Rubber Soul (1965)The Beatles’ 1965 itinerary had included the making of another film, receiving the coveted MBE awards, and another extensive tour of America… a schedule busier than ever. In October 1965, the band entered the studio with an actual block of time OFF, a first in their career. Sessions were no longer squeezed in only when there was time between tours. However, the band still had to work under a tight deadline… the album had to be completed in only a month’s time in order to be finished for the Christmas market.
How stunning is it, then, that working under pressure they were able to complete such a daring, experimental album! Perhaps it is not as groundbreaking as Sgt. Pepper, but all the elements of a new-found studio-centric direction are all there. Let’s examine song-by-song:
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You’ve heard me sing praises for “Drive My Car” here in the past. When it begins, the listener immediately knows that something new is afoot; the carefully doubled bass and guitar lines and tasteful piano licks are the first sign of studio mastery in the production.
We then are hit with an early use of Indian-flavored sounds in pop music with “Norwegian Wood.” George’s use of the sitar is an intriguing accompaniment to delightful lyrics referring to an affair of Lennon’s.
“You Won’t See Me” is an enjoyable McCartney tune, the longest Beatles track to date.
The outstanding “Nowhere Man” is one of the first Beatles songs to NOT be about boy-meets-girl love, a real taste of things to come. The 3-part harmony in this tune is particularly great (and VERY difficult for the boys to replicate in concert…)
George Harrison’s composition “Think For Yourself” continues his trend of fine songs that began with “I Need You” on the previous album. It is most notable for Paul double-tracked basses: one normal and one played through a fuzz box. The effect is quite unique!
“The Word” is another hint of things to come… a shift to more philosophical lyrics (this time looking at love in the abstract). Some call it a precursor to “All You Need is Love.”
Another very unique song closes out side A… “Michelle.” French lyrics and a complex harmonic structure make it memorable. (Personally, the version that I always remember as definitive version was performed by McCartney during his 1993 tour, which I watched at age 6 and thereafter became infatuated with the Beatles).
Side B begins with Ringo’s vocal for the album, “What Goes On” (uniquely credited to Lennon/McCartney/Starkey)! It is a fine homage to rockabilly.
“Girl” is another song entirely unique in the Beatles’ catalog. For lack of any better words, it has Greek-esque influences?? Can anyone describe it with better words?
“I’m Looking Through You” is a fine song, but I GREATLY prefer the version issued on Anthology 2 (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3z5aNGt6bE). The album version was a remake, but unfortunately I have a hard time finding faults in the original version.
Perhaps the highlight of the album, “In My Life” features introspective lyrics, an outstanding melody, sparse but appropriate instrumentation, and a studio-tricked piano solo by George Martin. It might be the finest Beatles song up until 1965… I don’t remember how I ranked it when I did my top 50 songs.
It is followed by the album’s only clunker, “Wait.” The song was a leftover from Help!, and was polished off only because the new album was one song short and under a tough deadline. I have very little to comment on…
“If I Needed Someone” is another fine effort from Harrison. It features extensive use of variants on the D major guitar chord played higher up the fretboard with a capo. Interestingly enough, I just learned that this was the ONLY Harrison composition that was performed live by the Beatles (the rest of George’s live vocals were covers!).
The album closes with one of my favorites on the record, John’s “Run For Your Life.” Lennon apparently was not proud of the song at all, but I find it upbeat and enjoyable.
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Rubber Soul is one of those albums that I need to be in the right mood in order to listen without skipping any tracks. Nonetheless, I regard it as one of the better Beatles albums. While working on this write-up, I realized that the album’s most identifying feature is the fact that most of the songs sound ENTIRELY unique in the Beatles’ catalog. They are unlike anything written and recorded before, and everything afterwards drew upon this bold songwriting and early studio experimentation. It is truly a special album and understandably highly regarded by many (even non-Beatles fans). It is the album where many “haters” of the early Beatles begin to take notice.
Topic: The Beatles - Rubber Soul (Read 5223 times)
