The Help Album

The Help Album is a 1995 charity album devoted to the War Child charity's aid efforts in war-stricken areas, such as Bosnia and Herzegovina. It features many then-popular British and Irish artists, and spawned the follow-up albums 1Love (2002) and Help: A Day in the Life (2005).

The album's recording was inspired by the concept behind John Lennon's "Instant Karma!" — records, like newspapers, should be released as soon as they are recorded. Help was recorded on Monday, 4 September 1995, mixed on Tuesday the fifth, and was in shops on Saturday the ninth. Notable tracks include:

A version of The Beatles' song "Come Together", by new "supergroup" The Smokin' Mojo Filters: Paul McCartney, Paul Weller, Noel Gallagher, Steve Cradock, Steve White, and Carleen Anderson.

A cover of "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head", which marked the Manic Street Preachers' return to recording after the disappearance of Richey Edwards.

The first appearance of the Radiohead song "Lucky", which was to later appear on the album OK Computer.

Suede's cover of Elvis Costello's "Shipbuilding".

The first new recording from Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty (better known as The KLF, but performing here as "One World Orchestra") in over 2 years, "The Magnificent": a drum and bass version of the theme tune from The Magnificent Seven, with vocal samples from DJ Fleka of Serbian radio station B92.

A version of Bobbie Gentry's "Ode To Billy Joe" by Sinéad O'Connor. As the makers of the album were putting the final touches to the album, a courier arrived with a tape of O'Connor's contribution. In theory the song had arrived too late for inclusion in the album, but the producers were so impressed with her haunting rendition that they felt they had to include the song.

An early appearance by Kate Moss with her then boyfriend Johnny Depp on the Oasis contribution, 'Fade Away'.

The album's sleeve notes included a contribution from former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic. It reached number one on the UK albums compilation charts, and would have reached number one on the UK albums chart had Gallup, who compiled the charts at the time, not refused to accept it as a single artist album. In his book A Year with Swollen Appendices, Brian Eno writes bitterly about this decision, claiming that it cost the charity thousands of pounds in lost sales. Nevertheless, the album raised more than £1.25 million for War Child.

[edit] Track listing

Oasis and Friends — "Fade Away"
The Boo Radleys — "Oh Brother"
The Stone Roses — "Love Spreads"
Radiohead — "Lucky"
Orbital — "Adnan"
Portishead — "Mourning Air"
Massive Attack — "Fake the Aroma" (alternate version of Karmacoma)
Suede — "Shipbuilding"
The Charlatans — "Time for Livin'"
Stereo MC's — "Sweetest Truth (Show No Fear)"
Sinéad O'Connor — "Ode to Billy Joe"
The Levellers — "Searchlights"
Manic Street Preachers — "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head"
Terrorvision — "Tom Petty Loves Veruca Salt"
The One World Orchestra featuring The Massed Pipes and Drums of the Children's Free Revolutionary Volunteer Guards (aka The KLF) — "The Magnificent "
Planet 4 Folk Quartet — "Message to Crommie"
Terry Hall and Salad — "Dream a Little Dream"
Neneh Cherry and Trout — "1, 2, 3, 4, 5 "
Blur — "Eine Kleine Lift Musik"
The Smokin' Mojo Filters — "Come Together"