"HELP!"
PARLOPHONE PMC 1255, MONO
RELEASED 8/6/65

ITEM#: PAR309
PRICE: ------

The BEATLES ALBUM NAMED AFTER THE GROUP'S SECOND FILM "HELP!", FOLLOWED THE FORMAT OF THE PREVIOUS FILM LP. THE ALBUM HAS THE SEVEN SONGS FEATURED IN THE FILM ON SIDE ONE AND NON-FILM SONGS ON SIDE TWO. OUT OF THE ALBUM'S 14 TRACKS, TEN WERE WRITTEN BY JOHN AND PAUL, AND TWO WERE COMPOSED BY GEORGE. ONE OF THE COVERS WAS FROM THE BAND'S CAVERN DAYS AND THE OTHER WAS A COUNTRY & WESTERN SONG SELECTED BY RINGO. PARLOPHONE RELEASED THE ALBUM ON AUGUST 6, 1965, ONE WEEK AFTER THE MOVIE'S U.K. PREMIERE. IT WAS THE GROUP'S FIFTH ALBUM IN A LITTLE OVER TWO YEARS.

THIS ORIGINAL MONAURAL PRESSING OF "HELP!" IS AN ABSOLUTELY EXCEPTIONAL EXAMPLE. THE BRILLIANT NEAR MINT FRONT-LAMINATED, TRI-FLIP BACK COVER IS THE INITIAL FIRST RUN, HAVING THE MEDIUM SIZE OUTLINED "MONO" DESIGNATION IN THE UPPER RIGHT CORNER OF THE FRONT, AND "PMC 1255" IN THE UPPER RIGHT CORNER OF THE BACK, WITH  THE COVER PRINTED BY 'GARROD & LOFTHOUSE LTD.' . SELDOM SEEN IN THIS CONDITION, THIS IMPRESSIVE EXAMPLE RETAINS AN UNWORN, HIGH-GLOSS FRONT PANEL LAMINATE WHERE THE ONLY SIGNS OF WEAR ARE SOME SMALL SPINE WRINKLES. THERE ARE CERTAINLY NO 'THUMBNAILS' OR ANY OTHER CREASING OR WEAR WHATSOEVER. THERE IS MINOR SHELF WEAR BRUISING TO THE UPPER LEFT AND LOWER RIGHT CORNERS BUT BOTH OPENING EDGES ARE PERFECTLY CLEAN, SO MUCH SO THAT IT IS CLEAR TO SEE PRECISELY WHERE THE LAMINATE ENDS. THE REAR PANEL IS PERFECTLY WHITE AND COMPLETELY UNBLEMISHED, AS ARE ALL OF THE FLIP-BACKS. BOTH SEAMS ARE SMOOTH AND UNSTRESSED AND THE SPINE IS FULLY WORDED.

THE ACCOMPANYING AND SHIMMERING NEAR MINT RECORD HAS THE PARLOPHONE 'YELLOW AND BLACK' LABEL AND IS THE FIRST RUN WHICH HAS THE PERIMETER PRINT STARTING WITH "THE GRAMOPHONE CO." AND THE "SOLD IN THE U.K." PRINT ACROSS THE LABEL ABOVE THE SPINDLE HOLE. THIS LABEL VARIATION IS THE STYLE WITHOUT SERIFS ON THE SONG TITLES, AND WITH A SPACE BETWEEN THE MATRIX NUMBER  "(XEX.549)" AND THE "P 1965". A 'KT' PURCHASE TAX CODE IS VISIBLE IN THE CENTER NEAR THE SPINDLE HOLE OF THE SIDE ONE LABEL. THE DISC HAS THE EARLIEST MATRIX NUMBERS: XEX 549-2 & XEX 550-2, AND THE STAMPER CODES ARE : 7,10 / MDR AND 1,6 / ALT. THIS SHIMMERING NEAR MINT RECORD HAS SUPER-CLEAN PLAYING SURFACES WHICH RETAIN ALL OF THEIR DEEP-GLOSS FACTORY SHINE. APART FROM A LIGHT SCUFF ON THE FINAL TRACK ON SIDE 2, THE DISC IS UNMARKED IN STRONG DAYLIGHT. CLOSER INSPECTION BENEATH HALOGEN LIGHT REVEALS NO FURTHER NOTICEABLE BLEMISHES OR WEAR. THIS BARELY PLAYED IS CLEAN AND UNWORN THROUGHOUT. THERE IS NO TRACE OF GROOVE WEAR WHICH SPOIL SO MANY OF THESE PRESSINGS. THE LABELS ARE NEAR MINT, AN IMPRESSIVE SET BEARING A SMALL NUMBER OF VERY FAINT SPINDLE TRAILS AROUND EACH TOTALLY UNWORN CENTER HOLE. THERE IS LITTLE TO FAULT ON THIS STUPENDOUS "KEEPER" COPY.

THE SET IS COMPLETE WITH THE ORIGINAL RICE-PAPER LINED 'USE EMITEX...' WORDED INNER-SLEEVE.