When I was younger, so much younger than today

The Beatles - Help! - 1965

And this has been a surprise, unlikely as that sounds. I had actually forgotten how good this one was. Maybe it is that both this and A Hard Day's Night have their movie counterparts and I always thought of both of them as pretty much the same thing. Maybe it was the excessive popularity it had that made me disregard it a bit.
Whatever the reasons, the fact is that I have been happily surprised to listen to this one again, and while I mentioned yesterday how With the Beatles was my favourite one from the early days, but Help! has risen up to be taking up that position. Released less than a year after For Sale (which I'm commenting on below), this one shows much growth, both musically and lyrics-wise, and doesn't have one single poor track. It is relentless, energetic, and well, simply put, awesome!

• The title track is the first to have really more introspective lyrics. The upbeat, cheerful music belies the fact that the song is about being overwhelmed by life and it will mark a change in tone from the "happy-go-lucky" lyrics in the first albums, to a more serious one in the albums to come. 
• This was the last album (until Let It Be), to feature a cover song, which was "Dizzy Miss Lizzy." It's not one of the critics' favourites, but I think it was a brilliant choice for their farewell to rock'n'roll covers. 
• This one also marks the return of George Harrison to composition, with no songs by him being featured since With the Beatles. Here we have "I Need You" and "You Like me Too Much". I find the latter a bit silly, and it doesn't seem to match the general tone of the album, at least from the point of view of the lyrics. I do think "I Need You" is a great song, and the guitar work there was innovative (for the times) and it gives the song a unique feel. 
• Listening to this album now, I can't help but think of the irony of John Lennon singing: "If you don't treat he right my friend / you're gonna find her gone. / Cause I will treat her right and then / you'll be the lonely one". Since this is one of the songs that were actually written by both Paul and John, it makes me wonder if the idea didn't start by actually Paul telling him to treat his (then) wife better. 
• "I've just Seen a Face" is, probably, the most interesting song written by Paul up to that moment. There's a clear country feel to it, but it's very up-tempo, and the melody and the way the lyrics flow give it a special feeling. The lyrics are almost conversational, but at the same time they feel brilliantly crafted.
• Of course, I'm not forgetting about "Yesterday". This is another one of the overplayed ones, but musically it's perfect and the lyrics are the most mature Paul had written up to that point. Listening to this one and "Help!", I can't help but wonder how much effect all that fame and fortune had on them. They do sound like lyrics written by someone older, referring to a past that, in the songs, feels very far away.
• Apparently, the music for "Yesterday" came to Paul in a dream. He wrote it down upon waking and then spent a while asking people if they knew it because he was certain that he had accidentally plagiarised some other song. 

Oh Dear, What Can I Do

The Beatles - For Sale - 1964

This is a strange one. Story has it that it was, pretty much, released for contractual reasons, and that would be the reason for the large amount of covers in this one. Six out of 14 songs are covers here, which is at the level of their first two releases. Maybe it's because of the covers, but I think also some of their songs, make this album the one that sounds the most "American" of them all. Many songs, like "I don't wanna Spoil the Party", and "Baby's in Black" have heavy influence from country music, and even the guitar intro to "Eight Days a Week" reminisces of a country guitar. Still, theres' some really cool moments here.

• "Eight Days a Week" has a fade-in intro and an outro, which was a first for the Beatles (and I'm not too sure how usual it was back then). It is one of the most cheerful songs, and together with "Every Little Thing" they're the only two songs that refer to love in a happy and hopeful way.
• "Mr. Moonlight" is considered by many critics as an all time low point for the band. I could never figure out why. Yes, it does sound a bit over the top and melodramatic, and with the vocals and latin percussion, it does sound like something that would be quite at place in a Mexican telenovela. I find the melody quite beautiful, to be honest, and Lennon's vocals are just superb. And, let's face it, we all need some melodrama now and then. 
• Have I mentioned how much I usually like songs that were sung by Paul and John together? Probably not. I always liked how Paul's melodious voice complemented John's rougher voice, in a way, working like a counterpoint. In "Baby's in Black" they take it to the next level, in a way, because they both sing two different melodies (or in two different keys, I can't really tell). The effect is quite stunning, and this is one of my favourite tracks of the album.
• The cover of "Honey Don't", sang by Ringo, features another first, as far as I can tell: Ringo's remarks to George, as in: "Rock on, George, for Ringo one time!" and the like. It gives the song a live-like feeling that is very cool

And also...

Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass - Whipped Cream & Other Delights - 1964

There's the distinctive chance that the whole title I've just written above is going to be longer than anything meaningful I can say about this album. I didn't even remember hearing this one, and I was expecting some Mexican style music, I guess. But I have to say that I was gladly surprised by the 60s style pop / easy listening / jazz / not-sure-what-to-call-it music in it. It's like listening to the music of movies and series of those days. Not the kind of thing I would listen to every day (and I'm not extremely fond of instrumentals anyway), but a good, fun album indeed.

Apparently it was very successful in their day. It has a very different cover of "A Taste of Honey", and since we're in the middle of the Beatlemania, we should watch it. 

Random thoughts

• The first contact I ever had with The Beatles was the single "Ticket to Ride / Yes it is". My godfather used to be a big fan of theirs in his teens and gave me a bunch of singles at some point. I was hooked. "Yes it is" is not in any album and it's not all that frequent in compilations either. On the rare occasions when I hear it, I can still remember being 8 years old or so. 
• I also have the cover of For Sale. Not the album, just the cover.
• I can't believe how difficult it would be to find a video for "Baby's in Black". All I could find of the studio version is this video that some guy took with a microphone from a record player. It's fine, though. It does give a good historical perspective. 
• Because of the up-tempo, almost cheerful music of "Help!" (and also because of the movie), I've heard a lot of people in Argentina not believing that the song's lyrics were actually serious and a bit depressing. 
• The cover of the Herb Alpert's album has a model all covered in, what appears to be, cream. It can be briefly seen in The Big Lebowski, as the Dude goes through Maude's records. That has to count for something, right?