#77: You're Going To Lose That Girl

Written by: John Lennon & Paul McCartney
Released: August 6, 1965
Appears on: HELP!
Lead vocal: John


I've always thought "You're Going To Lose That Girl" was sort of a re-write of "I Should Have Known Better", except from a third-person view. John is telling the listener that, if you don't treat her right, she's going to walk away. Aside from Ringo playing bongos and Paul at the piano, I really don't see this as a unique song as it is similar to a lot of other John songs from the period. 
This is the last song from the film on the album, before the previously-released "Ticket To Ride". In the film, the Beatles 'perform' it in the studio, during the clever (and easily the best part) montage of attempts to get the ring off Ringo's finger. The 'session' abruptly comes to an end as Ringo falls through the floor. The best part of this sequence is the cool feature of showing Paul playing piano and bass at the same time. When the camera switches from showing George & Paul singing behind John to the piano player, Paul magically appears there! That's called great editing.


"You're Going To Lose That Girl" is a relatively obscure track that appeared on Love Songs. Capitol had the audacity to attempt to release the song as the B-Side to a 45 featuring "Girl" to promote Love Songs. All of Capitol's "themed" compilations were proceeded by a single, no matter how useless it was to release one. ("Helter Skelter" b/w "Got To Get You Into My Life" was for Rock And Roll Music in 1976 and "The Beatles Movie Medley" b/w "I'm Happy Just To Dance With You" was for Reel Music.) However, this single, which was meant to promote Love Songs was cancelled.  


Next up: Side Two, the songs not in the film, of HELP!

#76: Another Girl

Written by: John Lennon & Paul McCartney
Released: August 6, 1965
Appears on: HELP!
Lead vocal: Paul


A Hard Day's Night is better than HELP! in every way...including the songs. "Another Girl" is yet another example of that proves this. Really, aside from "Help!", "Ticket To Ride" and "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away", all of these songs have fallen into obscurity (at least as obscure as a Beatles song can be) and aside from "The Night Before", I wouldn't exactly call these 'hidden gems'. 
"Another Girl" is another Paul song where the relationship is strained, so he runs off with another girl. Paul plays lead guitar...again, providing a jangly guitar solo that George gets stuck miming to in the movie. The song is done on the beach in the Bahamas, done while the Beatles switch instruments (except, Paul gets to play a girl). 
It's a fun song, but with so many better songs recorded during the HELP! sessions, I wish they reconsidered using this in the movie. "Another Girl" never got issued anywhere else and was never performed live.     

#75: I Need You

Written by: George Harrison
Released: August 6, 1965
Appears on: HELP!
Lead vocal: George


"'I Need You' by George Harrison!!"


"I Need You" is the first song written by George to appear on an album since "Don't Bother Me" back on with the beatles. It hardly helps to prove that George was actually as good a songwriter as John and Paul. In fact, George 'forgot' to include both of the songs he wrote for HELP! in his autobiography, I, Me, Mine. A few others were left out, but these were the only ones written and released during the Beatles years that he dropped. 
Since George got a vocal shot in A Hard Day's Night, it's only right that he does get one in HELP! and like the last film, he gets the worst song. "I Need You" feels like a routine love song that he wrote just to prove that "Don't Bother Me" wasn't all that he could do. Still, the only thing interesting about the song is the use of the volume pedal that George used to give "Yes It Is" a unique sound. George does a pretty good vocal, but that's about it. 
The really funny thing about "I Need You" is during the HELP! credits. On the card that says "Songs written by John Lennon & Paul McCartney", we hear George yell "'I Need You' by George Harrison!!" This could be a jab at the fact that in A Hard Day's Night, the card also said the same thing, even though "Don't Bother Me" was partially used during the dancing sequence. Either that, or the boys and Richard Lester probably thought it was funny. During the film itself, the song is played during the same sequence as "The Night Before".


"I Need You" has only ever appeared on HELP! making it one of the more obscure Beatles songs. Considering it's not one of their best (and that George himself neglected it), I suppose it's for the best. 

#74: You've Got To Hide Your Love Away

Written by: John Lennon & Paul McCartney
Released: August 6, 1965
Appears on: HELP!
Lead vocal: John


John's affection for Dylan is in full swing here. This is easily the best song that was featured in the film.
The love affair in the song is very Dylan-esque, where the girl is the one leaving the guy with an insult. "How could she say to me, 'love will find a way'?" Then, the guy can only offer himself advice which is that he can't be so open with his love. Gather 'round all you clowns, let me hear you say-ay-ay: Hey! You've got to hide your love away! The song is very much like "I Don't Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met)". In fact listen to the first lines of the two songs and you'll see they're strikingly similar. 
The song is also the first song since the original version of "Love Me Do" to feature a musician outside of the Beatles. Film composer John Scott, who at the time was under an EMI contract to work with their top artists, played the flute part at the end of the song. 


On Beach Boys' Party!, The Beach Boys covered it, along with "I Should Have Known Better" and "Tell Me Why". That album's point was to get something out for the Christmas of 1965 while Brian Wilson was working on Pet Sounds. So, they just took a couple of days to make the first ever "Unplugged" album, recording their favorite songs of the day. Dennis Wilson, the 'wild' Wilson, sang the song beautifully on the album, but the silly party overdubs get in the way! 


"You've Got To Hide Your Love Away" was included on 1963-1966, but since it was never issued as a single, never appeared anywhere else. It did make it's way to that terrible Love Songs set in 1977.     

#73: The Night Before

Written by: John Lennon & Paul McCartney
Released: August 6, 1965
Appears on: HELP!
Lead vocal: Paul


Man, I love this song...I just have to say that.
Anyway, HELP! is a movie made for the sole purpose of giving the Beatles a great vacation. For "The Night Before", The Beatles got to perform the song in the middle of a giant field, because, for some reason, this giant, open field is the safest place to be when you're being chased by Indian extremists. Of course, things don't go as planned and eventually everything explodes. 
"The Night Before" is by Paul and, like "Ticket To Ride", he plays lead guitar and gets the solo. While it's little things like this that bring into question George's guitar playing, the truth is that Paul probably just wanted to play guitar on his song. Also, John is playing the piano, meaning that somebody has to play rhythm and with overdubbing available, there was no reason why Paul couldn't just overdub his bass parts. 
The song, which continues Paul's string of interesting relationship songs, is about a guy who said goodbye to his girlfriend last night, but she decided today that she wants to come back. So, the guy wants her to treat him like the night before she said goodbye. 

#71: Help!

Written by: John Lennon & Paul McCartney
Released: July 23, 1965
Appears on: HELP!
Lead vocal: John


Two weeks before the album came out, "Help!" was issued on 45 in the UK and the US. For some reason it was released a few days ahead in the US. Just six days later, the film HELP! opened worldwide. 
The song is John's true cry for help and easily one of his most personal songs. It's the kind of emotional power that lead to his work throughout the rest of the Beatles' career. John always said that he wished the Beatles were able to record it at a slower tempo so people could understand how personal the lyrics actually were. However, this is still 1965, when Beatles songs, especially those with a John lead vocal, are expected to be powerful rockers. 
It's a fantastic song with some great vocals. "Help!" also features the unique idea of having the backing vocals sing the line before the lead. That's another one of those Beatle innovations that we take for granted today, but it was (and still is) a very unique thing. 


In the US, the HELP! album was released as a soundtrack, despite the fact that Capitol was going to issue it instead of United Artists. Capitol used Ken Thorne's whimsical score between the songs, which makes it more of a soundtrack than UA's A Hard Day's Night, which had newly-recorded George Martin pieces that weren't actually in the film. When you dropped the needle on Capitol's HELP!, the first thing you heard was not The Beatles crying "HELP!!! I need somebody!", but instead you got Thorne's hilarious James Bond-esque intro. This is the way Americans heard it. Even on the US version of 1963-1966 (The "Red" Album), where it opened Side Three, the intro was present. When the compilation was issued on CD, however, it was dropped, not to be heard again until the soundtrack was included in The Capitol Albums, Vol. 2. 

#69: Ticket To Ride

Written by: John Lennon & Paul McCartney
Released: April 9, 1965
Appears on: HELP!
Lead vocal: John & Paul


"Ticket To Ride" is just a brilliant song, mostly by John, and starts the Beatles' middle period. HELP!, Rubber Soul and Revolver, along with the single sides issued during that period all have a distinct and similar feel that is nowhere else in the Beatles' catalog. The fact is that these songs are more serious and personal than any of the songs before or after. 
"Ticket To Ride" was released nearly five months before its LP appearance, giving listeners a great preview of what the Beatles were going to sound like until 1966. It was also their first single to go over three minutes. Can you imagine that? A single going over three minutes! In 1965, that was amazing. These are the days before "Good Vibrations", before FM radio and...definitely before "Hey Jude". 
I think the song itself is also the Beatles' first 'heavy' song. Paul lays the foundation for his out-of-this-world bass playing that defines the latter half of his Beatle career. Ringo's drumming is brilliant and John & Paul's harmony is great. George plays his 12-string on the song, but he really gets stuck taking a back seat. Paul actually plays lead guitar for the first time on the song and he's great. 
The song is an interesting love song where the singer is happy to get the girl out of his life and she's perfectly fine with it, too. It's not exactly the most positive subject for a single, but with the Beatles, always expect the unexpected.
Of course, the song was a #1 single on both sides of the Atlantic. When Capitol was assembling Beatles VI, they were actually interested in including the song, but since they knew it was going to be in HELP! it could only be released on the soundtrack for that film. Another bizarre note is that on the US 45, Capitol jumped the gun and printed on it that it was "taken from the film 'Eight Arms To Hold You'". This was just a working title for HELP! and this text was never taken off the 45, even on later pressings. In fact, I have a 1980's re-issue (the last time it was issued, I think) that has this under the song title!