Help Mijn Vrouw

When you read books with day-by-day chronologies of the concerts of big rock bands, Help is the kind of group you might see listed as third-billed in the early '70s to the Who, the Kinks, or whoever. It's prototypical early-'70s American album rock, not unlikable in any significant way.
Help's first album hasn't attracted as much attention as their collector-friendly second, but it's by far the superior record. It's a solid mix of rural rock, folk rock and pop, and rocks really hard despite there not being any distortion on the guitars. There appear to be no instrumental overdubs, just a trio of guitar, bass and drums, yet the excellent musicianship (especially the rock-solid rhythm section) makes the sound full and rich…

Esoteric Recordings are pleased to announce the release of PASSING THROUGH – THE COMPLETE STUDIO RECORDINGS, a 6CD boxed set by the unsung heroes of British early ‘70s rock, HELP YOURSELF.

This reissue on the British-based BGO label contains the band's second (Strange Affair) and fourth (The Return of Ken Whaley) albums along with the bonus LP Happy Days, which was included free with the Ken Whaley album. The LPs were originally released on the United Artists/ Liberty Records label in 1972 and 1973, respectively. Help Yourself remained on the second tier of British bands and was never able to break out commercially. On this set, the band blends its hippie pastoral sounds with a West Coast-styled psychedelia that will appeal to fans of such acts as the Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, or even Phish. While the band did achieve some degree of success in the early '70s and developed a large fan base, it broke up after The Return of Ken Whaley…

Help Yourself (1971). There's no question that Help Yourself's debut album was a product of its times - something about the whole easygoing boogie vibe and gentle psych-inspired trippiness, the way of singing, the production, and more just screams early-'70s non-metal and non-glam rock & roll. Look at it one way and Help Yourself was just a cut above incipient bar band culture but, heard with fresh ears years after its release, it strikes a great balance between entertaining the crowd and exploration. Call the band a more down-to-earth Pink Floyd or Hawkwind set somewhere in the English countryside without specifically owing anything to either band. Morley, who takes vocal lead throughout, shows a fine voice similar to Neil Young's, with just that hint of twang while not sounding quite so cracked and strained…