HELP!

It's easy to overlook this album as nothing more than a pop soundtrack but it truly demonstrates a pivotal transition in the evolution of the group's music. Half of the album has one foot in the "Beatlemania" era with cute ditties like "Another Girl," "Act Naturally," "You like me too much," "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" and "Tell me what you see." But, starting with the title tune, there are various songs that go deeper lyrically and musically than they had ever gone before. Perhaps disillusioned with what fame and fortune was bringing them by the truckloads, a mood of introspect and isolation was beginning to appear in their work that had not been present in the LPs that preceded this one. Just listen to the words of "Help," "You've got to hide your love away," "It's only love," "I need you" and, of course, the magnificently melancholy "Yesterday." Compositionally "Ticket to Ride," based on an unconventional guitar riff, indicated to us all that a new and unshackled spirit of production and arrangements were just around the corner. All of this leading us up to the breakthrough that was to be "Rubber Soul." That's what makes this album so nostalgic. The Fab Four were crossing a bridge, bound for greener fields and they would never go back to the safe and formulated rock and roll pastures they left behind ever again.