'll Make A Point Of Taking Her Away From You

The sixth song from the album soundtrack of the Beatles second feature film is another original Lennon/McCartney tune mainly written by John entitled: "You're Going To Lose That Girl". It's a call and response type of song which features John on vocal backed by Paul and George. In the movie, you can see the Beatles mime to this tune while being in a mock recording studio. It's one of my favourite scenes in the movie.

There were two takes of the backing for the song recorded on Friday February 19 1965 @ EMI Studio two. The first take was a breakdown and the second take was complete and chosen for the commercial release. Paul added piano and Ringo added bongos to complete the session for this day.

The next day on Saturday February 20 1965, "You're Going To Lose That Girl" was mixed for mono from the control room of studio two. Three days later, on February 23 1965, the song was mixed for stereo once again from the control room of studio two. Finally, there was another attempt to mix the song for stereo on Friday April 02 1965 from the control room of studio two but this mix was never used. At least that's the official story: in the 1980s, there was another mix circulating that does not include the overdubbed piano and bongos and has a completed different guitar solo from George. Although the February 19 1965 session clearly tells us that the backing track was completed, either the guitar solo was overdubbed at this session and/or it was later overdubbed or maybe just an attempt to improve the performance. It must also be noted that the 80s mix does not include the piano and bongos so the exact order of the overdubs is in question. Regardless, the commercial version is the one which includes the overdubs of piano and bongos.

"You're Going To Lose That Girl" is available on the Parlophone UK LP/CD "Help!" as well as the North American Capitol version of the LP/CD "Help!". The song is also featured on the 2-LP EMI/Capitol compilation "Love Songs".

The song was never performed live.

For I Have Got

The fifth song from the fifth Parlophone UK LP/CD "Help!" is an original Lennon/McCartney tune mainly written by Paul entitled "Another Girl". This bouncy number is featured in the film while the Beatles are located in the Bahamas and they mime to this song while being surrounded by scantily clad 60s looking young females in bikinis. The miming is also interesting because it shows some of the Beatles playing their own instruments, sometimes playing the other instruments (George playing the Hofner Bass, etc.) or using the girls as instruments ( Don't ask, you have to see it to understand).

"Another Girl" was started on Monday February 15 1965 at EMI studio two and the backing track was recorded in one take. There were guitar flourishes attempted by George as an edit piece and ten of the edit pieces were recorded with the seventh attempt being deemed as the best try. The idea for the guitar flourishes was eventually scrapped.

The next day on Tuesday February 16 1965, "Another Girl" was improved when Paul added some lead guitar work while John Lennon added some acoustic guitar and George Harrison added some electric rythm guitar.

"Another Girl" was mixed for mono two days later on February 18 1965 from the control room of studio two. The stereo mix was finalized five days later on February 23 1965 also from the control room of studio two. This (once again) is an example of how quickly the Beatles worked in the studio during this period. The song was fully recorded in only two days and then mixed for mono and stereo within a little more than a week from conception. Amazing !!

It must be stressed at this point that most of the "Help!" LP was later re-mixed for stereo by George Martin and company for the release of the original CDs in 1987. On this particular track, there is slightly more reverb added to the track when you compare the original stereo mix of 1965 and the later mix in 1987. You can hear the original mix on the LP , of course, but it is now also available as part of the remastered mono collection as bonus tracks from this particular CD where you get the album in mono and the original stereo mixes all on one CD !! Cool!!

"Another Girl" is available on the Parlophone UK LP/CD "Help!" as well as the North American Capitol soundtrack LP/CD "Help!".

"Another Girl" was never performed live.

Please Remember How I Feel About You

The next song on the fifth Parlophone UK LP/CD is an original George Harrison tune entitled "I Need You". This was inspired by his then girlfriend, Pattie Boyd. The scene from the film "Help!" in which the song is played is also from Salisbury Field near Stonehenge. The Beatles are surrounded by the English Army for "protection" from the evil villains.

The first recording for the song took place at EMI in studio two and the session took place on Monday February 15 1965 with the Beatles playing five takes of the basic track. The song was left in this state until the next day Tuesday February 16 1965 when cowbell percussion and George's electric guitar (featuring a volume/tone pedal) were overdubbed. George Harrison also added his double-tracked vocals at this stage. John and Paul added backing vocals as well.

"I Need You" was mixed for mono later on the same week - Thursday February 18 1965 in fact from the control room of studio two. Finally, "I Need You" was mixed for stereo on February 23 1965 also from the control room of studio two. Finally, "I Need You" was the second George Harrison composition to appear on a Beatles Parlophone LP. There would be another featured later on the same LP which will be discussed in a later post.

"I Need You" appears on the Parlophone UK LP/CD "Help!" as well as the North American Capitol version of the LP/CD "Help!". The song also appeard on the EMI/Capitol 2-LP compilation "Love Songs".

"I Need You" was never performed live apart from the miming of the tune for the film.

Here I Stand, Head In Hand

The next song on the fifth Parlophone UK LP "Help!" soundtrack is an original Lennon/McCartney tune mainly written by John entitled "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away". This song is a mainly acoustic number and is prominently influenced by the work of Bob Dylan which Lennon (and Harrison) were listening to a lot during this period. There is a scene in the film where Lennon is miming to the song and playing a Framus 12 string "Hootananny"guitar. There is a small flute solo at the end of the song and it has the distinction of using one of the first outside musicians (besides the Beatles and George Martin) to play on an EMI Beatles recording (with the exception of drummer Andy White). The song is in three-quarter time - like a waltz.

"You've Got To Hide Your Love Away" was recorded on Thursday February 18 1965 at EMI studio two. The song took nine takes to complete. Take one ( a breakdown ) and take five complete are available on the Apple 3-LP, 2-CD "Anthology 2". Two flutes were overdubbed, alto and tenor. "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away" was mixed for mono on February 20 1965 from the control room of studio two and mixed for stereo three days later February 23 1965 also from the control room of studio two.

"You've Got To Hide Your Love Away" is available on the Parlophone UK LP/CD "Help!" as well as the North American Capitol version LP/CD "Help!". It is also featured on the Apple 2-LP/2-CD "The Beatles 1962-1966" compilation and the EMI/Capitol 2-LP: "Love Songs" and can be heard on the EMI/Capitol LP "Reel Music" and lastly it appears on the Parlophone/EMI LP "The Beatles Ballads".

The song was never performed live.

Last Night Is The Night That I'll Remember You By

Since we've already looked at the title track from the fifth Parlophone UK LP and soundtrack to the second movie "Help!" in a previous post, let's look at the rest of the songs on the LP.

The next song which is the second tune on side one and second selection from the UK "Help!" LP/CD is an original Lennon/McCartney composition mainly written by Paul entitled "The Night Before".

This song is played in the movie while the Beatles are surrounded by English Military Men and tanks out in the Salisbury Plains field. A great tune, a nice rocker and a wonderful McCartney vocal. An exciting tune and it's a favourite of mine.

"The Night Before" was recorded on Wednesday February 17 1965 at EMI studio two. There were two basic takes and on this song John Lennon plays the electric piano. Paul's vocals are double tracked and the backing vocals are by John and George. The guitar solo is played in octaves simultaneously by George and Paul.

The next day, on Thursday February 18 1965, "The Night Before" was mixed for mono from the control rooom of Studio Two. The song was mixed for stereo on Tuesday February 23 1965 also from the control room of Studio two. There was also another stereo mix done on Sunday April 18 1965 which was taken away by United Artists, but never used nor released. I find it odd that United Artists would use stereo for the soundtrack in those days as most of the Beatles films used mono soundtracks in the 1960s.

"The Night Before" is available on the Parlophone UK LP/CD "Help!" as well as the North American Capitol LP/CD "Help!". The song is also featured on the EMI/Capitol double LP "Rock And Roll Music".

Incredibly, a scorching version of "The Night Before" was performed for BBC radio on the program "The Beatles Invite You to Take a Ticket To Ride". The airing of the performance took place two months before the release of the album!

HELP!

The fifth Parlophone UK LP was entitled "HELP!". This LP contained songs from the Beatles second motion picture of the same name was well as various other songs recorded during the sessions. As with the previous soundtrack for the first film "A Hard Day's Night", this LP featured the songs from the film on side one and the others on side two. The LP was released on Friday August 06 1965 in both mono (PMC 1255) and stereo (PCS 3071).

The front cover of the album was taken by Robert Freeman. It features the Beatles spelling out sophomore letters although in reality the letters spell out N-U-J-V rather than H-E-L-P. The back cover features four solitary photographs of the Beatles along with the track listing and author's credits along with information pertaining to the singer(s) of the song.

In North America, it was the seventh Capitol LP release (omitting the United Artist "A Hard Day's Night" LP and "The Beatles Story" documentary 2-LP). The release date was August 13 1965. This version is a true soundtrack to the film as it contains only the seven film songs along with five instrumentals by the Ken Thorne Orchestra as performed in the film. This version was also released in mono (MAS-2386) and stereo (SMAS-2386). A couple of interesting notes: the North American Capitol mono version of the "HELP!" LP does not contain the true mono mixes like the UK version does. It simply contained the "folded down" stereo mixes. Secondly, there is a very short intro in the "James Bond" style performed by the Ken Thorne Orchestra preceeding the title track on all North American versions of the "HELP!" LP that is not present on the UK version.The front cover featured the Beatles once again but re-positioned in order to have George, Ringo, John and Paul in that order rather than the UK George, John, Paul and Ringo. This was done in order to show Paul on the extreme right pointing to the Capitol logo on the right side of the front cover. The "HELP!" logo is also different and very large as compared to the UK version. Also, the song title are on the front cover underneath in blue. The North American version boasts a gatefold cover with various photos from the movie and the back cover features a still with the track listing, movie credits and mini album jackets at the bottom in order to promote the Beatles catalogue up to this point.

Needless to say, the album sold millions around the world and had no problem attaining number one.

Man Buy Ring, Woman Throw It Away.

Well, you can't win em all...haha. The next goody was originally intended as strictly a B-side to the "Help!" single. This was the second time in 1965 that the Beatles recorded a tune for the express purpose of having a B-side for thier 45 single. The first one being "Yes It Is". In contrast, this original Lennon/McCartney composition mainly written by Paul was entitled "I'm Down".

"I'm Down" was written in the Little Richard style. A great Rock and Roll number screamed by Paul with a great guitar solo by George and electric organ by John. A rocking little number that has remained one of my favourites over the year. This just goes to show you that although Paul McCartney had always been tagged with the "ballad" writer of silly love songs, there were certainly great rockin' numbers to had by Mr. McCartney including this one.

"I'm Down" was recorded at EMI studio two on Monday June 14 1965 and it took seven takes to perfect. Overdubs for the song included bongos, some backing vocals and a bit of the organ solo and guitar solo dropped in. The song was then mixed for both mono and stereo on Friday June 18 1965 from the control room of studio two. The mono mix lasts a few seconds longer than the stereo mix. Also, there is a guitar leakage (from an earlier attempt?) that can be heard during the guitar solo on the stereo mix. Take one of the recording can be heard on the Apple 2-LP/3-CD "Anthology 2".

"I'm Down" was never released on an LP during the Beatles career. It was only released as a B-side of "Help!" in the UK (Parlophone R 5305) and in North America (Capitol 5476). It was first released on LP in 1976 on the EMI/Capitol 2-LP "Rock And Roll Music" and on the Parlophone UK LP "Rarities". It can also be found on the Apple/EMI/Capitol 2-LP "Past Masters Volume One and Two" and the Apple/EMI/Capitol CD "Past Masters Volume Two". On the remasters, it is on the Apple 2-CD "Mono Masters" and the remastered Apple 2-CD "Past Masters".

"I'm Down" was performed live during both the 1965 and the 1966 tours ; usually ending the set. A performance can be viewed on the September 1965 "Ed Sullivan Show" as well as the Shea Stadium television special and bootlegs. A version with Beatles footage can be viewed on Paul McCartney Hear music DVD "Good Evening, New York City".

"I'm Down" was not performed for BBC radio.