The contributions of George Martin as the Beatles musical director and producer of almost all of the Beatles’ recordings have influenced many to consider him as “the Fifth Beatle” (though others, like Pete Best and Stu Sutcliffe, have also been given that title, too). His contributions to many of the Fab Four’s songs and his instrumental accompaniments to LPs are beyond measure and too numerous to list here. Martin’s extensive musical training and sophisticated guidance in the studio are often credited as fundamental contributions to the finished works of the Beatles.

In this auction:

• “HELP!” LP by George Martin & His Orchestra

• This LP is United Artists UAL 3448.

• It was issued September 6, 1965.

• This is a MONAURAL (MONO) pressing.

• The Beatles appear on the cover. If the cover slick image looks familiar, it’s probably because this is the same image that is inside the gate-fold cover of the Capitol Records’ “HELP! Original Motion Picture Soundtrack” LP. (As their images were copyright-protected, they did not appear on the cover of many LPs that were not Vee Jay or Capitol/Apple Records pressings. Often, only heads with “mop tops” or simply the word “BEATLES” were used on Beatles’ covers produced by other record companies.)

• This LP contains instrumental versions of 7 Beatles songs that were in the motion picture “HELP!” plus 5 other Beatles songs. Three of the songs printed on the rear cover are identified by their early working titles: “Auntie Gin’s Theme” for “I’ve Just Seen A Face”, “That’s A Nice Hat (Cap)” for “It’s Only Love”, and “Scrambled Eggs” for “Yesterday”.

• The labels also have the early working titles for the 3 songs listed above printed on them.

• The COVER is in BEAUTIFUL NEAR MINT MINUS (NM-) CONDITION. (In fact, this is THE NICEST COVER I’ve run across in a very long time.) The COVER is VERY CLEAN as you can see in the images with just very light overall wear). There is also very light wear on 2 corners and very light “aging” on the white rear cover slick. (Actually, this rear cover slick may, in fact, be cream-colored or off-white, not true white, based on every copy I’ve ever seen.) The SEAMS and SPINE are STRONG and show NO WEAR AT ALL.

• As you probably know, this primarily-black front cover slick was TRUELY NOTORIOUS for easily and quickly developing and showing wear. How often have you seen copies of this LP where ring wear and other wear has marred this great cover image? But as you can see in the images: NOT THIS ONE!

• The VINYL is also in NEAR MINT MINUS (NM-) CONDITION with JUST A FEW VERY LIGHT/SLIGHT SURFACE HAIRLINES.

This is simply a BEAUTIFUL COPY of this BEATLES-RELATED LP BY “THEIR BRILLIANT RECORDING DIRECTOR”, GEORGE MARTIN, FOR SOMEONE’S BEATLES or VINYL COLLECTION that’s without a copy. OR, if your copy is in lower condition, this can be your FINAL UPGRADE!

Thanks to the Price Guide for the Beatles American Records, 6th Ed. by Perry Cox and Frank Daniels for some information about this LP.

FYI: I used the COVER/SLEEVE GRADES and RECORD GRADES listed and described on page 8 of the Price Guide for the Beatles American Records, 6th Ed. for grading. These are Poor (P), Fair (F), Good Minus (G-), Good (G), Good Plus (G+), Very Good Minus (VG-), Very Good (VG), Very Good+ (VG+), Near Mint Minus or Very Good++ (NM- or VG++), Near Mint (NM), Mint Minus (M-), and Mint (M or MT) to VISUALLY GRADE this LP, so please know the descriptions of these grades before bidding. Please ask any questions BEFORE bidding. And please check my other auctions for more Beatles and related vinyl you may want to add to your collection. Be high bidder on several and combine shipping on auction items that finish the same day. (NOTE: If more than 1 item is won by the same bidder, please do NOT make payment until I send an invoice with combined shipping cost.) Winning bidder must remit payment within 5 days of auction close. Add $5.85 for shipping to a U.S. address via USPS Media Mail with tracking.