At the beginning of 1965, John Lennon and Ringo Starr were both 24-years old, Paul McCartney was 22 and George Harrison was 21. A huge weight of expectation was placed on their young shoulders, but by the end of the year The Beatles had delivered records that were both musically innovative and commercially successful. Featuring seven songs from their second movie, ‘Help!’ was released on 6 August 1965.
A rise in the popularity of contemporary folk music was reflected in the LP’s ambitious lyrics - most notably its title track - and the prevalence of acoustic guitars. However, in addition to the acoustic sounds of ”You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away” and ”I’ve Just Seen A Face,” there is a strong rhythm and blues presence on tracks such as ”Another Girl” and ”You’re Going To Lose That Girl.” ”Ticket To Ride” was the first Beatles single of 1965 and felt so different to every other record around. The powerful guitar riff jangles, Ringo’s impeccable drumming propels the song and the voices make thrilling falsetto leaps. The Beatles had recognised the crucial role the tambourine played in driving the beat on their favourite Motown discs. The tambourine is everywhere on ‘Help!’.
A new album guaranteed new guitar sounds from George. The arrangement for his song ‘I Need You’ is characterised by the use of a newly invented volume pedal. There was another fresh sound heard on ”It’s Only Love.” It was created by recording George’s guitar coming through a rotating Leslie speaker, usually connected to a Hammond organ. There would be much more of that sort of experimentation to come. In The Beatles’ quest for new sounds, their most radical step was the arrangement for “Yesterday.” Over the recording of Paul’s guitar and voice was added a string quartet. The distinctly classical score was designed to avoid an over-sentimental treatment that others subsequently gave the song. Soon to become the most covered Beatles composition, in the U.K. “Yesterday” was not even released as a single in 1965. Not so in the States, where it was a number one.
The group’s first movie, ‘A Hard Day’s Night’, was shot in black and white. With the release of their second film ‘Help!’, the sixties burst into vivid colour and the music The Beatles recorded in 1965 embodied the transformation. — Kevin Howlett