Editing Help! (section)

== Recording and production ==

=== Recording history ===
Following their Christmas 1964 shows, the Beatles took a month's break before beginning work on ''Help!''{{Sfn|MacDonald|2007|p=142}} All of the recording sessions took place in Studio Two of EMI Recording Studios (now [[Abbey Road Studios]]).{{Sfn|Lewisohn|1988|pp=54–60}} The first set of sessions began on 15 February with "Ticket to Ride" and continued through the 20th, after which the group flew to [[the Bahamas]] to begin filming. They took with them a tape of the 11 songs recorded so that Lester and Shenson could decide which ones to use in the film.{{Sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=|pp=54–56}}

Several songs recorded during these initial sessions were not included on the ''Help!'' album. Lennon's "[[Yes It Is]]" was relegated to the [[A-side and B-side|B-side]] of the "Ticket to Ride" single and a cover of [[Larry Williams]]' "[[Bad Boy (Larry Williams song)#The Beatles version|Bad Boy]]" was put on the [[The Beatles' North American releases|North American]] album ''[[Beatles VI]]''.{{Sfn|Lewisohn|1988|pp=54, 58}} Two Lennon–McCartney compositions were rejected for release altogether. The first was "[[If You've Got Trouble]]", originally written for Ringo Starr as his obligatory lead vocal for the album.{{Sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=55}} One take was attempted on 18 February before it was abandoned.{{Sfn|MacDonald|2007|p=149}} The other was "[[That Means a Lot]]", a song [[Ian MacDonald]] views as "an attempt by McCartney to rewrite Lennon's 'Ticket to Ride{{'"}}.{{Sfn|MacDonald|2007|p=151}} Two versions were attempted, one on 20 February and a "re-make" on 30 March,{{Sfn|Lewisohn|1988|pp=56–57}} but it was ultimately given to a friend of the band, singer [[P. J. Proby]], to record. Proby's version was released as a single and reached number 30 on the [[UK singles chart|UK chart]].{{Sfn|Miles|1997|p=182}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=That Means a Lot by P. J. Proby |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/pj-proby-that-means-a-lot/ |access-date=23 June 2024 |website=[[Official Charts Company]]}}</ref> Both "If You've Got Trouble" and take 1 of "That Means a Lot" were eventually released on ''[[Anthology 2]]'' in 1996, along with other outtakes from the ''Help!'' sessions.<ref>{{Cite AV media notes |title=[[Anthology 2]] |year=1996 |others=[[The Beatles]] |publisher=[[Apple Records]] |type=liner notes |id=7243 8 34448 2 3}}</ref> Additionally, the last song recorded in this time was "[[Wait (Beatles song)|Wait]]", which would not be released until the Beatles' next album, ''[[Rubber Soul]]''.{{Sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=60}}

According to [[Mark Lewisohn]], 14 June 1965 saw "[a] remarkable day's work" and showcased McCartney's musical abilities in varying styles; the Beatles recorded his songs "I've Just Seen a Face", "[[I'm Down]]", and "Yesterday".{{Sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=59}} "Yesterday" began with just McCartney singing and playing acoustic guitar, but he and [[Record producer|producer]] [[George Martin]] decided to add a [[string quartet]].{{Sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=59}} Martin later described it as when, "I started to leave my hallmark on [the Beatles'] music, when a style started to emerge which was partly of my making."{{Sfn|Hertsgaard|1995|p=168}} "I'm Down" was released as the B-side of "Help!" but not included on the album.{{Sfn|MacDonald|2007|p=156}}

=== Innovations and techniques ===
{{Quote box
| quote = We still haven't made the sort of sound we want to, and we don't even know what we're after.{{Sfn|Everett|2001|p=281}}
| source = – John Lennon during the recording of ''Help!''
| align = left
| width = 25%
}}
Lewisohn writes that 1965 introduced the part of the Beatles' career where they put less focus on live performances and took "a more serious application in the recording studio."{{Sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=54}} He identifies multiple new [[Recording practices of the Beatles|recording practices]] used on ''Help!'', one being "to rehearse songs with a [[Tape recorder|tape machine]] running, spooling back to record properly over the rehearsed material."{{Sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=54}} Another involved adding numerous [[Overdubbing|overdubs]] to rhythm tracks without considering them as comprising new takes; because of this, many songs on ''Help!'' are documented as having needed only a small number of takes, yet they still required hours of work.{{Sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=54}} Martin also began placing the guitar parts on different tracks than the bass and drums, accomplishing "a more satisfying stereo image" according to [[Walter Everett (musicologist)|Walter Everett]].{{Sfn|Everett|2001|p=281}}

According to Hertsgaard, ''Help!'' showed "a major acceleration in the Beatles' ongoing search for fresh sounds."{{Sfn|Hertsgaard|1995|p=128}} He points out that half of the songs feature instruments the Beatles had never used before, including [[electric piano]], flutes, a volume/tone [[Effects unit|pedal]], and most famously "Yesterday{{"'}}s strings.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hertsgaard|1995|p=128}}; {{Harvnb|Everett|2001|p=281}}: "volume/tone pedal".</ref> ''Help!'' is also the first Beatles album to feature the [[Epiphone Casino]], first purchased by McCartney around December 1964 before quickly becoming a staple of the group's instrumentation.{{Sfn|Everett|2001|p=282}} Before the recording of "Yesterday", the flutes on "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" were played by [[John Scott (composer)|John Scott]], only the second outside musician to appear on a Beatles track (after [[Andy White (drummer)|Andy White]]).{{Sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=55}}