Beatles for Sale and Help! are considered "holding pattern" works and are less revered by critics because they didn't introduce any great innovations or ground-breaking ideas. But I don't think that does these albums justice. Sure, most of the lyrical concerns are still love-oriented, but many of the lyrics are becoming increasing complex. Even a song like Yesterday shows a real maturity in the lyrics.

The songs offered here are the Beatles at the top of their game, in my opinion. Gorgeous melodies, catchy hooks, great harmony singing and sharp musicianship abound. The Beatles were becoming increasing facile in the studio, and it shows. The strength of songs like Help, Ticket to Ride and Yesterday are legend, but there are many other real gems on this album. You've Got to Hide Your Love Away, It's Only Love and Your Going to Lose That Girl are classic mid-period Lennon; McCartney answers with the rocking Another Girl and The Night Before, not to mention the beautiful, folky I've Just Seen a Face, all extremely underrated.

Harrison gets two songs on this album, and asserts himself well with the lovely pop of I Need You and You Like Me Too Much. Maybe not up to the dizzying heights of Lennon & McCartney songsmithing, but getter closer.

This leaves "filler" like Act Naturally, Tell Me What You See and Dizzy Miss Lizzy. Just listen to Lennon's vocal performance on Dizzy Miss Lizzy and try calling it filler...though admittedly, the guitar riff grates on one after a while. Ringo's "aw, shucks" reading of Act Naturally is PERFECT (and SO appropriate) and Lennon & McCartney's magical harmonies lift Tell Me What You See well above the pedestrian.

That's it. Overwhelming evidence, well presented, that this is not just a mediocre holding pattern album, but classic mid-period Beatles. It's now up to you, members of the juke-box jury.

I'll say no more.

Things got a little more upbeat following the downbeat For Sale. Also, the Beatles songcrafting improved and would set the pace for things to come. The title track has the same frantic quick-paced sound that made the title track to their first movie a hit. The theme of age reducing the cocksure assertive of one's younger years and the need for that helping hand is universal. And who can forget these lyrics: "Help me if you can--I'm feeling down/cause I do appreciate you being around/Help me get my feet back on the ground/Won't you pleeeeaaaase please help me?" John gets good backing vocal help from Paul and George.

"The Night Before" has a faint Chuck Berry influence. Paul sings here and it's a song of puzzlement, concerning a girl's nice and sincere behaviour and why she has done an about-face in attitude. That's John on electric piano.

John sports a strained and sometimes roughened voice in the acoustic ballad "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away". There's a flute solo by session musician Johnnie Scott in two places.

The distorted pedal guitar is cool in George Harrison's "I Need You". A similar effect was used in the song "Yes It Is", which is on Past Masters Volume 1. The theme of mistreatment explored in "The Night Before" is revisited here as well. He also sings the engaging "You Like Me Too Much", the first time he sings two songs on one album. This was a nominee for the movie, and understandbly so. He gets piano help from Paul, John, and producer George Martin.

The engaging "Another Girl" has Paul on lead vocals and lead guitar and might be a response to either of the two mistreatment songs: "I have got another girl who will love me to the end, through thick and thin/She will always be my friend." Well, that's a relief.

In the mid-paced "You're Going To Lose That Girl", John challenges another man that if he doesn't start treat her right, he himself will "make a point of taking her away from you. Watch what you do. The way you treat her, what else can I do?"

"Ticket To Ride" opens with a nice Rickenbacker guitar by Paul before John launches into another breakup song. "The girl's that'd driving me mad is going away. She's got a ticket to ride (X3) and she don't care." The first single from Help! and my second favourite here.

"Tell Me What You See" has John and Paul on lead vocals, and when they sing, "open up your eyes now" Paul's lower register voice is clearly discernible. "I Have just Seen A Face" has a racing guitar and sounds like something Simon and Garfunkel might do later, particular "The Boxer".

The reflective "Yesterday" is one of my all-time Beatles song and why Paul is my favourite vocalist of the quartet. It is the classic Paul McCartney ballad. Paul's use of a string quartet instead of what he called that "Mahavishnu rubbish" was a good move. Unforgettable lyrics: "Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away, now it looks as if they're here to stay. Oh I believe in yesterday."

This the last album where they do cover tunes. Ringo does Buck Owen's "Act Naturally", a nice country-flavoured track. I often compare this to the similarly-sounding but production-laced "Don't Pass Me By" from the White album. John rips into the frantic Larry Williams number "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" in the same way he did "Twist and Shout". Nice mean guitar from George.

If the Beatles needed help on this album, I'd be hard-pressed to find it, because it's another bang-on job for them.

With The Beatles' first five albums, we have them in the process of boy-girl "I love you" pop, whereas their only artistic contemporary Dylan is doing much more satisfying (to this listener) work during this time period. Of course, these five records, and especially HARD DAY'S NIGHT, are the best that early rock'n'roll has to offer. And this is the same period HIGHWAY 61 REVISITED is released. Tell me, do you want to listen to Like a Rolling Stone or Desolation Row or this pop with Ringo singing a Buck Owens song about "all you have to do is act naturally"? I think that's the worst Ringo song of all. They should have stuck with the song from Anthology II "If You Got Trouble", and maybe included "That Means a Lot" as well..

Not that this is a bad album, by any means. Its The Beatles, after all, and all of their albums (even BEATLES FOR SALE) is top rate stuff. This is the first album to point toward some new changes in The Beatles' repertoire. The best songs on here are the title cut, Ticket to Ride, Its Only Love (in my opinion), Tell Me What You See, and the best Dylan song that Dylan never wrote: Hey You Got To Hide Your Love Away. Oh yeah, I'm also leaving out another song.......what was it.......something about Yesterday. Of course, I'm sure no one remembers that, but I think its pretty good, very memorable melody. Its not like its the most covered Beatles song ever *cough cough*. Also, a funny factoid for you music buffs is Yesterday was originally Scrambled Eggs, and McCartney literally dreamt it. One thing Lennon resented McCartney for happened that this and Michelle, two of The Beatles' biggest song, is essentially McCartney solo, with Lennon not playing at all on eithet track.

Dizzy Ms. Lizzy's good for the rocking side of Lennon, reminiscent of Twist and Shout off Please Please Me, which, btw, was never released in America in the original format until much later (ooooh, that evil Capitol!).

So chalk it up as a holding pattern, one last boy-girl lyrical record before they moved on to the much more satisfying (to me) mid and late portion of their career. Remember, any criticism against The Beatles is realative -- it should go without saying any other band would give their front teeth for these songs.

Yesterday, all my troubles seem so far away........

Help! [Remastered] may well turn out to be my favorite of the remasters (so far it is). IMO the sound is much cleaner and brighter on this disk than on many of the others. And, to me, they sustain the high levels of gain throughout this work.

As far as the material, the Beatles are really transitioning to a more mature level in their writing and arrangements: Help!, You've Got To Hide Your Love Away, and Yesterday are all examples of this. While some of the earlier, more youthful work is still evident, it is these more mature songs and arrangements that point the way to their next album Rubber Soul.

I highly recommend this remaster. 5 stars.

First of all, thank the gods that this is the British "Help!", and not the tepid American "Help!" which included only 12 pieces, half of which were instrumental music from the film. (No disrespect to composer Ken Thorne, but this was all part of Capitol's evil scheme to make more product by butchering the British Beatles albums.)

Second of all, the four stars should be considered a relative rating. Just about any other musical group could retire after producing an LP like this with at least three songs ("Help!", "Ticket To Ride" and "Yesterday") you couldn't swing a dead cat without hearing for the next 30 years.

Also noteworthy is Lennon's jab at Bob Dylan ("You've Got To Hide Your Love Away"), his heart-and-soul rendition of "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" and his self-denounced "It's Only Love" (always a favorite of mine even if the lyric isn't very good).

Paul makes his mark with the jubilant "I've Just Seen A Face" and the melancholy, oft-covered "Yesterday". George is typically understated with his solo-work and Ringo, well, typically Ringo, with an unabashedly country rendition of "Act Naturally".

This album would be followed by the landmark, culture-altering LPs "Rubber Soul" and "Revolver" and could be considered the last of the "Beatlemania" albums.