The Beatles auditioned for Decca Records at Decca Studios in West Hampstead, North London, on 1 January 1962. They were rejected by the label, who instead signed a contract with Brian Poole and the Tremeloes.[1] The audition was recorded, and five of the songs—"Searchin'", "Three Cool Cats", "The Sheik of Araby", "Like Dreamers Do" and "Hello Little Girl"—were officially released on the compilation Anthology 1 in 1995.
Background
The Beatles' manager, Brian Epstein, met with record companies in London to secure a record contract for the Beatles and was rejected by many, including Columbia, His Master's Voice, Pye, Philips, and Oriole.[2] After Epstein had meetings with both EMI and Decca at the start of December 1961, a Decca A&R executive, Mike Smith, travelled to Liverpool to see the Beatles perform at The Cavern Club, and was impressed enough to ask Epstein to bring the band down to London for a test in Decca's recording studios, scheduled for 1 January 1962.[3] (New Year's Day was not a public holiday in England at the time.)[4]
Neil Aspinall drove the Beatles down to London on New Year's Eve 1961; he lost his way, and the trip took ten hours.[2][5] They arrived at 10 p.m., "just in time to see the drunks jumping in the Trafalgar Square fountain", as John Lennon described it.[6] Decca's London studio was little more than a mile (1.6 km) from EMI's studio (later known as Abbey Road Studios).[7]
The audition
John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Pete Best arrived at the audition, formally known as a "commercial test", to be headed by Mike Smith with Decca staff, on 1 January 1962 at 10 a.m. However, Smith was late, suffering from a New Year's party hangover as well as cuts and bruises from a car crash three days before Christmas, slightly delaying the start of the audition.[8] At the audition, the Beatles performed songs chosen by Epstein.[7]
Recording
At the time, the standard procedure for a test of this type was to record two to five songs and then quickly usher the artists out of the studio. The Beatles, however, ended up recording fifteen songs, and the recording session was extended into the afternoon, broken by a lunch break. This may suggest that, if they had been offered a deal, their first single and perhaps others would have been taken from the resulting tape.[8]
In his 1992 book, The Complete Beatles Chronicle, Mark Lewisohn postulates that "[i]t's unlikely that the Beatles were given any opportunity to perform more than one take of any song", and adds that each was recorded live on two-track tape with no overdubs. The book includes a photograph of an acetate 45 made by Decca, containing "Like Dreamers Do".[7]
Afterwards, the Beatles came to believe that Epstein had paid Decca to tape the audition.[2] Lennon asserted that a Decca producer, Tony Meehan (formerly of the Shadows), produced the Decca audition session, but current scholarship considers this unlikely.[9]
Setlist
For the setlist, Epstein chose 15 songs that the Beatles had performed in clubs over the years, including three Lennon–McCartney originals.[10]
According to Lewisohn, the likely order of the songs at the session was as follows:[7]
"Like Dreamers Do" (Lennon–McCartney)
"Money (That's What I Want)" (Berry Gordy–Janie Bradford)
"Till There Was You" (Meredith Willson)
"The Sheik of Araby" (Harry B. Smith–Francis Wheeler–Ted Snyder)
"To Know Her Is to Love Her" (Phil Spector)
"Take Good Care of My Baby" (Carole King–Gerry Goffin)
"Memphis, Tennessee" (Chuck Berry)
"Sure to Fall (in Love with You)" (Carl Perkins–Bill Cantrell–Quinton Claunch)
"Hello Little Girl" (Lennon–McCartney)
"Three Cool Cats" (Jerry Leiber–Mike Stoller)
"Crying, Waiting, Hoping" (Buddy Holly)
"Love of the Loved" (Lennon–McCartney)
"September in the Rain" (Harry Warren–Al Dubin)
"Bésame Mucho" (Consuelo Velázquez)
"Searchin'" (Jerry Leiber–Mike Stoller)
Rejection and aftermath
The Liverpool music paper Mersey Beat was the first to report on the Mike Smith visit, saying that the producer had made a tape of the performance (this amounted to the first "test"), and added "he is convinced that his label will be able to put the Beatles to good use."[7]
About a month later, Decca rejected the Beatles. The executives' opinion was "guitar groups are on the way out" and "the Beatles have no future in show business".[1] Some music historians have suggested, however, that the Beatles' work that day did not yet reflect their potential, and the "guitar" comment may have been intended as a polite letdown.[11] In his 1964 autobiography, A Cellarful of Noise, Epstein ascribed the "guitar" comment to Dick Rowe, but Rowe denied it as long as he lived.[12] Decca instead chose Brian Poole and the Tremeloes, who auditioned the same day as the Beatles, because they were local and would require lower travel expenses. Many have speculated about who made the decision to reject the Beatles. While various accounts of the audition have been published, most agree that it was either Dick Rowe or Mike Smith.[citation needed] Rowe did, however, offer to arrange for Tony Meehan to produce a Beatles single if Epstein would agree to pay about £100 for the expenses, but a meeting between Epstein and Meehan on 7 February went badly, and the recording never took place.[13]
While Epstein was negotiating with Decca, he also approached an EMI marketing executive, Ron White.[14] White was not a record producer, but he contacted three EMI producers, Norrie Paramor, Walter Ridley, and Norman Newell, all of whom declined to record the Beatles. They eventually signed with an EMI subsidiary, Parlophone, after producer George Martin heard the Decca demos and decided to meet the band.
In media
The rejection was parodied in the Rutles movie All You Need Is Cash (1978), in which Dan Aykroyd plays a record executive, Brian Thigh, who turns down the Rutles.[15][16] After ruminating over the "millions in royalties" lost by Thigh's company, the interviewer (Eric Idle) asks Thigh "What's it like to be such an asshole?"[17]
The 1995 documentary film The Beatles Anthology includes snippets from many of the songs performed at the Decca audition. The album released in 1995 as a companion, Anthology 1, includes five of those songs ("Searchin'", "Like Dreamers Do", "Hello Little Girl", "Three Cool Cats", and "The Sheik of Araby"), along with many other outtakes and live performances.[10]
Sale of audition tape
The original safety master tape the group recorded at Decca's London studios was auctioned by the Fame Bureau in December 2012 to a Japanese collector for £35,000. A spokesman for the auctioneers said at the time, "The tape went to a Capitol Records executive after the Beatles signed with EMI. He sold it to the current owner who was one of the top buyers for Hard Rock Cafe but it was for his own personal collection."[18] The authenticity of the tape sold remains debatable among experts, however, because the tape of the audition contains 15 songs and the tape auctioned has only 10. Additionally, the auction recording is on Ampex tape, which was not in use in 1962. It has not been firmly ascertained whether the original master tape recorded by Decca on 1 January 1962 is in the possession of the Beatles' Apple Corps Ltd. A copy of the tape, widely used by bootleggers, is in the hands of a private collector.[19]
Another audition tape (with 15 songs) was found in a Vancouver record shop on March 11, 2025. "Frith [the record store owner] said the tape appeared to be a professionally edited recording of the Beatles’ New Year’s Day 1962 audition for Decca Records in London, a session that notably ended with the band’s rejection."[20] Frith handed the tape over to Paul McCartney in September.[21]
In the spirit of exploring more Anthology unreleased recordings, a collection was distributed back in 1997 on the Invasion Unlimited label. Some of these are very interesting and in great audio quality.
Beatles Anthology Plus-2CD Release history label: Invasion Unlimited – IU9750-2, released October 1997 Packaged strikingly similar to the regular Anthology albums. Features a 16 page booklet.
Disc 1
I’ll Always Be In Love With You- recorded in Liverpool, May 1960
I’ll Follow The Sun-recorded in Liverpool, May 1960 One After 909 1960 rehearsal, recorded in Liverpool, May 1960
Hello Little Girl- recorded in Liverpool, May 1960
Love Of The Loved-recorded at the Decca audition, London, January 1 1962
I Saw Her Standing There-recorded during rehearsal at the Cavern Club, Liverpool, late March 1962
One After 909-recorded during rehearsal at the Cavern Club, Liverpool, late March 1962
Some Other Guy-recorded live at the Cavern Club, Liverpool, August 22 1962
A Taste Of Honey-recorded live at the Star Club, Hamburg, December 31 1962
I Saw Her Standing There-take 2, recorded at EMI Studios, London, February 11 1963
Misery-recorded at EMI Studios, London, February 11 1963
From Me To You-recorded at EMI Studios, London, March 5 1963
Talkin’ ‘Bout You-recorded at the BBC Broadcasting House, London, March 16 1963
Bad To Me-recorded at Dick James Publishing Studio, May 1963
Don’t Bother Me-recorded at EMI Studios, London, September 12 1963
This Boy-recorded at EMI Studios, London, October 17 1963
Medley: Love Me Do/Please Please Me/From Me To You/She Loves You/I Want To Hold Your Hand-recorded at IBC Studios, London, April 19 1964
Can’t Buy Me Love-recorded live at Wembley Empire Pool, London, April 26 1964
I Should Have Known Better-recorded at BBC’s Paris Studio, London, July 17 1964
You Can’t Do That-recorded live at the Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, August 23 1964
I’m A Loser-recorded at EMI Studios, London, August 14 1964
She’s A Woman-take 2, recorded at EMI Studios, London, October 8 1964
I Feel Fine-take 1, recorded at EMI Studios, London, October 18 1964
I Feel Fine-take 5, recorded at EMI Studios, London, October 18 1964
That Means A Lot-recorded at EMI Studios, London, March 30 1965
Help!=recorded at EMI Studios, London, April 13 1965
The Night Before-recorded at BBC’s Piccadilly Theatre, London, May 26 1965
Baby’s In Black-recorded live at the Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, August 29-30 1965
Norwegian Wood-take 2, recorded at EMI Studios, London, October 21 1965
Day Tripper (instrumental)-recorded at EMI Studios, London, October 16 1965
Disc 2
Yellow Submarine-recorded at EMI Studios, London, May 26 and June 1 1966
Here, There And Everywhere-recorded at EMI Studios, London, June 16 1966
Yesterday-recorded live at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, August 29 1966
Strawberry Fields Forever (orchestral score)-recorded at EMI Studios, London, December 15 1966
Good Morning Good Morning-demo recorded by John at ‘Kenwood’, Weybridge, Surrey, January 1967
It’s All Too Much-recorded at De Lane Lea Studios, May 25-26 1967
Your Mother Should Know-take 1, recorded at Chappell Recording Studio, London, August 22 1967
Aerial Tour Instrumental-recorded at EMI Studios, London, September 8 1967
Lady Madonna-demo, recorded at EMI Studios, London, autumn 1967
Christmas Time (Is Here Again)-recorded at EMI Studios, London, November 28 1967 (music); December 6 1966 (greetings). From the “Free As A Bird” single
The Inner Light (instrumental)-recorded at EMI Recording Studio, Bombay, India, January 10 1968
Revolution-demo recorded at George’s home in Esher, May 1968
Back In The USSR-demo recorded at George’s home in Esher, May 1968
Not Guilty-demo recorded at George’s home in Esher, May 1968
“Weird Album” Session=recorded at EMI Studios, London, June to October 1968
Happiness Is A Warm Gun-recorded at EMI Studios, London, September 23-25 1968
Heather-recorded at EMI Studios, London, November 1968
Goodbye-recorded at EMI Studios, London, December 1968
Two Of Us-rehearsal, recorded at Twickenham Film Studios, London, January 1969
Get Back-rehearsal, recorded at Twickenham Film Studios, London, January 1969
Suzy Parker-recorded at Twickenham Film Studios, London, January 1969
Let It Be-session medley recorded at Twickenham & Apple Studios, London, January 1969
I Want You (She’s So Heavy)-recorded at Trident Studios, London, February 21 1969
Oh, I Need You-recorded at Trident Studios, London, February 21 1969
The End (instrumental)-recorded at EMI Studios, London, July 23 1969
You can find more information about this recording here:
Since the release of the Anthology Series back in 1995, collectors and fans have been asking for more unreleased recordings. The aftermarket has supplied many titles to meet this demand. The Anthology Complete Works collection features 7 volumes of 2CDs each. Below is information on this comprehensive series.
The Beatles – Anthology - Complete Works 1
Tracklist CD1 1-1 Opening 0:51 1-2 “We were four guys… that’s all” 0:11 Live At St. Peter’s Church Field, Woolton, Liverpool 6 July 1957 1-3 Puttin’ On The Style 0:50 1-4 Baby Let’s Play House 0:20 Percy Phillips Studio, Kensington, Liverpool 1958 1-5 That’ll Be The Day 2:10 1-6 In Spite Of All Danger 2:46 1-7 “Sometimes I’d borrow… those still exist” 0:17 Home Recordings, Forthlin Road, Liverpool Spring 1960 1-8 Hallelujah, I Love Her So 2:19 1-9 You’ll Be Mine 1:42 1-10 Cayenne 2:27 1-11 The One After 909 2:24 1-12 Wild Cat 2:28 1-13 I’ll Follow The Sun 1:46 1-14 Some Days 1:37 1-15 Hello Little Girl 1:53 1-16 "First of all... it didn't do a thing here" 0:24 (Stereo) Tony Sheridan Recording Sessions, Hamburg Germany 22 June 1961 1-17 My Bonnie 2:40 1-18 Ain’t She Sweet 2:11 1-19 Cry For A Shadow 2:23 1-20 “Brian was a beautiful guy… he presented us well” 0:09 1-21 “I secured them… a Beatle drink even then” 0:18 (Stereo) Audition At Decca Studio, London 1 January 1962 1-22 Searchin’ 3:04 1-23 Three Cool Cats 2:24 1-24 The Sheik Of Araby 1:42 1-25 Like Dreamers Do 2:34 1-26 Hello Little Girl 1:40 1-27 To Know Her Is To Love Her 2:36 1-28 Crying Waiting Hoping 2:03 1-29 Love Of The Loved 1:54 1-30 “Well, the recording test…by my artists” 0:31 (Stereo) EMI Abbey Road Studio, London 6 June 1962 1-31 Besame Mucho 2:35 1-32 Love Me Do 2:31 (Stereo) Live At Cavern Club, Liverpool 5 September 1962 1-33 Some Other Guy 2:18 1-34 Kansas City 2:48 (Stereo) EMI Abbey Road Studio, London 4 September 1962 1-35 How Do You Do It 1:55 (Stereo) EMI Abbey Road Studio, London 11 September 1962 1-36 Please Please Me 1:59 Granada TV "People And Places" Manchester 29 October 1962 1-37 A Taste Of Honey 0:49 Cavern Club Rehearsals, Liverpool October 1962 1-38 I Saw Her Standing There 3:10 1-39 The One After 909 3:16 1-40 Catswalk 1:24 (Stereo) Live At The Star Club, Hamburg, Germany 18-31 December 1962 1-41 Red Hot 1:25 1-42 I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Cry (Over You) 1:46 1-43 Twist And Shout 1:22 (Stereo) EMI Abbey Road Studio, London 11 February 1963 CD2 2-1 I Saw Her Standing There (Take 2) 3:06 2-2 I Saw Her Standing There (Take 7/9) 3:33 2-3 There’s A Place (Takes 3/4) 2:07 2-4 Do You Want To Know A Secret (Take 7) 2:11 2-5 A Taste Of Honey (Take 6) 2:09 2-6 Misery (Take 1) 1:50 (Stereo) EMI Abbey Road Studio, London 5 March 1963 2-7 From Me To You (Takes 1/2) 3:21 2-8 Thank You Girl (Take 1) 2:05 2-9 One After 909 (False Start) 2:23 2-10 One After 909 (Edit Takes 4/5) 2:54 (Stereo) Live At The BBC Various 1963 2-11 Baby It's You 2:46 2-12 Please Mr. Postman 2:17 2-13 That’s All Right, Mama 2:57 2-14 Lend Me Your Comb 1:48 (Stereo) Demo Recordings, May 1963 2-15 Bad To Me (Demo) 1:28 2-16 Rockin’ And Rollin’ (Demo) 1:46 Palace Court Hotel, Bourmemouth 19-24 August 1963 2-17 Don’t Bother Me (Demo) 1:24 (Stereo) EMI Abbey Road Studio, London 18 July - 12 September 1963 2-18 Don't Bother Me (Takes 10 & 11/12) 3:50 2-19 Hold Me Tight (Takes 21/22/23) 3:41 2-20 Money (That's What I Want) (RM 7) 2:45 2-21 All My Loving (Take 14) 2:09 Demo Recordings, October 1963 2-22 I'm In Love (Demo) 1:27 Live On Sunday Night At The London Palladium 13 October 1963 2-23 I'll Get You 2:07 (Stereo) EMI Abbey Road Studio, London 17 October 1963 2-24 I Want To Hold Your Hand (Sessions) 1:08 2-25 This Boy (Takes 6/11/12) 3:30 2-26 “We were performers… in Britain" 0:11 Live At The Karlaplansstudion, Stockholm, Sweden 24 October 1963 2-27 I Saw Her Standing There 2:44 2-28 From Me To You 2:08 2-29 Money (That's What I Want) 2:51 2-30 Roll Over Beethoven 2:19 2-31 You Really Got A Hold On Me 3:06 2-32 She Loves You 2:29 2-33 Twist And Shout 2:46
CD1 is an opening that traces the history of the Beatles, starting with a collage of interview voices and songs, and recording the performance of the Quarrymen at the Woolton Church where John and Paul, the oldest existing sound sources, met. Not only is it longer than the original, but the sound quality is also easier to hear. The two songs "That'll Be The Day" and "In Spite of All Danger", which are the first records to be recorded, are also sources that are closer to the original sound. Not only has the content of home recording increased significantly, but it is also recorded with a sound source that is closer to the original sound. The Decca audition is recorded by converting the original, which was a monaural sound source, into real stereo. The sound quality is also improved more clearly. In addition, the live performance of the Star Club, which was not recorded in the original, is also recorded in stereo. CD2 contains the studio outtakes of the debut album "Please Please Me" followed by "With the Beatles". Not only is the number of recorded songs increasing, but the monaural sound source has been replaced with real stereo. Furthermore, the BBC sound source has been converted to stereo, and the sound quality of the demo sound source has also been improved. The famous early live sound source Sweden Stockholm radio sound source has also been updated from monaural to real stereo. The lively live performance has been reborn as a clearer and more powerful sound source.
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The Beatles – Anthology - Complete Works 2
Tracklist
CD 1 1-1 I Saw Her Standing There (On 'Drop In' Tv Stockholm, Sweden 30 October 1963) 1-2 Long Tall Sally (On 'Drop In' Tv Stockholm, Sweden 30 October 1963) 1-3 From Me To You ('Royal Variety Performance' At The Prince Of Wales Theatre, London 4 November 1963) 1-4 She Loves You ('Royal Variety Performance' At The Prince Of Wales Theatre, London 4 November 1963) 1-5 Till There Was You ('Royal Variety Performance' At The Prince Of Wales Theatre, London 4 November 1963) 1-6 Twist And Shout ('Royal Variety Performance' At The Prince Of Wales Theatre, London 4 November 1963) 1-7 This Boy (On 'Two Of A Kind – Morecambe And Wise Show' Atv Studio 2 December 1963) 1-8 I Want To Hold Your Hand (On 'Two Of A Kind – Morecambe And Wise Show' Atv Studio 2 December 1963) 1-9 “Boys, what I was thinking…” (On 'Two Of A Kind – Morecambe And Wise Show' Atv Studio 2 December 1963) 1-10 Moonlight Bay On 'Two Of A Kind – Morecambe And Wise Show' Atv Studio 2 December 1963 1-11 Crimble Medley (BBC Various 21/26 December 1963) 1-12 Tie Me Kangaroo Down Spot (BBC Various 21/26 December 1963) 1-13 What Goes On (Demo) 1-14 A World Without Love (Demo) 1-15 One And One Is Two (Demo) 1-16 If I Fell (Demo) 1-17 Can't Buy Me Love (Take 2) 1-18 Can't Buy Me Love (Take 4) 1-19 All My Loving ('Ed Sullivan Show' New York 9 February 1964) 1-20 Long Tall Sally (Washington Coliseum, Washington DC 11 February 1964) 1-21 You Can't Do That (Take 6) 1-22 And I Love Her (Takes 2/11) 1-23 I Should Have Known Better (Sessions) 1-24 Tell Me Why (Sessions) 1-25 Train Music 1-26 A Hard Day's Night (Take 1) 1-27 A Hard Day's Night (Take 2/3) 1-28 I'll Be Back (Take 2) 1-29 I'll Be Back (Sessions) 1-30 I'll Be Back (Take 3) 1-31 You Know What To Do (On 'Around The Beatles' IBC Studio, London 19 April 1964) 1-32 Twist And Shout (On 'Around The Beatles' IBC Studio, London 19 April 1964) 1-33 Roll Over Beethoven (On 'Around The Beatles' IBC Studio, London 19 April 1964) 1-34 I Wanna Be Your Man (On 'Around The Beatles' IBC Studio, London 19 April 1964) 1-35 Long Tall Sally (On 'Around The Beatles' IBC Studio, London 19 April 1964) 1-36 Boys (On 'Around The Beatles' IBC Studio, London 19 April 1964) 1-37 Can't Buy Me Love (On 'Around The Beatles' IBC Studio, London 19 April 1964) 1-38 Medley Of Hits (On 'Around The Beatles' IBC Studio, London 19 April 1964) 1-39 Shout (On 'Around The Beatles' IBC Studio, London 19 April 1964) 1-40 No Reply (Demo) 1-41 It's For You (Demo)
CD 2 2-1 Twist And Shout (Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles 23 August 1964) 2-2 You Can't Do That (Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles 23 August 1964) 2-3 All My Loving (Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles 23 August 1964) 2-4 She Loves You (Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles 23 August 1964) 2-5 Things We Said Today (Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles 23 August 1964) 2-6 Roll Over Beethoven (Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles 23 August 1964) 2-7 Can't Buy Me Love (Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles 23 August 1964) 2-8 If I Fell (Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles 23 August 1964) 2-9 I Want To Hold Your Hand (Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles 23 August 1964) 2-10 Boys (Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles 23 August 1964) 2-11 A Hard Day's Night (Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles 23 August 1964) 2-12 Long Tall Sally (Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles 23 August 1964) 2-13 I'm A Loser (Takes 1/2) 2-14 I'm A Loser (Takes 3) 2-15 Mr.Moonlight (Takes 1/2/4) 2-16 Leave My Kitten Alone (Take 5) 2-17 No Reply (Take 1) 2-18 No Reply (Take 2) 2-19 What You're Doing (Sessions/Take 11) 2-20 Eight Days A Week (Sessions) 2-21 Eight Days A Week (Take 5) 2-22 She's A Woman (Take 1) 2-23 She's A Woman (Take 2) 2-24 She's A Woman (Take 3/4) 2-25 She's A Woman (Take 7) 2-26 I Feel Fine (Take 1) 2-27 I Feel Fine (Take 7/9) 2-28 Kansas City / Hey Hey Hey Hey (Take 2) 2-29 Christmas Message 1964 (Outtake)
CD1 started from a live concert on Sweden TV, which was the first expedition in 1963. The original monaural sound source is converted to real stereo and the sound quality is upgraded. "Royal Variety Performance", which can be said to be a historical live sound source, includes all songs including original cut songs. "Long Tall Sally" in Washington DC, which was discovered later, and unrecorded songs of Around the Beatles are also added. The outtakes that were monaural in the session sound source of the album "A Hard Days Night" have been upgraded to real stereo, and the demos of this period, "What Goes On," "World Without Love," and "One." Also includes "And One Is To" and "It's For You", albeit fragmentarily. "You Know What to Do" is stereo. CD2 includes all songs of the Hollywood Bowl in 1964. This is based on an original acetate sound source that is different from the official remaster. The outtakes of the session of the latter half of the album "Beatles for Sale" have also been replaced from monaural to real stereo, and the sound quality itself has improved. It contains outtakes that didn't even use the last '64 Christmas message.
------------------------------------------- The Beatles – Anthology - Complete Works 3
Tracklist
CD 1 1-1 Ticket To Ride (Take 1/2) 1-2 Yes It Is (Take 1) 1-3 Yes It Is (Take 8/9) 1-4 You've Got To Hide Your Love Away (Takes 1/2/5) 1-5 If You've Got Trouble (Take 1) 1-6 That Means A Lot (Take 1) 1-7 That Means A Lot (Rehearsal) 1-8 That Means A Lot (Take 20) 1-9 That Means A Lot (Take 22) 1-10 That Means A Lot (Take 23) 1-11 That Means A Lot (Take 24) 1-12 That Means A Lot (Test Take) 1-13 Help! (Take 1) 1-14 Help! (Take 4) 1-15 Help! (The Movie Soundtrack) 1-16 I'm Down (Take 1) 1-17 Yesterday (Take 1) 1-18 It's Only Love (Takes 2/3) 1-19 'The national health cow' (John Lennon’s 'In His Own Write' 1965) 1-20 I'm A Loser (Palais des Sports, Paris, France 20 June 1965) 1-21 Rock And Roll Music (Palais des Sports, Paris, France 20 June 1965) 1-22 I Feel Fine ('Blackpool Night Out' ABC Theatre, Blackpool 1 August 1965) 1-23 Act Naturally ('Blackpool Night Out' ABC Theatre, Blackpool 1 August 1965) 1-24 Ticket To Ride ('Blackpool Night Out' ABC Theatre, Blackpool 1 August 1965) 1-25 Yesterday ('Blackpool Night Out' ABC Theatre, Blackpool 1 August 1965) 1-26 Help! ('Blackpool Night Out' ABC Theatre, Blackpool 1 August 1965) 1-27 Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby (Shea Stadium, New York 15 August 1965) 1-28 Twist And Shout (Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles 30 August 1965) 1-29 She's A Woman (Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles 30 August 1965) 1-30 Dizzy Miss Lizzy (Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles 30 August 1965) 1-31 Can't Buy Me Love (Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles 30 August 1965) 1-32 Baby's In Black (Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles 30 August 1965) 1-33 A Hard Day's Night (Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles 30 August 1965) 1-34 I'm Down (Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles 30 August 1965)
CD 2 2-1 We Can Work It Out (Demo) 2-2 Michelle (Demo) 2-3 Run For Your Life (Take 5) 2-4 Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (Take 1) 2-5 Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (Take 2) 2-6 Day Tripper (Takes 2/3) 2-7 In My Life (Monitor Mix) 2-8 We Can Work It Out (Take 1) 2-9 We Can Work It Out (Take 2) 2-10 I'm Looking Through You (Take 1) 2-11 I'm Looking Through You (Take 4) 2-12 12 Bar Original (Take 1) 2-13 12 Bar Original (Take 2) 2-14 Christmas Mesage 1965 (Outtake) 2-15 Eleanor Rigby (Demo) 2-16 She Said, She Said (Demo) 2-17 Tomorrow Never Knows (Take 1) 2-18 Tomorrow Never Knows (Rm 11) 2-19 Got To Get You Into My Life (Take 5) 2-20 Paperback Writer (Take 2) 2-21 And Your Bird Can Sing (Take 2) 2-22 Taxman (Take 11) 2-23 Eleanor Rigby (Take 14) 2-24 I'm Only Sleeping (Rehearsal) 2-25 I'm Only Sleeping (Take 1) 2-26 Yellow Submarine (Take 5) 2-27 Here, There And Everywhere (Take 7) 2-28 Rock And Roll Music (Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan 30 June 1966) 2-29 If I Needed Someone (Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan 30 June 1966) 2-30 Nowhere Man (Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan 30 June 1966) 2-31 Paperback Writer (Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan 30 June 1966) 2-32 Long Tall Sally (Candlestick Park, Los Angeles 29 August 1966)
CD1 is the album "Help!" From the single "Tears Ticket / Yes It Is" session. ?Outtakes are recorded. The unreleased songs "If You've Got Trouble" and "That Means a Lot" have also improved sound quality from monaural to real stereo. Originally, "That Means a Lot" was recorded only for Take 1, but it is additionally recorded with a completely different arrangement and repeated trial and error. It is also noteworthy that the outtakes of "Blow away sadness" and "It's only love" are made into real stereo. In addition to the stereo sound source of the 1965 Paris performance, the 1965 Hollywood Bowl performance is also recorded with a different sound source from the official release. CD2 contains session sound sources from the albums "Rubber Soul" and "Revolver", which are in full swing for studio recording. Not only has the number of song selections increased significantly compared to the original, but the monaural sound source has also been changed to real stereo. The demo sound source "Let's embrace love", "Michel", "Eliner Rigby", etc., which were not recorded in the original, are additionally recorded. In the live performance, the Budokan performance is recorded in real stereo. The last is closed with the final "Long Tall Sally" at Candlestick Park, the final performance on record.
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The Beatles – Anthology - Complete Works 4
Tracklist CD 1 1-1 Strawberry Fields Forever (Demo) 1-2 Strawberry Fields Forever (Take 1) 1-3 Strawberry Fields Forever (Take 7) 1-4 Strawberry Fields Forever (Take 26) 1-5 When I'm Sixty-Four (Take 2) 1-6 Penny Lane (Overdub Session) 1-7 Penny Lane (Edit Takes 6/7&9) 1-8 Penny Lane (Rm 11) 1-9 A Day In The Life (Takes 1/2) 1-10 Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Take 9) 1-11 Good Morning, Good Morning (Demo) 1-12 Good Morning, Good Morning (Take 8) 1-13 Fixing A Hole (Take 3) 1-14 Only A Northern Song (Takes 3/12) 1-15 Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite (Takes 1/2) 1-16 Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite (Take 7) 1-17 Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite (Take 9) 1-18 Lovely Rita (Take 9) 1-19 Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds (Takes 6/7/8) 1-20 Getting Better (Take 12) 1-21 Within You, Without You (Take 1) 1-22 She's Leaving Home (Rm 1) 1-23 With A Little Help From My Friends (Takes 1/2) 1-24 Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) (Take 5) 1-25 Sgt. Pepper's Inner Groove 1-26 It's All Too Much (Take 4)
CD 2 2-1 Magical Mystery Tour (Film Mix) 2-2 You Know My Name (Look Up My Number) (Take 30) 2-3 All You Need Is Love (Rehearsal) 2-4 All You Need Is Love (Live Broadcast) 2-5 Your Mother Should Know (Take 8) 2-6 I Am The Walrus (Takes 16/17) 2-7 The Fool On The Hill (Demo) 2-8 Blue Jay Way (Rm 1) 2-9 Aerial Tour Instrumental (Flying) 2-10 Flying (Remix) 2-11 Your Mother Should Know (Take 27) 2-12 The Fool On The Hill (Take 4) 2-13 The Fool On The Hill (Take 6) 2-14 All Together On The Wireless Machine 2-15 Hello Goodbye (Take 1/16) 2-16 Jessie's Dream 2-17 Christmas Time (Is Here Again) (Edit Version) 2-18 Christmas Time (Is Here Again) (Complete) 2-19 Stranger In My Arms (Demo) 2-20 Hey Bulldog (Demo) 2-21 You Know My Name (Look Up My Number) (Demo) 2-22 Cry Baby Cry / Across The Universe (Demo) 2-23 Across The Universe (Take 2) 2-24 Lady Madonna (Takes 3/4) 2-25 The Inner Light (Take 6) 2-26 Across The Universe (Take 7)
Recorded from the end of 1966 to the beginning of 1968, where live activities are suspended and devoted to studio recording. CD1 contains the session sound source of "Sergeant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band", which started with a sound source documenting the production process of "Strawberry Fields Forever" and rewrote the history of rock as an artistic concept album. Compared to the original, the number of recorded songs has been doubled, and the content of the recording session is more conveyed. The instrumental "Within You Without You" has been updated with vocals. CD2 mainly contains the outtakes from the indie film "Magical Mystery Tour". Many monaural sound sources have been changed to real stereo, and the sound quality has been improved and longer recordings have been updated. "Love is everything" and "Christmas time (is here again)", which were broadcast worldwide at the same time, are also unedited versions that have been converted from monaural to stereo. In addition, the outtake of "The Inner Light" with vocals of George, which was not originally recorded, and "Across the Universe (Take 7)" are additionally recorded.
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The Beatles – Anthology - Complete Works 5
Tracklist CD 1 1-1 Almost Shankara (Take 1) 1-2 When The Saints Go Marching In / You Are My Sunshine / Jingle Bells / She'll Be Coming Round The Mountain 1-3 Happiness Runs 1-4 Rishikesh Jam / Blowin' In The Wind / Hare Krishna Mantra 1-5 O Sole Mio / Catch The Wind 1-6 Spiritual Regeneration / Happy Birthday Mike Love 1-7 Happiness Is A Warm Gun (Demo) 1-8 Glass Onion (Demo) 1-9 Sour Milk Sea (Demo) 1-10 Mean Mr. Mustard (Demo) 1-11 Polythene Pam (Demo) 1-12 Circles (Demo) 1-13 Junk (Demo) 1-14 Piggies (Demo) 1-15 Honey Pie (Demo) 1-16 Revolution 1 (Take 20) 1-17 Don't Pass Me By (Studio Chat / Take 3&5) 1-18 Cottonfields / Goodbye Kenny Jingle 1-19 Helter Skelter / Gone Tomorrow Here Today (Rehearsal) 1-20 Blackbird (Rehearsal) 1-21 Mother Nature's Son (Rehearsal) 1-22 Blackbird (Rehearsal) 1-23 Blackbird (Take 4) 1-24 A Beginnings 1-25 Good Night (Rehearsal / Take 34) 1-26 Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da (Take 26&5) 1-27 Revolution (Rehearsal / Take 10&16) 1-28 Cry Baby Cry (Take 1) 1-29 Helter Skelter (Take 2)
CD 2 2-1 Sexy Sadie (Take 6) 2-2 Fuck A Duckie 2-3 Brian Epstein Blues (Stereo/Mono) 2-4 While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Take 1) 2-5 When I Was A Robber / Hey Jude (Take 2) 2-6 St. Louis Blues 2-7 Las Vegas Tune 2-8 Hey Jude (Take 25) 2-9 Mother Nature's Son (Take 3) 2-10 Not Guilty (Take 102) 2-11 White Jam 2-12 What's The New Mary Jane (Take 2&4) 2-13 Rocky Raccoon (Take 9&8) 2-14 Back In The U.S.S.R. (Session Chat / Take 6) 2-15 Dear Prudence (Take 1) 2-16 Yer Blues (Alternate Mix) 2-17 Helter Skelter (Session Chat / Take 18&19) 2-18 Helter Skelter (Take 21) 2-19 Can You Take Me Back (Take 19) 2-20 Step Inside Love (Take 34) 2-21 Los Paranoias (Take 35) 2-22 The Way You Look Tonight 2-23 Down In Havana 2-24 I Will (Take 1) 2-25 Happiness Is A Warm Gun (Take 65) 2-26 I'm So Tired (Take 3 & 6 & 9) 2-27 Why Don't We Do It In The Road (Take 4) 2-28 Glass Onion (Take 33) 2-29 Julia (Take 2 / Session Chat)
The Beatles produce the first two-disc blockbuster album "The Beatles (White Album)" based on a new song born after a meditation trip to Rishikesh, India in 1968. CD1 contains the latest stereo remastered sound source that can be said to be a documentary in India, as well as a private recording at Kinfounce called "Esher Demo". And the production process of the album "The Beatles (White Album)" is recorded almost in chronological order, such as "Helter Skelter" at acoustic rehearsal and unreleased "Gone Tomorrow Here Today" in monaural. Many monaural sound sources have been changed to real stereo, from the outtakes of "Revolution" and "Hey Jude" to the demo sound source in the latter half of the session. It has been updated with improvements and longer recordings. The content has evolved from the original anthology trilogy, and while each member's soloization has appeared, the maturity of the band has also been seen, and the two-disc masterpiece album "The Beatles", which has become even more highly acclaimed in recent years. This is the 5th installment of the remarkable anthology series, which contains many studio sound sources that approach the core of The Beatles (White Album).
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The Beatles – Anthology - Complete Works 6
Tracklist CD 1 1-1 Piano Improvisation 1-2 Good Morning / All Things Must Pass 1-3 Get Back (Early Sessions) 1-4 Child Of Nature 1-5 I Shall Be Released 1-6 Because I Know You Love Me So 1-7 Gimme Some Truth 1-8 Suzy Parker 1-9 Madman 1-10 Watching Rainbows 1-11 She Came Inthrough The Bathroom Window 1-12 Dig A Pony 1-13 Two Of Us 1-14 Teddy Boy 1-15 For You Blue 1-16 Let It Be 1-17 Rip It Up / Shake Rattle And Roll 1-18 Kansas City / Miss Ann / Lawdy Miss Clawdy 1-19 Blue Suede Shoes 1-20 You Really Got A Hold On Me 1-21 The Long And Winding Road 1-22 Oh! Darling 1-23 Besame Mucho 1-24 Cannonball / Not Fade Away 1-25 Mailman, Bring Me No More Blues
CD 2 2-1 Opening / Get Back (Rehearsal) (Apple Rooftop Concert, London, UK January 30th 1969) 2-2 Get Back (Version 1) (Apple Rooftop Concert, London, UK January 30th 1969) 2-3 Get Back (Version 2) (Apple Rooftop Concert, London, UK January 30th 1969) 2-4 Don't Let Me Down (Version 1) (Apple Rooftop Concert, London, UK January 30th 1969) 2-5 I've Got A Feeling (Version 1) (Apple Rooftop Concert, London, UK January 30th 1969) 2-6 One After 909 (Apple Rooftop Concert, London, UK January 30th 1969) 2-7 Dig A Pony (Apple Rooftop Concert, London, UK January 30th 1969) 2-8 God Save The Queen (Apple Rooftop Concert, London, UK January 30th 1969) 2-9 I've Got A Feeling (Version 2) (Apple Rooftop Concert, London, UK January 30th 1969) 2-10 Don't Let Me Down (Version 2) (Apple Rooftop Concert, London, UK January 30th 1969) 2-11 Get Back (Version 3) (Apple Rooftop Concert, London, UK January 30th 1969) 2-12 Take This Hammer / Two Of Us / Friendship / Five Feet High And Rising / Run For Your Life / Friendship (Apple Rooftop Concert, London, UK January 31st 1969) 2-13 Goodbye (Demo) 2-14 The Ballad Of John And Yoko (Take 7) 2-15 Old Brown Shoe (Take 2) 2-16 Octopus's Garden (Take 9) 2-17 Maxwell's Silver Hammer (Take 21) 2-18 Come Together (Extra Remix) 2-19 Something (Session Chat) 2-20 Something (Take 36) 2-21 Come And Get It (Take 1) 2-22 Ain't She Sweet 2-23 Here Comes The Sun (Take 15 With Lost Guitar) 2-24 Because (Single Vocal Mix) 2-25 I Me Mine (Take 16) 2-26 Golden Slumbers / Carry That Weight (Take 17) 2-27 The End (Remix)
January 1969 Started "Get Back Session" with a view to filming and live performances with the concept of returning to the origin as a band while the members are in conflict and solo activities are in progress. From the "Get Back Session" that reaffirmed the unity as a band, such as recording the production process of the new song through movie shooting, covering the oldies number that returned to the origin and developing a relaxed rough performance, it is time on CD1 Highlights are recorded in the series. The latest stereo remaster editing, such as the sound source that was only monaural at Twickennam Studio in the first half of the session has been converted to stereo, and the sound source at Apple Studio in the second half has also been recorded longer than before. Is given. CD2 contains all the songs from the "Rooftop Concert" at Apple Building, which is attracting new attention as a movie. You can listen to the stereo mix sound image in a different alternate version by editing from multiple sound sources different from the published one. Furthermore, in the latter half, the session sound source from "Abbey Road", which was the last album production in chronological order, is recorded. This is also a studio chat and endy before the performance. It is the 6th installment of the last anthology series that recorded the last footsteps leading up to the band's dissolution, including a different sound source source such as a long recording of the band.
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The Beatles – Anthology - Complete Works 7
Tracklist CD1 1-1 Free As A Bird (Piano Demo Take 1) 3:28 1-2 Free As A Bird (Piano Demo Take 2) 2:42 1-3 Free As A Bird (Acoustic Mix) 4:01 1-4 Free As A Bird (Anthology Video Mix) 4:34 1-5 Glow Old With Me (Piano Demo Take 1) 3:07 1-6 Glow Old With Me Piano Demo Take 2) 3:11 1-7 Glow Old With Me (Acoustic Guitar Demo) 2:30 1-8 Glow Old With Me (Piano Demo Take 3) 3:27 1-9 Glow Old With Me (Piano Demo Take 4) 3:21 1-10 That's The Way The World Is 3:03 1-11 Baby Make Love To You 2:15 1-12 Baby Make Love To You / Girls And Boys 3:59 1-13 Girls And Boys (Unknown Take 1) 1:23 1-14 Real Life (Take 1) 0:56 1-15 Real Life (Take 2) 5:27 1-16 Real Life (Take 3) 2:44 1-17 Real Life (Fragment 1) 0:39 1-18 Real Life (Fragment 2) 0:31 1-19 Real Life (Unknown Take 1) 3:31 1-20 Real Life (Unknown Take 2) 3:18 1-21 Girls And Boys (Unknown Take 2) 3:10 1-22 Girls And Boys (Unknown Take 3) 1:10 1-23 Girls And Boys (Unknown Take 4) 1:29 1-24 Girls And Boys (Unknown Take 4) 4:04 1-25 Girls And Boys (Unknown Take 5) 2:46 1-26 Girls And Boys (Unknown Take 6) 2:42 1-27 Girls And Boys (Double Tracked) 2:44
CD2 2-1 Real Love (Take 1) 3:58 2-2 Real Love (Take 4) 4:07 2-3 Real Love (Unknown Take) 4:41 2-4 Real Love (Double Tracked) 4:22 2-5 Real Love (Kevin Godley Mix) 3:02 2-6 Real Love (Anthology Original Speed Mix) 4:09 2-7 Real Love (Anthology Video Mix) 3:50 2-8 I Don't Wanna Lose You (Demo) 5:05 2-9 Now And Then (Acoustic) 2:51 2-10 Now And Then (Early Iamaphoney Mix) 3:10 2-11 Now And Then (2012 Mix) 2:58 2-12 Now And Then (Virtual Beatles Mix) 4:11 2-13 Now And Then (Acoustic) 4:37 2-14 Raunchy (Reunion Jam) 1:35 2-15 Thinking Of Linking (Reunion Jam) 1:15 2-16 Blue Moon Of Kentucky (Reunion Jam) 1:19 2-17 Baby What Do You Want Me To Do (Reunion Jam) 1:45 2-18 I Will (Reunion Jam) 0:29 2-19 Dehra Dun (Reunion Jam) 0:37 2-20 Ain't She Sweet (Reunion Jam) 0:42 2-21 Free As A Bird (2015 Mix) 4:54 2-22 Real Love (2015 Mix) 3:55 2-23 Plastic Beetle (Liverpool Sound Collage Remix) 8:20 2-24 Free Now (Liverpool Sound Collage Remix) 3:29
This “Anthology Complete Works 7” covers related sound sources based on the concept of the Beatles reunion, which was temporarily realized in the production of “Beatles’ new songs”, which was the main feature of the anthology project. In 1995, three of John's unreleased songs were completed with additional recordings and released as new Beatles songs "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love". Includes the production process from John's demo of the original material, including "Grow Old With Me" and "Now and Then", to the mix in the anthology project. The original demo sound source by John's solo has been compiled in various forms so far, but it is noteworthy that it can be listened to collectively in chronological order. Furthermore, you can not miss the fact that the sound quality has been improved by the latest remaster. In addition to the production of new songs, the sound source of the precious "Reunion Jam Session" performed by the three people who met in the anthology project is also included. It is a must-see collection that cannot be overlooked as the final version of the Anthology Complete Works series.
Fans have been eagerly waiting for a Rubber Soul Deluxe collection from Apple, but the aftermarket has already been distributing these recordings for some time. And several of the Rubber Soul tracks have already been remastered and released by Apple. So a question remains will this even be needed. A desired set might include the following: 1- Original UK Stereo-2009 remaster; 2023 remasters listed 2- Original UK Mono-2009 remaster-available from the US Box set and Mono Masters set 3- Recording outtakes and sessions- This is an area that already has been covered by the Anthology and recordings from other sources.
Below are details on the remastered tracks already released from: 1- 1962-1966 Greatest Hits - The Red Album (2023)-9 of 14 songs remastered 2- The Anthology Collection (2025) - 3 alternate takes 3- Rubber Soul Sessions from other sources. 4- YouTube Rubber Soul documentaries and mono audio album 5- Recording Rubber Soul-Wikipedia 6- Comparison video between UK and US versions 7- Artwork scans
Beatles Rubber Soul Track Listing (UK) Released December 3rd, 1965
No. Title Writer(s) Lead vocals Length
1. "Drive My Car" McCartney with Lennon 2:25 2. "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" Lennon 2:05 3. "You Won't See Me" McCartney 3:18 4. "Nowhere Man" Lennon 2:40 5. "Think for Yourself" George Harrison Harrison 2:16 6. "The Word" Lennon 2:41 7. "Michelle" McCartney 2:40 8. "What Goes On" Lennon–McCartney Richard Starkey Starr 2:47 9. "Girl" Lennon 2:30 10. "I'm Looking Through You" McCartney 2:23 11. "In My Life" Lennon 2:24 12. "Wait" Lennon and McCartney 2:12 13. "If I Needed Someone" Harrison Harrison 2:20 14.. "Run for Your Life" Lennon 2:18 Total Playing Time: 34.59
1 - The Red Album-Greatest Hits 1962-1966 (2023 EDITION)
(2CD: stereo)
* = newly added track CD1 1: Love Me Do (2023 Mix) 2: Please Please Me (2023 Mix) 3: I Saw Her Standing There (2023 Mix) * 4: Twist And Shout (2023 Mix) * 5: From Me To You (2023 Mix) 6: She Loves You (2023 Mix) 7: I Want To Hold Your Hand (2023 Mix) 8: This Boy (2023 Mix) * 9: All My Loving (2023 Mix) 10: Roll Over Beethoven (2023 Mix) * 11: You Really Got A Hold On Me (2023 Mix) * 12: Can’t Buy Me Love (2023 Mix) 13: You Can’t Do That (2023 Mix) * 14: A Hard Day’s Night (2023 Mix) 15: And I Love Her (2023 Mix) 16: Eight Days A Week (2023 Mix) 17: I Feel Fine (2023 Mix) 18: Ticket To Ride (2023 Mix) 19: Yesterday (2023 Mix) CD2 1: Help! (2023 Mix) 2: You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away (2023 Mix) 3: We Can Work It Out (2023 Mix) 4: Day Tripper (2023 Mix) 5: Drive My Car (2023 Mix) 6 Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (2023 Mix) 7: Nowhere Man (2023 Mix) 8: Michelle (2023 Mix) 9: In My Life (2023 Mix) 10: If I Needed Someone (2023 Mix) * 11: Girl (2023 Mix) 12: Paperback Writer (2022 Mix) 13: Eleanor Rigby (2022 Mix) 14: Yellow Submarine (2022 Mix) 15: Taxman (2022 Mix) * 16: Got To Get You Into My Life (2022 Mix) * 17: I’m Only Sleeping (2022 Mix) * 18: Here, There And Everywhere (2022 Mix) * 19: Tomorrow Never Knows (2022 Mix) *
1 - Beatles Anthology-D2- 11-2025 Anthology 2- CD Disc One:
Real Love (1996 mix)
Yes It Is (Takes 2 and 14)
I’m Down (Take 1)
You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away (Take 5)
If You’ve Got Trouble (Take 1)
That Means A Lot (Take 1)
Yesterday (Take 1)
It’s Only Love (Takes 3 and 2)
I Feel Fine (Blackpool Night Out)
Ticket To Ride (Blackpool Night Out)
Yesterday (Blackpool Night Out)
Help! (Blackpool Night Out)
Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby (Live at Shea Stadium, New York)
Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (Take 1)
I’m Looking Through You (Take 1)
12-Bar Original (Take 2 edited)
Tomorrow Never Knows (Take 1)
Got To Get You Into My Life (Take 5)
And Your Bird Can Sing (Take 2)
Taxman (Take 11)
Eleanor Rigby (Take 14 – Strings only)
I’m Only Sleeping (Rehearsal)
I’m Only Sleeping (Take 1)
Rock And Roll Music (Live in Tokyo)
She’s A Woman (Live in Tokyo)
3 - The Beatles Rubber Soul Sessions- Back to Basics-3CD Collection
Beatles Back to Basics- The Rubber Soul Sessions-3CD
Back To Basics / Helter Skelter Records Rubber Soul Studio Sessions [HSR 21-22-23] Remastered by Captain Acid, August 2025 This release included a bonus disc with this set containing 9 instrumentals made from the Rockband .mogg files with vocals removed.
Track Listing:
CD1 01 - Drive My Car (RS from Take 4 V1) Rock N Roll Music (stereo) 02 - Drive My Car (RS from Take 4 V2) Anthology DVD (stereo) 03 - Drive My Car (Rockband Mix) (stereo) 04 - Norwegian Wood (This Bird has Flown) (Take 1) (stereo) 05 - Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (Take 2) (stereo) 06 - Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (Take 3 Partial) (stereo-mono) 07 - Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (Take 4) 08 - Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (RS from Take 1 V1) Barrett Mix (stereo) 09 - Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (RS from Take 1 V2) Anthology CD (stereo) 10 - Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (RS from Take 4 V1) Love Songs (fake stereo) 11 - Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (RS from Take 4 V2) Anthology DVD (stereo) 12 - Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (Rockband Mix) (stereo) 13 - You Won't See Me (Rockband Mix) (stereo) 14 - Nowhere Man (RS from Take 3 V1) Rough Movie Mix (stereo) 15 - Nowhere Man (RS from Take 3 V2) YS Soundtrack (stereo) 16 - Nowhere Man (RS from Take 3 V3) Anthology DVD (stereo) 17 - Nowhere Man (Rockband Mix) (stereo) 18 - Think For Yourself (Session chat) (mono) 19 - Think For Yourself (RS from Take 1) YS Soundtrack (stereo) 20 - Think For Yourself (Rockband Mix) (stereo) 21 - The Word (Unknown Take) (mono) 22 - The Word (RS from Take 3) Anthology DVD (stereo) 23 - The Word (Rockband Mix) (stereo) 24 - Michelle (Take 1 Partial) (stereo) 25 - Michelle (Rockband Mix) (stereo) 26 - What Goes On (Rockband Mix) (stereo)
CD2 01 - Girl (Take 1 Partial) (mono) 02 - Girl (Take 2 Instrumental - Monitor Mix) (mono) 03 - Girl (Take 2 Instrumental - Mogg Mix) (stereo) 04 - Girl (RS from Take 2) Love Songs (fake stereo) 05 - Girl (Rockband Mix) (stereo) 06 - I'm Looking Through You (Take 1) (stereo) 07 - I'm Looking Through You (Take 4) (stereo) 08 - I'm Looking Through You (RS from Take 1 V1) 1,2,3,4 Mix (stereo) 09 - I'm Looking Through You (RS from Take 1 V2 Partial) ARVS Mix (stereo) 10 - I'm Looking Through You (RS from Take 1 V3) Anthology CD (stereo) 11 - I'm Looking Through You (Rockband Mix) (stereo) 12 - In My Life (Take 3 Partial - Alt Organ Solo V1) (mono) 13 - In My Life (Take 3 Partial - Alt Organ Solo V2) (mono) (Entomology) 14 - In My Life (Take 3 Partial - Piano Overdub V1) (mono) 15 - In My Life (Take 3 Partial - Piano Overdub V2) (stereo) (Moggs) 16 - In My Life (Unknown Take) (stereo) 17 - In My Life (RS from Take 3 V1) Imagine Laserdisc (stereo) 18 - In My Life (RS from Take 3 V2) Anthology DVD (stereo) 19 - In My Life (Rockband Mix) (stereo) 20 - Wait (Rockband Mix) (stereo) 21 - If I Needed Someone (RM from Take 1) Rough Mix (mono) 22 - If I Needed Someone (Rockband Mix) (stereo) 23 - If I Needed Someone (RS from Take 1 - Partial) LITMW Mix (stereo) 24 - Run For Your Life (Take 1) (stereo) 25 - Run For Your Life (Studio Chat) (mono) 26 - Run For Your Life (Take 5 Partial V1) (mono) 27 - Run For Your Life (Take 5 Partial V2) (mono) (Entomology) 28 - Run For Your Life (Unknown Take) Rockband (mono) 29 - Run For Your Life (Rockband Mix) (stereo)
CD3 01 - We Can Work It Out (Take 1) (stereo-mono) 02 - We Can Work It Out (RM1 from Take 2 - Single Track Vocal) (mono) 03 - We Can Work It Out (Take 2 - With Overdubs) (stereo) 04 - We Can Work It Out (RM1 from Take 2) TMOLAM (mono) 05 - We Can Work It Out (RS1 from Take 2) 1962-66 Vinyl (stereo) 06 - We Can Work It Out (RS from Take 2 V1) Japanese EP (fake stereo) 07 - We Can Work It Out (RS from Take 2 V2) Anthology DVD (stereo) 08 - Day Tripper (Take 1) (stereo) 09 - Day Tripper (Take 2) (stereo) 10 - Day Tripper (Take 3) (stereo) 11 - Day Tripper (Take 3 - Monitor Mix with Cleaner Guitar Solo) (mono) 12 - Day Tripper (RM1 from Take 3) TMOLM (mono) 13 - Day Tripper (RS1 from Take 3) 1962-66 Vinyl (stereo) 14 - Day Tripper (RS from Take 3) Anthology DVD (stereo) 15 - Day Tripper (Rockband Mix) (stereo) 16 - 12-Bar Original (Pre-Take 1 - Jam) (stereo) 17 - 12-Bar Original (Take 1) (stereo) 18 - 12-Bar Original (Take 2) (stereo) 19 - 12-Bar Original (RM1 from Take 2) (mono) 20 - 12-Bar Original (Edit of Take 2) Anthology CD (stereo)
Bonus Disc 01 - Drive My Car (Take 4 - Instrumental) (stereo) 02 - You Won't See Me (Take 2 - Instrumental) (stereo) 03 - Nowhere Man (Take 3 - Instrumental) (stereo) 04 - Think For Yourself (Take 1 - Instrumental) (stereo) 05 - Michelle (Take 2 - Instrumental) (stereo) 06 - What Goes On (Take 1 - Instrumental) (stereo) 07 - Girl (Take 2 - Instrumental) (stereo) 08 - If I Needed Someone (Take 1 - Instrumental) (stereo) 09 - Run For Your Life (Take 5 - Instrumental) (stereo)
Beatles Soul Sessions from Silent Sea- 2CD set
Beatles Soul Sessions - Silent Sea 2CD
Track Listing:
DISK 1-"Rubber Soul" Era Demos 1-1 We Can Work It Out - Home Demo (Partial) 1-2 Michelle - Home Tape - Instrumental "Rubber Soul" Era Sessions 1-3 Day Tripper - Take 1 1-4 Day Tripper - Take 2 1-5 Day Tripper - Take 3 1-6 We Can Work It Out - Take 1 1-7 We Can Work It Out - Take 2 - Rough Mix 1-8 We Can Work It Out - S1 Omto Take 2 1-9 12-Bar Original - Rehearsal Take 1-10 12-Bar Original - Take 1 1-11 12-Bar Original - Take 2 1-12 Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) - Take 1 1-13 Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) - Take 2 1-14 Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) - Take 4 1-15 Girl - Take 2 1-16 I'm Looking Through You - Take 1 1-17 I'm Looking Through You - Take 4 1-18 In My Life - Take 3 - Rough Mix 1-19 Run For Your Life - Take 1 1-20 Run For Your Life - Take 5 The "Think For Yourself" Vocal Overdub Session Excerpts 1-21 "...About The Good Things That We Can Have..." 1-22 "...About The Good Things That We Can Have..." 1-23 "...About The Good Things That We Can Have..." 1-24 "...I Know Your Mind's Made Up..." 1-25 "...I Know Your Mind's Made Up..." 1-26 "...And You've Got Time To Rectify..." 1-27 "...And You've Got Time To Rectify..." 1-28 "...And You've Got Time To Rectify..." 1-29 "...And You've Got Time To Rectify..." 1-30 "...And You've Got Time To Rectify..." 1-31 "...And You've Got Time To Rectify..." 1-32 "...And You've Got Time To Rectify..." 1-33 "...And You've Got Time To Rectify..." 1-34 "...And You've Got Time To Rectify..." 1-35 "...Lukewarm Baby Got A Custard Face..." 1-36 "...Lukewarm Baby Got A Custard Face..." 1-37 "...Lukewarm Baby Got A Custard Face..." 1-38 "...Lukewarm Baby Got A Custard Face..." 1-39 All You Need Is Love (Take 57)/All You Need Is Love (Take 58) Mixing The "Rubber Soul" Outtake 1-40 12-Bar Original - Take 2 1-41 12-Bar Original - Take 2
DISK 2- The Mono "Rubber Soul" Album 2-1 Drive My Car - Take 4 2-2 Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) - Take 4 2-3 You Won't See Me - Take 2 2-4 Nowhere Man - Take 4 2-5 Think For Yourself - Take 1 2-6 The Word - Take 3 2-7 Michelle - Take 2 2-8 What Goes On - Take 1 2-9 Girl - Take 2 2-10 I'm Looking Through You - Take 4 2-11 In My Life - Take 3 2-12 Wait - Take 4 2-13 If I Needed Someone - Take 1 2-14 Run For Your Life - Take 5 The "Rubber Soul" Era Single 2-15 We Can Work It Out - Take 2 2-16 Day Tripper - Take 3 Mixing The "Rubber Soul" Alternate Take 2-17 I'm Looking Through You - Take 1 2-18 Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) - Take 1 2-19 I'm Looking Through You - Take 1 2-20 Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) - Take 1 Other "Rubber Soul" Era Mixes 2-21 We Can Work It Out - Take 2 2-22 Day Tripper - Take 3 2-23 The Word - Take 3 2-24 Michelle - Take 2 2-25 I'm Looking Through You - Take 4 2-26 Girl - Take 2 2-27 Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) - Take 4 2-28 In My Life - Take 3
Rubber Soul Deluxe Sessions - 2CD- from Purple Chick
Track Listing: DISK 1-
Singles 1-1 We Can Work It Out (RS2 Take 2) 2:18 1-2 Day Tripper (RS2 Take 3) 2:51
Rubber Soul 1-3 Drive My Car (RS1 Take 4) 2:34 1-4 Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (RS1 Take 4) 2:10 1-5 You Won't See Me (RS1 Take 2) 3:27 1-6 Nowhere Man (RS1 Take 3) 2:49 1-7 Think For Yourself (RS1 Take 1) Written-By, Composed By – Harrison* 2:24 1-8 The Word (RS1 Take 3) 2:50 1-9 Michelle (RS1 Take 2) 2:50 1-10 What Goes On (RS1 Take 1) Written-By, Composed By – Lennon*, McCartney*, Starkey* 2:53 1-11 Girl (RS1 Take 2) 2:36 1-12 I'm Looking Through You (RS1 Take 4) 2:31 1-13 In My Life (RS1 Take 3) 2:33 1-14 Wait (RS1 Take 4) 2:19 1-15 If I Needed Someone (RS1 Take 1) Written-By, Composed By – Harrison* 2:27 1-16 Run For Your Life (RS1 Take 5) 2:24 Outtake 1-17 12 Bar Original (RS95 Take 2) Written-By – Harrison*, Lennon*, McCartney*, Starkey* 2:57
Alternate Stereo Mixes 1-18 We Can Work It Out (RS1) 2:18 1-19 Day Tripper (RS1) 2:52 1-20 The Word (RS2) 2:49 1-21 I'm Looking Through You (Unedited RS2) 2:33 1-22 Nowhere Man 2:44 1-23 Think For Yourself Written-By, Composed By – Harrison* 2:21 1-24 In My Life 2:29 1-25 We Can Work It Out 2:14 1-26 Day Tripper 2:55
Anthology DVD Mix Medley (1:21) 1-27.1 The Word 1-27.2 Drive My Car 1-27.3 Nowhere Man
DISK 2-
Mono Single 2-1 We Can Work It Out (RM3 Take 2) 2:20 2-2 Day Tripper (RM3 Take 3) 2:56
Rubber Soul 2-3 Drive My Car (RM1 Take 4) 2:34 2-4 Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (RM1 Take 4) 2:10 2-5 You Won't See Me (RM1 Take 1) 3:30 2-6 Nowhere Man (RM1 Take 3) 2:48 2-7 Think For Yourself (RM1 Take 1) Written-By, Composed By – Harrison* 2:24 2-8 The Word (RM1 Take 3) 2:50 2-9 Michelle (RM1 Take 2) 2:43 2-10 What Goes On (RM1 Take 1) Written-By, Composed By – Lennon*, McCartney*, Starkey* 2:53 2-11 Girl (RM1 Take 2) 2:36 2-12 I'm Looking Through You (RM1 Take 4) 2:36 2-13 In My Life (RM1 Take 3) 2:31 2-14 Wait (RM2 Take 4) 2:20 2-15 If I Needed Someone (RM1 Take 1) Written-By, Composed By – Harrison* 2:28 2-16 Run For Your Life (RM1 Take 5) 2:26
Outtake 2-17 12 Bar Original (RM1 Take 2) Written-By – Harrison*, Lennon*, McCartney*, Starkey* 6:45
Alternate Mono Mixes 2-18 Michelle (RM2) 2:49 2-19 We Can Work It Out (RM1) 2:19 2-20 Day Tripper (RM1) 2:53
Rubber Soul is the sixth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. It was released on 3 December 1965 in the United Kingdom on EMI's Parlophone label, accompanied by the non-album double A-side single "We Can Work It Out" / "Day Tripper". The original North American release, issued by Capitol Records, contains ten of the fourteen songs and two tracks withheld from the band's Help! (1965) album. Rubber Soul was described as an important artistic achievement by the band, meeting a highly favourable critical response and topping sales charts in Britain and the United States for several weeks.
The recording sessions took place in London over a four-week period beginning in October 1965. For the first time in their career, the Beatles were able to record an album free of concert, radio or film commitments. Often referred to as a folk rock album, particularly in its Capitol configuration, Rubber Soul incorporates a mix of pop, soul and folk musical styles. The title derives from the colloquialism "plastic soul" and was the Beatles' way of acknowledging their lack of authenticity compared to the African-American soul artists they admired. After A Hard Day's Night (1964), it was the second Beatles LP to contain only original material.
The songs demonstrate the Beatles' increasing maturity as lyricists, and in their incorporation of brighter guitar tones and new instrumentation such as sitar, harmonium and fuzz bass, the group striving for more expressive sounds and arrangements for their music. The project marked a progression in the band's treatment of the album format as an artistic platform, an approach they continued to develop with Revolver (1966) and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967). The four songs omitted by Capitol, including the February 1966 single "Nowhere Man", later appeared on the North American release Yesterday and Today (1966).
Rubber Soul was highly influential on the Beatles' peers, leading to a widespread focus away from singles and onto creating albums of consistently high-quality songs. It has been recognised by music critics as an album that opened up the possibilities of pop music in terms of lyrical and musical scope, and as a key work in the creation of styles such as psychedelia and progressive rock. Among its many appearances on critics' best-album lists, Rolling Stone ranked it fifth on the magazine's 2012 list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". In 2000, it was voted at number 34 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's book All Time Top 1000 Albums. The album was certified 6× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1997, indicating shipments of at least six million copies in the US. In 2013, Rubber Soul was certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for UK sales since 1994.
Background
The Beatles at a press conference during their August 1965 North American tour, two months before the start of the Rubber Soul sessions
Most of the songs on Rubber Soul were composed soon after the Beatles' return to London following their August 1965 North American tour.[4] The album reflects the influence of their month in America.[5] They set a new attendance record when they played to over 55,000 at Shea Stadium on 15 August, met Bob Dylan in New York and their longtime hero Elvis Presley in Los Angeles.[6] Although the Beatles had released their album Help! that same month, the requirement for a new album in time for Christmas was in keeping with the schedule established with EMI in 1963 by Brian Epstein, the group's manager,[7] and George Martin, their record producer.[8]
In their new songs, the Beatles drew inspiration from soul music acts signed to the Motown and Stax record labels,[9] particularly the singles they heard on US radio that summer,[10] and from the contemporary folk rock of Dylan and the Byrds.[1] Author Robert Rodriguez highlights the Byrds as having achieved "special notice as an American act that had taken something from the Brits, added to it, then sent it back". In doing so, Rodriguez continues, the Byrds had joined the Beatles and Dylan in "a common pool of influence exchange, where each act gave and took from the other in equal measure".[11][nb 1] According to music critic Tim Riley, Rubber Soul served as a "step toward a greater synthesis" of all the elements that throughout 1965 represented a "major rock 'n' roll explosion", rather than just the emergence of folk rock. Citing Dylan and the Rolling Stones as the Beatles' artistic peers during this period, he says that on Rubber Soul these two acts "inspire rather than influence their sound".[14]
Two years after the start of Beatlemania, the band were open to exploring new themes in their music through a combination of their tiring of playing to audiences full of screaming fans, their commercial power, a shared curiosity gained through literature and experimentation with hallucinogenic drugs, and their interest in the potential of the recording studio.[15] According to Ringo Starr, Rubber Soul was the Beatles' "departure record", written and recorded during a period when, largely through the influence of marijuana,[16] "We were expanding in all areas of our lives, opening up to a lot of different attitudes."[17][18] The album was especially reflective of John Lennon's maturation as a songwriter,[19][20] as he was encouraged to address wider-ranging issues than before through Dylan's example.[21] George Harrison's outlook had been transformed by his and Lennon's experiences with the hallucinogenic drug LSD;[22][23] he said the drug had revealed to him the futility of the band's widespread fame[24] by "open[ing] up this whole other consciousness".[25]
Author Mark Prendergast recognises Rubber Soul as "the first Beatles record which was noticeably drug-influenced".[26] Lennon called it "the pot album".[27][28] Marijuana appealed to the band's bohemian ideal. Paul McCartney, who was the only Beatle still living in central London, said it was typical of a move away from alcohol and into "more of a beatnik scene, like jazz".[29]
Production
Recording history
Rubber Soul was a matter of having all experienced the recording studio, having grown musically as well, but [getting] the knowledge of the place, of the studio. We were more precise about making the album, that's all, and we took over the cover and everything.[30]
– John Lennon
Recording for Rubber Soul began on 12 October 1965 at EMI Studios (now Abbey Road Studios) in London; final production and mix down took place on 15 November.[31] During the sessions, the Beatles typically focused on fine-tuning the musical arrangement for each song, an approach that reflected the growing division between the band as a live act and their ambitions as recording artists.[32] The album was one of the first projects that Martin undertook after leaving EMI's staff and co-founding Associated Independent Recording (AIR).[33] Martin later described Rubber Soul as "the first album to present a new, growing Beatles to the world",[34] adding: "For the first time we began to think of albums as art on their own, as complete entities."[35][36] It was the final Beatles album that recording engineer Norman Smith worked on before being promoted by EMI to record producer.[37] The sessions were held over thirteen days and totalled 113 hours, with a further seventeen hours (spread over six days) allowed for mixing.[33] The Beatles interrupted the intensive recording for the album to receive their MBEs at Buckingham Palace.
The band were forced to work to a tight deadline to ensure the album was completed in time for a pre-Christmas release.[18] They were nevertheless in the unfamiliar position of being able to dedicate themselves solely to a recording project, free of touring, filming and radio engagements.[4] The Beatles ceded to two interruptions during this time.[38] They received their MBEs at Buckingham Palace on 26 October, from Queen Elizabeth II,[39] and on 1–2 November, the band filmed their segments for The Music of Lennon & McCartney, a Granada Television tribute to the Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnership.[40][41] According to author Christopher Bray, this intensive recording made Rubber Soul not just unusual in the Beatles' career but "emphatically unlike those LPs made by other bands".[42] From 4 November – by which point only around half the required number of songs were near completion – the Beatles' sessions were routinely booked to finish at 3 am each day.[43]
After A Hard Day's Night in 1964, Rubber Soul was the second Beatles album to contain only original material.[44] As the band's main writers, Lennon and McCartney struggled to complete enough songs for the project.[5][45] After a session on 27 October was cancelled due to a lack of new material, Martin told a reporter that he and the group "hope to resume next week" but would not consider recording songs by any other composers.[46] The Beatles completed "Wait" for the album, having taped its rhythm track during the sessions for Help! in June 1965.[47] They also recorded the instrumental "12-Bar Original", a twelve-bar blues in the style of Booker T. & the M.G.'s.[48] Credited to Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr,[49] it remained unreleased until 1996.[50][nb 2]
The group recorded "Day Tripper" and "We Can Work It Out" during the Rubber Soul sessions for release as a single accompanying the album.[52] To avoid having to promote the single with numerous television appearances,[53][54] the Beatles chose to produce film clips for the two songs, the first time they had done so for a single.[55][56] Directed by Joe McGrath, the clips were filmed at Twickenham Film Studios in south-west London on 23 November.[57][58]
Studio aesthetic and sounds
[On Rubber Soul] the Beatles demonstrated an ability to reach beyond the confines of acceptable rock and roll techniques and bring to the studio truly innovative ideas such as layering bass and fuzz-bass guitars, creating rhymes in different languages, mixing modes on a single song, utilizing tape manipulation to give instruments entirely new sounds, and introducing the sitar – a most unusual instrument for a rock band.[59]
– Music journalist Chris Smith
Lennon recalled that Rubber Soul was the first album over which the Beatles took control in the studio and made demands rather than accept standard recording practices.[60] According to Riley, the album reflects "a new affection for recording" over live performance.[61] Author Philip Norman similarly writes that, with the Beatles increasingly drawn towards EMI's large cache of "exotic" musical instruments, combined with their readiness to incorporate "every possible resource of the studio itself" and Martin's skills as a classical arranger, "Implicitly, from the very start, this [music] was not stuff intended to be played live on stage."[28]
According to Barry Miles, a leading figure in the UK underground whom Lennon and McCartney befriended at this time, Rubber Soul and its 1966 follow-up, Revolver, were "when [the Beatles] got away from George Martin, and became a creative entity unto themselves".[62] In 1995, Harrison said that Rubber Soul was his favourite Beatles album, adding: "we certainly knew we were making a good album. We did spend more time on it and tried new things. But the most important thing about it was that we were suddenly hearing sounds that we weren't able to hear before."[18][16]
During the sessions, McCartney played a solid-body Rickenbacker 4001 bass guitar, which produced a fuller sound than his hollow-body Hofner.[63][64] The Rickenbacker's design allowed for greater melodic precision, a characteristic that led McCartney to contribute more intricate bass lines.[63] For the rest of his Beatles career, the Rickenbacker would become McCartney's primary bass for studio work. Harrison used a Fender Stratocaster for the first time, most notably in his lead guitar part on "Nowhere Man".[65] The variety in guitar tones throughout the album was also aided by Harrison and Lennon's use of capos, such as in the high-register parts on "If I Needed Someone" and "Girl".[63] A sitar (top) and a Mannborg harmonium. Along with fuzz bass and varispeed-treated piano, these instruments were among the unusual sounds the band used for the first time during the Rubber Soul sessions.
On Rubber Soul, the Beatles departed from standard rock and roll instrumentation,[1] particularly in Harrison's use of the Indian sitar on "Norwegian Wood".[59] Having been introduced to the string instrument on the set of the 1965 film Help!, Harrison's interest was fuelled by fellow Indian music fans Roger McGuinn and David Crosby of the Byrds, partway through the Beatles' US tour.[66][nb 3] Music journalist Paul Du Noyer describes the sitar part as "simply a sign of the whole band's hunger for new musical colours", but also "the pivotal moment of Rubber Soul".[68] The Beatles also made use of harmonium during the sessions,[69][70] marking that instrument's introduction into rock music.[71]
The band's willingness to experiment with sound was further demonstrated in McCartney playing fuzz bass on "Think for Yourself"[72] over his standard bass part,[73] and their employing a piano made to sound like a baroque harpsichord on "In My Life".[74] The latter effect came about when, in response to Lennon suggesting he play something "like Bach",[75] Martin recorded the piano solo with the tape running at half-speed;[76] when played back at normal speed, the sped-up sound gave the illusion of a harpsichord.[77] In this way, the Beatles used the recording studio as a musical instrument, an approach that they and Martin developed further with Revolver.[78][79] In Prendergast's description, "bright ethnic percussion" was among the other "great sounds" that filled the album.[80]
Lennon, McCartney and Harrison's three-part harmony singing was another musical detail that came to typify the Rubber Soul sound.[69][81] According to musicologist Walter Everett, some of the vocal arrangements feature the same "pantonal planing of three-part root-position triads" adopted by the Byrds, who had initially based their harmonies on the style used by the Beatles and other British Invasion bands.[82] Riley says that the Beatles softened their music on Rubber Soul, yet by reverting to slower tempos they "draw attention to how much rhythm can do".[83] Wide separation in the stereo image ensured that subtleties in the musical arrangements were heard; in Riley's description, this quality emphasised the "richly textured" arrangements over "everything being stirred together into one high-velocity mass".[84][nb 4]
McCartney said that as part of their increased involvement in the album's production, the band members attended the mixing sessions rather than let Martin work in their absence.[20] Until late in their career, the "primary" version of the Beatles' albums was always the monophonic mix. According to Beatles historian Bruce Spizer, Martin and the EMI engineers devoted most of their time and attention to the mono mixdowns, and generally regarded stereo as a gimmick. The band were not usually present for the stereo mixing sessions.[86] Band dynamics
While Martin recalled the sessions as having been "a very joyful time",[87] Smith felt "something had happened between Help! and Rubber Soul", and the family atmosphere that had once characterised the relationship between the Beatles and their production team was absent.[88] He said the project revealed the first signs of artistic conflict between Lennon and McCartney,[89] and friction within the band as more effort was spent on perfecting each song.[88][nb 5] This also manifested in a struggle over which song should be the A-side of their next single, with Lennon insisting on "Day Tripper" (of which he was the primary writer)[92] and publicly contradicting EMI's announcement about the upcoming release.[93]
In addition, a rift was growing between McCartney and his bandmates as he continued to abstain from taking LSD.[94][95] The revelations provided by the drug had drawn Lennon and Harrison closer,[94][96] and were then shared by Starr when, during the band's stay in Los Angeles that August, he agreed to try LSD for the first time.[97]
Songs
Overview
Pop historian Andrew Grant Jackson describes Rubber Soul as a "synthesis of folk, rock, soul, baroque, proto-psychedelia, and the sitar".[98] According to author Joe Harrington, the album contained the Beatles' first "psychedelic experiments", heralding the transformational effect of LSD on many of the original British Invasion acts.[99] Author Bernard Gendron dismisses the commonly held view that Rubber Soul is a folk rock album; he cites its incorporation of baroque and Eastern sounds as examples of the Beatles' "nascent experimentalism and eclectic power of appropriation", aspects that he says suggest an artistic approach that transcends the genre.[100][nb 6] According to The Encyclopedia of Country Music, building on the Beatles' 1964 track "I Don't Want to Spoil the Party", the album can be seen in retrospect as an early example of country rock, anticipating the Byrds' Sweetheart of the Rodeo album.[101]
Further to Lennon's more introspective outlook in 1964, particularly on Beatles for Sale, the lyrics on Rubber Soul represent a pronounced development in sophistication, thoughtfulness and ambiguity.[102] According to music critic Greil Marcus, "the Beatles were still writing about love, but this was a new kind of love: contingent, scary and vital", and so, while the music was "seduction, not assault", the "emotional touch" was tougher than before.[103] Author James Decker considers it significant that Rubber Soul "took its narrative cues more from folk crossovers such as Bob Dylan and the Byrds than from the Beatles' pop cohorts".[104] In particular, the relationships between the sexes moved from simpler boy-girl love songs to more nuanced and negative portrayals.[105] In this way, Lennon and McCartney offered candid insights into their personal lives.[106] Side one
"Drive My Car" Duration: 14 seconds.0:14
The album opens with a pair of lead guitar parts that are soon rendered off-metre by the arrival of McCartney's bass.[84] "Drive My Car" is a McCartney composition with substantial contribution from Lennon with the lyrics.[107][108] Harrison, as the Beatles' most knowledgeable soul-music enthusiast, contributed heavily to the recording by suggesting they arrange the song with a dual guitar–bass riff in the style of Otis Redding's contemporary single "Respect".[109] In their joint lead vocals, McCartney and Lennon sing dissonant harmonies,[110] a quality that is furthered by Harrison's entrance and signifies what Everett terms a "new jazzy sophistication … in the vocal arrangement".[111]
The lyrics convey an actress's desire to become a film star and her promise to the narrator that he can be her chauffeur.[112] According to Riley, the song satirises the "ethics of materialism" and serves as a "parody of the Beatles' celebrity status and the status-seekers they meet".[113] Author and critic Kenneth Womack describes the lyrics as being "loaded with sexual innuendo", and he says that the female protagonist challenged the gendered expectations of a mid-1960s pop audience, as an "everywoman" with ego and a clear agenda.[114]
"Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)"
Lennon said he wrote "Norwegian Wood" about an extramarital affair and that he worded the narrative to hide the truth from his wife, Cynthia.[115] The lyrics sketch a failed meeting between the singer and a mysterious girl, where she goes to bed and he sleeps in the bath;[116] in retaliation at the girl's aloofness, the singer decides to burn down her pine-panelled home.[117][nb 7] Arranged in 12 8 time,[119] and in the English folk style, the song has a Mixolydian melody that results in a drone effect in the acoustic guitars, complementing the sitar part, though switches to parallel scale of E Dorian during its middle eight.[120] The narrative draws heavily on Dylan's style through its use of ambiguity.[116][121] In author Jonathan Gould's description, the song is an "emotional black comedy",[110] while Decker recognises it as a continuation of the "interrogation of sexual ambiguities" and "muddled sense of power" displayed in "Drive My Car".[122]
"You Won't See Me"
Written by McCartney, "You Won't See Me" reflects the difficulties he was experiencing in his relationship with actress Jane Asher due to her refusal to put her acting career second to his needs.[123][124] Gould identifies the song as the third consecutive track in which the narrative conveys miscommunication.[125] McCartney described its music as "very Motown-flavored", with a "feel" inspired by Motown bassist James Jamerson.[126] The verses use the same chord sequence as the Four Tops' hit "It's the Same Old Song",[127] which was titled by its writers, the Holland–Dozier–Holland team, in acknowledgement that they had already used the same pattern in their composition "I Can't Help Myself".[123]
"Nowhere Man"
Lennon recalled that "Nowhere Man" came to him fully formed one night at his home in Surrey,[128] after he had struggled to write anything for several hours.[115][129] The song reflects the existential concerns raised by his experiences with LSD, and, like "I'm a Loser" and "Help!", his self-loathing[130] during a time he later called his "fat Elvis period".[131] It was the first Beatles song to completely avoid boy–girl relationships,[112][132] and through Lennon conveying his feelings of inadequacy in the third person,[133] the first example of a literary character in the Beatles' work.[134] Riley views the message as a precursor to the "I'd love to turn you on" theme of "A Day in the Life" and, aided by the band's performance, optimistic in tone as Lennon "sings for the unsung, the people who have shut themselves off from life".[135]
Heavy equalisation was applied to the electric guitar parts through a series of faders,[136] giving them a treble-rich texture that, as with the harmony vocals,[115] recalls the Byrds' sound.[137] In Prendergast's description, the track "burst[s] forth with all the gusto of newly discovered psychedelia", as Lennon's lead vocal "luxuriates in an opiated haze of production and Harrison's Fender Stratocaster solo fuzzes with all the right hallucinatory sparkle".[138]
"Think for Yourself"
Harrison's lyrics to "Think for Yourself" suggest the influence of Dylan's September 1965 single "Positively 4th Street", as Harrison appears to rebuke a friend or lover.[139] The song's accusatory message was unprecedented in the Beatles' work;[139] Jackson identifies it as the band's contribution to a "subgenre" of protest songs that emerged in 1965, in which artists railed against "oppressive conformity itself" rather than political issues.[140] Everett describes the composition as "a tour de force of altered scale degrees". He adds that, such is the ambiguity throughout, "its tonal quality forms the perfect conspirator with the text's and the rhythm's hesitations and unexpected turns."[141] Gould writes that, in its dialogue with Harrison's vocal, McCartney's fuzz bass suggests "the snarls of an enraged schnauzer, snapping and striking at its lead".[142]
"The Word"
["The Word" is] all about gettin' smart. It's the marijuana period ... it's the love-and-peace thing. The word is "love," right? It seems like the underlying theme to the universe. Everything that was worthwhile got down to this one, love, love thing.[143]
– John Lennon
In his book 1965: The Year Modern Britain Was Born, Bray recognises "The Word" as marking the start of the Beatles' "high psychedelic period".[144] Lennon's exhortation that "The word is love" anticipates the ethos behind the counterculture's 1967 Summer of Love.[145] The lyrics focus on the concept of universal love as a path to spiritual enlightenment, with what Decker terms "proselytizing zeal" on the narrator's part.[146] Author Ian MacDonald recognises the "distant influence" of Wilson Pickett's "In the Midnight Hour" and James Brown's "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" on the song's rhythm, and highlights Starr's drumming (for its "feast of eccentric 'backwards fills'") and McCartney's dextrous bass playing.[123] The arrangement also includes seven vocal parts and Martin playing suspended chords on harmonium.[126]
"Michelle"
"Michelle" was conceived by McCartney in the late 1950s. During a writing session for Rubber Soul, Lennon added a new middle eight, part of which was taken from Nina Simone's recent cover of "I Put a Spell on You".[147] MacDonald identifies the song as another example of the Beatles' "comedy song" approach, which, in a contemporary interview, McCartney had suggested was a possible new direction for the group.[148] In Womack's view, the French phrases in the lyrics accentuate the premise whereby a language barrier separates two lovers, and the narrative conveys an acceptance that their relationship is doomed to fail, such that the singer is already looking back nostalgically at what could have been.[149] Gould describes the performance as "sentimental … French cabaret" which, following McCartney's declaration of "I love you", leads into a guitar solo by Harrison that represents "one of Jean-Paul Sartre's existential café workers".[150]
Side two
"What Goes On"
The Beatles had attempted to record an early version of Lennon's "What Goes On" in 1963.[151][152] With little time to complete Rubber Soul, the song was reworked by Lennon and McCartney as a vocal spot for Starr,[153] who also received his first songwriting credit, as co-composer.[154] The song is in the country style favoured by Starr,[154] and in its lyrics the singer laments his lover's deceit.[64][155] In Everett's description, the arrangement includes Harrison's rockabilly-inflected lead guitar, played on his Gretsch Tennessean, contrasting with Lennon's "Steve Cropper-styled Memphis 'chick' rhythm part".[156]
"Girl" Duration: 30 seconds.0:30
Lennon said he wrote "Girl" about an archetypal woman he had been searching for and would finally find in Yoko Ono,[154][157] the Japanese artist he met in November 1966.[158] In the lyrics, he also expresses his disdain for Christian moral values.[154] The song was the final track recorded for the album.[157] The composition incorporates aspects of Greek folk music,[159] while the arrangement includes an instrumental passage set as a German two-step[160] and an acoustic guitar part played to sound like a Greek bouzouki.[161][nb 8] High equalisation was applied to Lennon's vocal over the choruses to capture the hissing sound as he drew breath[162] – an effect that also suggested he was inhaling on a marijuana joint.[163][164] McCartney recalled that he and Harrison sang "Tit-tit-tit" on the middle eights to capture the "innocence" of the Beach Boys singing "La-la-la" on one of their recent songs.[165] Riley likens the musical arrangement to a "scene from the old world" and he concludes of the song: "The old-fashioned atmosphere conveys desire and deception, and Lennon sings it as much to console himself as to make sense of its bewildering proportions ('And she promises the earth to me and I believe her/After all this time I don't know why'). It's the sympathetic side of the anger in 'Norwegian Wood.'"[166]
"I'm Looking Through You"
Like "You Won't See Me" and "We Can Work It Out", "I'm Looking Through You" focuses on McCartney's troubled relationship with Asher.[167] Gould describes it as the "disillusioned sequel" to McCartney's other 1965 songs centring on "a face-to-face (if not necessarily eye-to-eye) encounter between two lovers".[151] Decker likens the lyrics to a less philosophical version of "Think for Yourself" in which "the narrator has grown, yet the woman has failed to keep up."[168] The composition contrasts acoustic-based verses with harsher, R&B-style instrumental sections,[169] suggesting a combination of the folk rock and soul styles.[147] The Beatles had taped two versions of the song before achieving the final version,[170] which they recorded during the last, frantic day of the Rubber Soul sessions. In its final form, the song gained a middle eight where previously there had been a twelve-bar blues jam.[171][nb 9]
"In My Life" Duration: 27 seconds.0:27
Lennon credited a remark made by BBC journalist Kenneth Allsop, who had asked why his songs appeared to lack the wordplay and childhood focus evident in his 1964 book In His Own Write, as the catalyst for "In My Life".[172] Lennon considered the song to be his "first real major piece of work".[69] The lyrics evoke his youth in Liverpool and reflect his nostalgia for a time before the onset of international fame.[154] McCartney recalled writing the melody on his own and said that the song's musical inspiration came from Smokey Robinson and the Miracles;[172][173] according to Lennon, McCartney merely assisted in writing what he called "the middle-eight melody".[174] In Gould's description, "In My Life" "owed a conscious debt" to the Miracles' contemporary hit "The Tracks of My Tears" and thereby served as "the most recent installment in the lively cultural exchange between Motown's Hitsville Studios and EMI's Abbey Road".[175][nb 10]
Martin's Bach-inspired piano solo was overdubbed in the Beatles' absence,[176] over a section that they had left empty.[177] Womack says that the baroque aspect of this contribution furthers the song's nostalgic qualities,[178] a point also made by Gould, who adds that, by revisiting the past and presenting emotional themes that are resolved in the narrative, "In My Life" serves as the album's only song that "sounds the Beatles' original ground theme of happiness-in-relationship".[179]
"Wait"
"Wait" was a Lennon composition to which McCartney contributed a middle eight.[162][180] Gould includes the song among a category of Beatles "'coming home' songs",[179] while Riley pairs it with "It Won't Be Long" but adds that, relative to that 1963 song, in "Wait" "the lovers' reunion has more anxiety than euphoria goading the beat."[180] The band completed the track on the final day of recording for the album, overdubbing tone-pedal lead guitar, percussion[181] and a new vocal by McCartney onto the June 1965 rhythm track.[182] MacDonald writes that, although Lennon and McCartney would most likely have viewed the subject matter as dated even in June, the group's performance gives the song the required "drive and character" for Rubber Soul, particularly Starr's approach to the rhythm changes between its contrasting sections.[183]
"If I Needed Someone"
Harrison wrote "If I Needed Someone" as a love song to Pattie Boyd, the English model to whom he became engaged in December 1965 and married the following month.[184] In the song's Rickenbacker 12-string guitar riff, the Beatles returned the compliment paid to them earlier in 1965 by the Byrds,[185][186] whose jangly guitar-based sound McGuinn had sourced from Harrison's playing the previous year.[179][187] In MacDonald's view, the song is influenced "far more" by Indian classical music than by the Byrds, through Harrison's partly Mixolydian melody and the presence of drone.[188] The latter aspect is furthered by McCartney's arpeggiated bass line in A major continuing over the chord change to a ♭VII triad.[189]
The detached, dispassionate tone in the lyrics has invited alternative interpretations. Gould refers to it as "a rueful rain check of a love song" directed to the "right person at the wrong time";[190] according to Jackson, "the lyrics address all the women of the world, saying that had he met them earlier [before committing to Boyd], it might have worked out, but now he was too much in love (but give me your number just in case)".[191]
"Run for Your Life"
Lennon wrote "Run for Your Life" based on "Baby Let's Play House",[192] which was one of Presley's early singles on the Sun record label.[154] Lennon retained a line from the Presley track – "I'd rather see you dead, little girl, than to be with another man".[154][193] The lyrical theme is jealousy,[194] betraying an overtly misogynistic quality that Decker finds at odds with the Beatles' approach to making the album.[195][nb 11] Performed in the country style,[193] it was the first track recorded for the album and features a descending guitar riff played by Harrison and slide guitar parts.[197]
North American format
Adhering to the company's policy for the Beatles' albums in the United States, Capitol Records altered the content of Rubber Soul for its release there.[198][199] They removed "Drive My Car", "Nowhere Man", "What Goes On" and "If I Needed Someone", all of which were instead issued on the Beatles' next North American album, Yesterday and Today, in June 1966.[200] The four songs were replaced with "I've Just Seen a Face" and "It's Only Love",[201] which had been cut from Help! as part of Capitol's reconfiguring of that LP to serve as a true soundtrack album, consisting of Beatles songs and orchestral music from the film.[202]
Through the mix of predominantly acoustic-based songs, according to Womack, the North American release "takes on a decidedly folk-ish orientation".[203] Capitol sequenced "I've Just Seen a Face" as the opening track, reflecting the company's attempt to present Rubber Soul as a folk-rock album,[204][205] and "It's Only Love" opened side two.[206][nb 12] Gould writes that the omission of songs such as "Drive My Car" provided a "misleading idea" of the Beatles' musical direction and "turned the album title into an even more obscure joke", since the result was the band's least soul- or R&B-influenced album up to this point.[208] The stereo mixes used by Capitol contained two false starts at the beginning of "I'm Looking Through You",[203] while "The Word" also differed from the UK version due to the double-tracking of Lennon's lead vocal, the addition of an extra falsetto harmony and the panning treatment given to one of the percussion parts.[209] Title and artwork
The album title was intended as a pun combining the falseness intrinsic to pop music and rubber-soled shoes.[42] Lennon said the title was McCartney's idea and referred to "English soul".[30] In a 1966 press conference, Starr said they called the album Rubber Soul to acknowledge that, in comparison to American soul artists, "we are white and haven't got what they've got", and he added that this was true of all the British acts who attempted to play soul music.[210] McCartney recalled that he conceived the title after overhearing an American musician describing Mick Jagger's singing style as "plastic soul".[30][nb 13] In Phillip Norman's view, the title served as "a sly dig at their archrivals (and private best mates) the Rolling Stones", with the added implication that the Beatles' "variety" of soul music "at least was stamped out by a good strong northern [English] Wellington boot".[213]
Rubber Soul was the group's first album not to feature their name on the cover,[214][215] an omission that reflected the level of control they had over their releases and the extent of their international fame.[216][217][nb 14] The cover photo of the Beatles was taken by photographer Robert Freeman in the garden at Lennon's house.[192] The idea for the "stretched" effect of the image came about by accident when Freeman was projecting the photo onto an LP-size piece of cardboard for the Beatles' benefit, and the board fell slightly backwards, elongating the projected image.[87][220][nb 15] Harrison said the effect was appropriate since it allowed the group to lose "the 'little innocents' tag, the naivety" and it was in keeping with their emergence as "fully fledged potheads".[221] Author Peter Doggett highlights the cover as an example of the Beatles, like Dylan and the Stones, "continu[ing] to test the limits of the portrait" in their LP designs.[222]
The distinctive lettering was created by illustrator Charles Front,[223] who recalled that his inspiration was the album's title: "If you tap into a rubber tree then you get a sort of globule, so I started thinking of creating a shape that represented that, starting narrow and filling out."[224] The rounded letters used on the sleeve established a style that became ubiquitous in psychedelic designs[223] and, according to journalist Lisa Bachelor, "a staple of poster art for the flower power generation".[224] Release
The Beatles performed at the Liverpool Empire during their December 1965 UK tour. The shows there marked the group's final concerts in their home town.[225]
EMI's Parlophone label issued Rubber Soul on 3 December 1965.[37][226] The "We Can Work It Out" / "Day Tripper" single was also released that day[227] and was the first example of a double A-side single in Britain.[228] EMI announced that it had pressed 750,000 copies of the LP to cater to local demand.[229] Its advance orders of 500,000 almost equalled the total sales for the new single and were described by the Daily Mirror's show business reporter as marking a new record for pre-release orders for an LP.[230]
On the day of the album's release, the Beatles performed at the Odeon Cinema in Glasgow,[231] marking the start of what would be their final UK tour.[232] Weary of Beatlemania, the group had conceded to do a short tour, although they refused to reprise their Christmas Show from the 1963–64 and 1964–65 holiday seasons.[57][233] They performed both sides of the single throughout the tour, but only "If I Needed Someone" and "Nowhere Man" from the new album.[234] In the United States, Rubber Soul was their tenth album[235] and their first to consist entirely of original songs.[236] The release took place there on 6 December.[206]
For most American teens, the arrival of the Beatles' "Rubber Soul" ... was unsettling. Instead of cheerleading for love, the album's songs held cryptic messages about thinking for yourself, the hypnotic power of women, something called "getting high" and bedding down with the opposite sex. Clearly, growing up wasn't going to be easy.[237]
– Historian Marc Myers
In an interview following the album's release, McCartney said that although people had "always wanted us to stay the same", he saw no reason for the Beatles to pander to such limitations, adding, "Rubber Soul for me is the beginning of my adult life."[238] Lennon commented, "You don't know us if you don't know Rubber Soul."[239]
According to Beatles biographer Nicholas Schaffner, Freeman's cover photo was viewed as "daringly surreal" and led some fans to write to the band's official fanzine, Beatles Monthly, alarmed that the image "made their heroes look like corpses".[216] In her study of the Beatles' contemporary audience, sociologist Candy Leonard writes that some young listeners were challenged by the band's new musical direction, but "With Rubber Soul, the Beatles came to occupy a role in fans' lives and a place in their psyches that was different from any previous fan–performer relationship."[240] Singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, who was an eleven-year-old fan at the time,[9] later recalled thinking that the band had "lost their minds". He added: "I didn't understand a word, I didn't think it was any good, and then six weeks later you couldn't live without the record. And that's good – that's when you trust the people who make music to take you somewhere you haven't been before."[241]
Commercial performance
Rubber Soul began its 42-week run on the Record Retailer LPs chart (subsequently adopted as the UK Albums Chart) on 12 December 1965.[242] The following week it replaced the Sound of Music soundtrack at the top of the chart,[243] where it remained for eight weeks in total.[242] On the national chart compiled by Melody Maker, Rubber Soul entered at number 1 and held the position for thirteen weeks; it remained in the top ten until mid July 1966.[244][nb 16] In the United States, Rubber Soul topped the Billboard Top LPs chart on 8 January 1966,[248] having sold 1.2 million copies there within nine days of release.[249][250] These initial sales were unprecedented for an LP[251][252] and were cited by Billboard magazine as evidence of a new market trend in the US in which pop albums started to match the numbers of singles sold.[253] The album was number 1 for six weeks in total; it remained in the top twenty until the start of July, before leaving the chart in mid December.[254] As the more popular of the joint A-sides, "We Can Work It Out" became the Beatles' sixth consecutive number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, all of which were achieved over a twelve-month period from January 1965.[255][nb 17]
While British albums typically avoided including previously released songs,[256] the lack of a hit single on the North American version of Rubber Soul added to the album's identity there as a self-contained artistic statement.[257] Everett writes that in the US the album's "hit" was "Michelle", through its popularity on radio playlists.[258] After their inclusion on the EMI-format LP, "Norwegian Wood", "Nowhere Man" and "Michelle" were each issued as singles in various markets outside Britain and America,[259] with "Norwegian Wood" topping the Australian chart in May 1966.[260] "Nowhere Man"'s first release in North America was as a single A-side,[112] backed by "What Goes On", in February, before both tracks appeared on Yesterday and Today.[261][262] "Nowhere Man" topped Record World's singles chart in the US[263] and Canada's RPM 100 chart,[264] but peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.[265][nb 18] In July, Parlophone released an EP titled Nowhere Man,[266] which contained "Nowhere Man", "Michelle" and two other songs from Rubber Soul.[267]
The album was also the source of hit songs for several other contemporary artists.[266] "Michelle" became one of the most widely recorded of all the Beatles' songs.[268] Cover versions of "Girl", "If I Needed Someone" and "Nowhere Man" similarly placed on UK or US singles charts in 1966.[266]
In the UK, Rubber Soul was the third highest-selling album of 1965, behind The Sound of Music and Beatles for Sale,[269] and the third highest-selling album of 1966, behind The Sound of Music and Revolver.[270] The extent of its commercial success there surprised the music industry, which had sought to re-establish the LP market as the domain of adult record-buyers. From early 1966, record companies in the UK ceased their policy of promoting adult-oriented entertainers over rock acts, and embraced budget albums for their lower-selling artists to cater to the increased demand for LPs.[271] In the US, Rubber Soul was the fourth highest-selling album of 1966, as reported in Billboard.[272] According to figures published in 2009 by former Capitol executive David Kronemyer, further to estimates he gave in MuseWire magazine,[273] Rubber Soul sold 1,800,376 copies in America by the end of 1965 and 2,766,862 by the close of the decade.[250] As of 1997, it had shipped over 6 million copies there.[274] In 2013, after the British Phonographic Industry altered its sales award protocol, the album was certified Platinum based on UK sales since 1994.[275] Critical reception Contemporary reviews
Critical response to Rubber Soul was highly favourable.[276] Allen Evans of the NME wrote that the band were "still finding different ways to make us enjoy listening to them" and described the LP as "a fine piece of recording artistry and adventure in group sound".[277][278] While outlining to American readers the differences in the UK-format release, KRLA Beat said Rubber Soul was an "unbelievably sensational" work on which the Beatles were "once again ... setting trends in this world of pop".[279] Newsweek lauded the Beatles as "the Bards of Pop",[280] saying that the album's combination of "gospel, country, baroque counterpoint and even French popular ballads" lent the band a unique style in which their songs were "as brilliantly original as any written today".[281] Like Newsweek, The New York Times had belittled the group when they first performed in America in February 1964, but following the release of Rubber Soul, entertainment critic Jack Gould wrote an effusive tribute in the newspaper's Sunday magazine.[282] In HiFi/Stereo Review, Morgan Ames wrote that, like other supportive professional musicians, he recognised the devices the band employed as "they tromp on the art of music", and while he viewed their formal musicality as limited, he expressed joy at its effectiveness. Having opened the review by saying, "The Beatles sound more and more like music", he concluded of the album: "Their blend is excellent, their performance smooth, and their charm, wit and excitement run high."[283]
The writers of Record Mirror's initial review found the LP lacking some of the variety of the group's previous releases but also said: "one marvels and wonders at the constant stream of melodic ingenuity stemming from the boys, both as performers and composers. Keeping up their pace of creativeness is quite fantastic."[284] By contrast, Richard Green wrote in the same magazine that most of the album "if recorded by anyone but the Beatles, would not be worthy of release", with many of the tracks devoid of "the old Beatles excitement and compulsiveness". Green acknowledged that his was an unpopular opinion, before stating: "Judging LPs strictly on their merits, recent albums from Manfred Mann, the Beach Boys and Jerry Lee Lewis rank high above Rubber Soul."[285]
In another review that Richard Williams later cited as an example of the British pop press not being "quite ready" for the album, Melody Maker found the Beatles' new sound "a little subdued" and said that tracks such as "You Won't See Me" and "Nowhere Man" "almost get monotonous – an un-Beatle-like feature if ever there was one".[286] Author Steve Turner also highlights the comments made by the Melody Maker and Record Mirror reviewers, who were typically aged over 30, as indicative of how UK pop journalists lacked "the critical vocabulary" and "the broad musical perspective" to recognise or engage with progressive music.[287] Turner adds that Rubber Soul "may have perplexed the old guard of entertainment correspondents, but it was a beacon for fledgling rock critics (as they would soon be called)".[251] Among the few newspaper columnists seriously reviewing rock music was Ralph J. Gleason, jazz critic for the San Francisco Chronicle,[288] who credited Rubber Soul with "experimenting far past the style of outright imitations of Negro rhythm and blues artists" which had often characterised the Beatles' earlier work.[289] In a February 1966 article, he contended it was "one of the most universally appealing albums ever issued", extending the band's reach beyond teenagers to "[a]ll ages, all colors, all sexes, [and] all social and economic levels".[290]
In a September 1966 review of Revolver, KRLA Beat said that the title of Rubber Soul had "become a standard phrase used to describe a creation of exceptional excellence in the field of music", such that several highly regarded releases had since earned the description "a 'Rubber Soul in its field'".[291][nb 19] Writing in Esquire in 1967, Robert Christgau called it "an album that for innovation, tightness, and lyrical intelligence was about twice as good as anything they or anyone else (except maybe the Stones) had done previously".[293] Retrospective assessment Professional ratingsReview scores Source Rating AllMusic StarStarStarStarStar[1] Blender StarStarStarStarStar[294] Consequence of Sound A+[295] The Daily Telegraph StarStarStarStarStar[296] Encyclopedia of Popular Music StarStarStarStarStar[297] MusicHound Rock 4/5[298] Paste 97/100[299] Pitchfork 10/10[300] Q StarStarStarStarStar[301] The Rolling Stone Album Guide StarStarStarStarStar[302]
According to Decker, notwithstanding the band's advances in 1964, music critics generally view Rubber Soul as the Beatles' "'transitional' album ... from successful pop act to unparalleled masters of the studio".[104] It is frequently cited by commentators as the first of their "classic" albums.[303] Greil Marcus described it as the best of all the band's LPs.[304] In his 1979 essay on the Beatles in The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll, Marcus wrote: "Rubber Soul was an album made as an album; with the exception of 'Michelle' (which, to be fair, paid the bills for years to come), every cut was an inspiration, something new and remarkable in and of itself."[305][nb 20]
Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph wrote in 2009: "this is where things start to get very interesting ... Rubber Soul is the result of their first extended period in the studio. The production is open and spacious, adorned but not yet overcrowded with new instruments and ideas. The songs themselves are like little Pop Art vignettes, where the lyrics are starting to match the quality of the melodies and arrangements."[307] Scott Plagenhoef of Pitchfork describes the album as "the most important artistic leap in the Beatles' career – the signpost that signaled a shift away from Beatlemania and the heavy demands of teen pop, toward more introspective, adult subject matter".[300] Paul Du Noyer wrote in his review for Blender in 2004: "Their talent was already a source of wonder, but now the songs themselves were turning mysterious. Under the influence of Bob Dylan – and, it might be said, marijuana – the Fab Four laced their tunefulness with new introspection, wordplay and social comment. University professors and newspaper columnists started taking note."[294]
Writing in Paste, Mark Kemp says that the influence of Dylan and the Byrds seems overt at times but the album marks the start of the Beatles' peak in creativity and, in the context of 1965, offered "an unprecedented synthesis of elements from folk-rock and beyond".[299] According to Richie Unterberger of AllMusic, the album's lyrics represented "a quantum leap in terms of thoughtfulness, maturity, and complex ambiguities", while the music was similarly progressive in its use of sounds beyond "the conventional instrumental parameters of the rock group". He adds that Rubber Soul is "full of great tunes" from Lennon and McCartney notwithstanding their divergence from a common style, and demonstrates that Harrison "was also developing into a fine songwriter".[1] Writing in the Encyclopedia of Popular Music, Colin Larkin describes it as "not a collection of would-be hits or favourite cover versions … but a startlingly diverse collection, ranging from the pointed satire of 'Nowhere Man' to the intensely reflective 'In My Life'."[308] In the 2004 edition of The Rolling Stone Album Guide, Rob Sheffield recognises Help! as "the first chapter in the [Beatles'] astounding creative takeoff", after which the band "grew up with an album of bittersweet romance, singing adult love ballads that feel worldly but not jaded".[309]
In an article coinciding with the 50th anniversary of its release, for The Guardian, Bob Stanley lamented that Rubber Soul was often overlooked in appraisals of the Beatles' recording career, whereas Revolver and The Beatles had each gained in stature to surpass Sgt. Pepper. Stanley highlighted Rubber Soul as having been "a good 18 months ahead of its time" and "the first album of the rock era that sounded like an album".[310] Also writing in December 2015, in Rolling Stone, Sheffield especially admired the singing and the modern qualities of the female characters depicted in the lyrics. He said that the album was "way ahead of what anyone had done before" and, given the short period in which they had to record, he called it the Beatles' "accidental masterpiece".[311]
Conversely, Jon Friedman of Esquire finds the work vastly overrated, with only the Lennon-dominated songs "Norwegian Wood", "Nowhere Man", "In My Life" and "Girl" worthy of praise, and he dismisses it as "dull" and "the Beatles' most inconsequential album".[312] Although he considers that McCartney "comes off third-string" to Lennon and Harrison, Plagenhoef defends the album's subtle mood; highlighting the influence of cannabis on the Beatles throughout 1965, he writes: "With its patient pace and languid tones, Rubber Soul is an altogether much more mellow record than anything the Beatles had done before, or would do again. It's a fitting product from a quartet just beginning to explore their inner selves on record."[300] In his review for Rough Guides, Chris Ingham highlights the musical arrangements, three-part harmonies and judicious use of new sounds, in addition to the band's improved musicianship and songwriting. He says that Rubber Soul usually trails the Beatles' next four albums in critics' assessments of their work, yet "it's undoubtedly their pre-acid, pre-antagonism masterpiece: beat music as high art".[106][nb 21] Influence and legacy Rivals' response See also: Album era
It was the most out-there music they'd ever made, but also their warmest, friendliest and most emotionally direct. As soon as it dropped in December 1965, Rubber Soul cut the story of pop music in half – we're all living in the future this album invented. Now as then, every pop artist wants to make a Rubber Soul of their own.[311]
– Rob Sheffield, 2015
Music historian Bill Martin says that the release of Rubber Soul was a "turning point" for pop music, in that for the first time "the album rather than the song became the basic unit of artistic production."[314] In author David Howard's description, "pop's stakes had been raised into the stratosphere" by Rubber Soul, resulting in a shift in focus from singles to creating albums without the usual filler tracks.[315] The release marked the start of a period when other artists, in an attempt to emulate the Beatles' achievement, sought to create albums as works of artistic merit[315][316] and with increasingly novel sounds.[317] According to Steve Turner, by galvanising the Beatles' most ambitious rivals in Britain and America, Rubber Soul launched "the pop equivalent of an arms race".[318]
Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys described Rubber Soul as "the first album I listened to where every song was a gas" and planned his band's next project, Pet Sounds, as an attempt to surpass it.[319] Rubber Soul similarly inspired Pete Townshend of the Who and the Kinks' Ray Davies,[320] as well as Jagger and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, who issued their first album of all-original material, Aftermath, in April 1966.[316] The album was also an influence on Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder[237] and the Byrds.[9] John Cale recalled that Rubber Soul was an inspiration as he and Lou Reed developed their band the Velvet Underground. He said it was the first time "you were forced to deal with them as something other than a flash in the pan" and especially admired Harrison's introduction of Indian sounds.[321]
In his chapter on Rubber Soul in the Cambridge Companion to Music's volume on the Beatles, James Decker credits the album with effecting the "transformation" of 1960s pop.[15] In addition to citing it as the precedent for early experimental works by bands including the Kinks, Love and Jefferson Airplane, Decker writes that Rubber Soul presented "a variety of techniques hitherto unexplored in popular music" while encouraging listeners "to be cognizant of more flexible dimensions of pop music and to desire and expect them as well".[322] Music historian Simon Philo also sees it as heralding the experimentation that characterised late-1960s rock. He describes it as an album-length confirmation of the "transformation of pop's range and reach" that the Beatles had first achieved when "Yesterday", McCartney's introspective and classically orchestrated ballad, topped US singles charts in late 1965.[323] In a 1968 article on the Beach Boys, Gene Sculatti of Jazz & Pop recognised Rubber Soul as the model for Pet Sounds and Aftermath, as well as "the necessary prototype that no major rock group has been able to ignore".[324][nb 22]
Cultural legitimisation of pop music
Rubber Soul is widely viewed as the first pop album to make an artistic statement through the quality of its songs,[325] a point that was reinforced by its artsy cover photo.[252] The belated acceptance of the Beatles by the editors of Newsweek was indicative of the magazine's recognition of the band's popularity among American intellectuals and the cultural elite.[326] This in turn was reflected in The Village Voice's appointment of Richard Goldstein, a recent graduate and New Journalism writer, to the new position of rock critic, in June 1966,[327] and the Beatles' central role in achieving cultural legitimisation for pop music over 1966–67.[328][nb 23] Referring to the praise afforded the band, particularly the Lennon–McCartney partnership, by Newsweek in early 1966, Michael Frontani writes: "The Beatles had a foothold in the world of art; in the months that followed, their efforts would lead to the full acceptance and legitimization of rock and roll as an art form."[332]
Paul Williams launched Crawdaddy! in February 1966 with the aim of reflecting the sophistication brought to the genre by Rubber Soul and Dylan's Bringing It All Back Home – the two albums that, in music journalist Barney Hoskyns' description, "arguably gave birth to 'rock' as a more solid concept than 'pop'".[333] According to Sculatti, Rubber Soul was "the definitive 'rock as art' album, revolutionary in that it was a completely successful creative endeavor integrating with precision all aspects of the creative (rock) process – composition of individual tracks done with extreme care, each track arranged appropriately to fit beside each other track, the symmetrical rock 'n' roll album".[324] Christopher Bray describes it as "the album that proved that rock and roll could be suitable for adult audiences", "the first long-playing pop record to really merit the term 'album'" and the LP that "turned pop music into high art".[334] Historian Marc Myers similarly credits it with "mark[ing] rock's shift from formulaic pop to studio experimentation and high art".[237]
According to Du Noyer, through Rubber Soul's blurring of the traditionally distinct dividing line between pop and high culture, and the perceived inferiority of singles, "a rift occurred [in the UK] between pop and rock". He quotes writer Nik Cohn's complaints that the "danger signs" for pop music's loss of innocence were apparent on Rubber Soul, and poet Philip Larkin's comment that "[The Beatles'] fans stayed with them, and the nuttier intelligentsia, but they lost the typists in the Cavern." Du Noyer says the album started a process that grew to become a "gulf between albums and singles, between rock or pop" that "shape[d] British music for decades".[9] Development of subgenres Jefferson Airplane performing in June 1967. Rubber Soul especially resonated with musicians in the emerging San Francisco scene.
The album coincided with rock 'n' roll's development into a variety of new styles, a process in which the Beatles' influence ensured them a pre-eminent role.[99] Andrew Loog Oldham, the Rolling Stones' manager and producer at the time, has described Rubber Soul as "the album that changed the musical world we lived in then to the one we still live in today".[335][nb 24] "Norwegian Wood" launched what Indian classical musician Ravi Shankar called "the great sitar explosion",[336] as the Indian string instrument became a popular feature in raga rock[337][338] and for many pop artists seeking to add an exotic quality to their music.[339] The harpsichord-like solo on "In My Life" led to a wave of baroque rock recordings.[340][341] Rubber Soul was also the release that encouraged many folk-music aficionados to embrace pop.[208] Folk singer Roy Harper recalled: "They'd come onto my turf, got there before me, and they were kings of it, overnight. We'd all been outflanked ..."[321][nb 25]
Author George Case, writing in his book Out of Our Heads, identifies Rubber Soul as "the authentic beginning of the psychedelic era".[27] Music journalist Mark Ellen similarly credits the album with having "sow[ed] the seeds of psychedelia",[335] while Christgau says that "psychedelia starts here."[342][nb 26] Writing in The Sydney Morning Herald in July 1966, Lillian Roxon reported on the new trend for psychedelia-themed clubs and events in the US and said that Rubber Soul was "the classic psychedelic album now played at all the psychedelic discotheques". She attributed pop's recent embrace of psychedelia and "many of the strange new sounds now in records" to the LP's influence.[343]
In Myers' view, the Capitol release "changed the direction of American rock".[344] In the ongoing process of reciprocal influence between the band and US folk rock acts, the Beatles went on to inspire the San Francisco music scene.[342] Recalling the album's popularity in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco, where Jefferson Airplane were based,[345] journalist Charles Perry said: "You could party hop all night and hear nothing but Rubber Soul."[346] Perry also wrote that "More than ever the Beatles were the soundtrack of the Haight-Ashbury, Berkeley and the whole circuit", where pre-hippie students suspected that the album was inspired by drugs.[347]
Citing a quantitative study of tempos in music from the 1960s, Walter Everett identifies Rubber Soul as a work that was "made more to be thought about than danced to", and an album that "began a far-reaching trend" in its slowing-down of the tempos typically used in pop and rock music.[348] While music historians typically credit Sgt. Pepper as the birth of progressive rock,[349] Everett and Bill Martin recognise Rubber Soul as the inspiration for many of the bands working in that genre from the early 1970s.[314][350][nb 27] Appearances on best-album lists and further recognition
Rubber Soul was voted fifth in Paul Gambaccini's 1978 book Critic's Choice: Top 200 Albums,[352] based on submissions from a panel of 47 critics and broadcasters including Richard Williams,[353] Christgau and Marcus.[354] In the first edition of Colin Larkin's book All Time Top 1000 Albums, in 1994, it was ranked at number 10,[355] and in 1998 it was voted the 39th greatest album of all time in the first "Music of the Millennium" poll,[356] conducted by HMV and Channel 4.[357] It was listed at number 34 in the third edition of Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums, published in 2000.[358][359]
Since 2001, Rubber Soul has appeared in critics' best-albums-of-all-time lists compiled by VH1 (at number 6),[360] Mojo (number 27) and Rolling Stone (number 5).[203] It was among Time magazine's selection of the "All-Time 100 Albums" in 2006[361] and was favoured over Revolver in Chris Smith's book 101 Albums That Changed Popular Music three years later.[362][363] In 2012, Rolling Stone again placed it at number 5 on the magazine's revised list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".[72] In September 2020, Rubber Soul was ranked at number 35 on the same publication's new list.[364]
Rubber Soul appeared in Rolling Stone's 2014 list of the "40 Most Groundbreaking Albums of All Time", where the editors concluded: "You can say this represents 'maturity,' call it 'art' or credit it for moving rock away from singles to album-length statements – but regardless Rubber Soul accelerated popular music's creative arms race, driving competitors like the Stones, the Beach Boys and Dylan to dismantle expectations and create new ones."[365] Three years later, Pitchfork ranked it at number 46 on the website's "200 Best Albums of the 1960s". In his commentary with the entry, Ian Cohen wrote: "Every Beatles album fundamentally shaped how pop music is understood, so Rubber Soul is one of the most important records ever made, by default ... Even in 2017, whenever a pop singer makes a serious turn, or an anointed serious band says they've learned to embrace pop, Rubber Soul can't help but enter the conversation."[366]
In 2000, Rubber Soul was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame,[249] an award bestowed by the American Recording Academy "to honor recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance that are at least 25 years old".[367] The album has been the subject of multi-artist tribute albums such as This Bird Has Flown and Rubber Folk.[203] Writing in December 2015, Ilan Mochari of Inc. magazine commented on the unusual aspect of a pop album's 50th anniversary being celebrated, and added: "Over the next several years, you can bet you'll read about the 50th anniversary of many other albums – thematic volumes composed by bands or songwriters in the tradition Rubber Soul established. All of which is to say: Rubber Soul, the Beatles' sixth studio album, was the record that launched a thousand ships."[344] Compact disc reissues
Rubber Soul was first released on compact disc on 30 April 1987,[368] with the fourteen-song UK track line-up now the international standard.[235] As with Help!, the album features a contemporary stereo digital remix prepared by George Martin.[115] Martin had expressed concern to EMI over the original 1965 stereo mix, claiming it sounded "very woolly, and not at all what I thought should be a good issue". He went back to the original four-track tapes and remixed them for stereo.[369]
A newly remastered version of Rubber Soul, again using the 1987 Martin remix, was released worldwide as part of the reissue of the entire Beatles catalogue on 9 September 2009. The album is available both as an individual CD release and as part of the Beatles (The Original Studio Recordings) box set. The accompanying Beatles in Mono box set contains two versions of the album: the original mono mix and the 1965 stereo mix.[370][371]
The Capitol version was re-released in 2006, first as part of the Capitol Albums, Volume 2 box set,[203][372] using original mixes of the Capitol album, and then in 2014, individually and in the box set The U.S. Albums.[373]
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