Help! (Legacy)

UK 7th Pressing (1980)

Discogs | TheBeatles-Collection

PCS 3071

Matrix:
Side A: YEX 168-4   HTM
Side B: YEX 169-4   HTM

This version was first pressed in 1980; my actual copy was manufactured in 1982. It has the same -4 side A as my BC13 copy; however, Side B is a newer HTM cut.

Everything that was said about Side A on the previous version is also valid for this pressing. However, Side B is a later cut and needs to be reviewed separately.

What is definitely better on this version on Side B, is the reduction of the sibilance. On “Act Naturally” it is mostly gone, on “It’s Only Love” it’s considerably reduced. However, the overall impression in straight comparison is that the -4 cut has become somehow tamer compared to -3. The bass is less punchy, the treble less pronounced, everything is somehow less exciting and rather muted. The vocals feel a bit separate from the instruments, pushing those to the background. Though “Yesterday” sounds very similar to -3, the texture of the acoustic guitar feels like it has slightly less details. “Dizzy Miss Lizzy” feels even more compressed and flat, the voice is buried somewhere in there.

Overall: Now, if listening to it for a longer period of time, it actually sounds quite nice – but when switching back and forth between -3 and -4, the -3 definitely feels more exciting and dynamic.