Comments on: That Means A Lot

By: Joe

Joe — Tue, 02 Oct 2018 04:00:43 +0000

I always thought that and totally agree too Jennifur.

By: Arno Luyendijk

Arno Luyendijk — Fri, 21 Sep 2018 19:23:05 +0000

I just heard a cover of this song by a Beatles cover/tribute band, Sgt. Pepper’s Band, from their album “Come and get it” on Spotify, and it sounds as if the tune has just been subjected to a MAJOR refreshment. Same chords, same words, but what makes the difference to the Beatles’ anthology version is that these musicians just paid some more attention to creating a complete tune. The Anthology version makes it all but clear that the Beatles just were not in “the peak mood” in the way that the very similar Ticket To Ride shows they were. Also, with a few more takes paying attention to just a little more “soul” to the instrumental parts, the Sgt. Pepper’s Band version shows this song DID contain a very catchy tune. The fact that the lyrics may at first hearing sound uninspired in the orinal Beatles’ recording would have been covered completely if the Beatles would have mixed the echo of the guitars a litttle bit down, in a way the sound of the guitars and vocals would sound as equal parts. IMHO, Sgt. Pepper’s Band did just that.

By: Teddy Salad

Teddy Salad — Tue, 12 Jun 2018 17:31:19 +0000

I quite like the tune, which fits well with their output from the period. The lyrics are very weak and sound like they may have been written, or at least conceived, in the late ’50’s.

By: Slave

Slave — Wed, 07 Mar 2018 14:27:03 +0000

If it is true that the echo was added for the 1985 aborted Sessions album than we have to assume the echo was added to mask whatever the Beatles could not achieve in the performance. Otherwise this song is absolutely good enough for help. Unless they felt is was a Ticket to Ride ripoff.

By: Peter Olafson

Peter Olafson — Sat, 30 Dec 2017 21:01:38 +0000

I was surprised to learn that the Beatles contemplated this for Help. At best, it has always sounded to these ears like a poorly-recorded bootleg version of a “giveaway” tune. But in truth it’s hard to judge its potential with the insane amount of echo on the Anthology take. Perhaps the CW version will surface through the official channnels one day.

By: Jennifur Sun

Jennifur Sun — Thu, 07 Dec 2017 06:46:49 +0000

one of my very fav Beatles tunes. glad they put it on the Anthology Cd

By: MikeP

MikeP — Thu, 24 Aug 2017 12:44:51 +0000

No.. Death, wanting to kill oneself and so forth, was not a hysterical issue – several songs of the period dealt with those issues to some degree. 50 years ago, societal over-sensitivities were not so prominent.

By: MikeP

MikeP — Thu, 24 Aug 2017 01:56:33 +0000

Absolutely one of their worst. Nearly unlistenable.

By: Beatle Bobby

Beatle Bobby — Thu, 23 Mar 2017 21:23:17 +0000

Great song , period.

By: Jennifur Sun

Jennifur Sun — Wed, 04 Jan 2017 21:14:50 +0000

but then again he left in the song John mostly wrote about killing a girl if she left him; Run For Your LIfe. can;t quite buy the reason of the lyrics being the reason it got left off the Help Lp or any other.

By: PittsburghMike

PittsburghMike — Thu, 11 Aug 2016 21:47:22 +0000

I just began listening to Anthology since it was put on spotify and this song was one of the highlights. Its not the Beatles at their best, yet I could easily seeing this on the Help album or as a b side. Like others I see the the lyric suicide in 1965 being to controversial for the Beatles at that point in their career.

By: Otis

Otis — Fri, 18 Mar 2016 16:18:12 +0000

Would have been better than it’s only love.

By: kevintimba

kevintimba — Tue, 05 Jan 2016 21:55:20 +0000

I’ve scoured the internet and am shocked that I see to be the only one who hears the powerful influence this song had on “Where Everybody Knows Your Name”, the theme song of the television series “Cheers”. For example, compare “you know that your love is all you’ve got” to “taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot”. Another bit of subliminal forensic evidence is simply the use of the phrase “a lot”. “Cheers” predated “Anthology” so the P. J. Proby version was probably the source of the (probably subconscious) inspiration. I’m not dissing the Cheers song or its writer – it uses the Beatles hooks as a starting point and adds many more of its own – just saying that this is yet another instance of subsequent pop culture deriving from the Beatles.

By: jennifur Sun

jennifur Sun — Thu, 24 Dec 2015 05:39:02 +0000

one of my fav songs by them as well. was so glad someone put this song and Leave My Kitten Alone on that Anthology recording. the thing i liked the most, which they hated, was that Wall Of Sound sound.

By: Days of Broken Arrows

Days of Broken Arrows — Sun, 25 Oct 2015 04:30:51 +0000

I agree. I’d take this over not just “DIzzy” but also “Tell Me What You See,” which I always found bland.

By: rontenn2001

rontenn2001 — Sun, 06 Sep 2015 15:38:20 +0000

Well P.J. Proby was a real ballad singer so whatever he records was & still is brilliant. I’m so pleased that his friend John passed this song onto P.J.

By: The Faul On The Hill

The Faul On The Hill — Fri, 08 May 2015 10:19:03 +0000

It’s nice to see the Beatles striving for a Spectory sound, even if the echo can be overbearing 🙂

By: Lennon-Harrison

Lennon-Harrison — Tue, 07 Apr 2015 04:52:43 +0000

The outro, McCartney scream and all, has a very 50s doo wop feel to it. The rest of the song is pretty unremarkable, other than some nice harmonies. Still better than I’ve Just Seen A Face. Not a bad song

By: RingoStarr39

RingoStarr39 — Tue, 23 Jul 2013 00:52:19 +0000

The tape echo is not from Anthology, but from the canceled 1985 album “Sessions”. This song was originally going to be on that album and the fake stereo mix on Anthology 2 was made in the 80s for Sessions.

By: Bob

Bob — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 21:51:54 +0000

I also agree about the clunky line “Love can be suicide,” as the reason this song was shelved. I can imagine George Martin being less than enthusiastic when discussing this tune, and gently pointing out the inappropriate, unsavory “feel” of that lyric. Rather than admit he was wrong and change it, Paul might have just grumbled “OK then, we’ll drop it,” in a huff. (I take a lot of “creative liberties” in my imagined Beatle-songwriting scenarios.)