Classic Albums #6 - The Beatles: Rubber Soul

[vastar iner]

Setting up the thread now as I'll be offline until 4th December, probably...

EDIT: back now, so time to explain.  It's fairly simple.  The Beatles did more to create the album as a distinct artwork than any other act.  And so it makes sense to get them in as early as possible to give a baseline for later comparisons, and as a basis for what others could do with the medium of the LP.

Of those in the list, Rubber Soul is the earliest in chronology, so perhaps we can go through the Beatle catalogue (over time, obvs) in chronological order, and show the development. At this stage their albums were still really collections of individual songs; that would soon change.

The rubric:


1. "Drive My Car" (vox: McCartney with Lennon) - 2:25
2. "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" (Lennon with McCartney) 2:01
3. "You Won't See Me" (McCartney) 3:18
4. "Nowhere Man" (Lennon with McCartney and Harrison) 2:40
5. "Think for Yourself" (Harrison) 2:16
6. "The Word" (Lennon and McCartney with Harrison) 2:41
7. "Michelle" (McCartney) 2:33

Side two

1. "What Goes On" (Starr) 2:47
2. "Girl" (Lennon) 2:30
3. "I'm Looking Through You" (McCartney) 2:23
4. "In My Life" (Lennon and McCartney) 2:24
5. "Wait" (McCartney and Lennon) 2:12
6. "If I Needed Someone" (Harrison) 2:20
7. "Run for Your Life" (Lennon) 2:18

[o]

Just having a listen in the car, my journey is 20 mins there and 20 mins back, so it's quite good to get angle on the albums we choose.

[thehitparade]

Is it official now? I did give it a listen last week, but I wanted to double check it was definitely this album. I presume we're going for the UK version as the standard?

[o]

I assume so, and yes it's official Happy Listening!

[thehitparade]

In case anyone did want to know, the tracklisting for the US version is:

1. I've Just Seen A Face (2:09)
2. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)
3. You Won't See Me
4. Think For Yourself
5. The Word
6. Michelle

7. It's Only Love (2:00)
8. Girl
9. I'm Looking Through You
10. In My Life
11. Wait
12. Run For Your Life

The two added songs are both from the UK album of Help! of course.

Now, shall I review the mono, the original stereo or the remix?

[o]

Cheers to my mate who has a more extensive cd collection than myself and so I keep borrowing them from him, and listening to them in the car!!!

Beatles – Rubber soul
Side one
"Drive My Car" Great slice of edgier pop to start the album 7/10
"Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" Classic, famous Beatles track, showed their move to a mature sound, 8/10
"You Won't See Me" Average album track 5/10
"Nowhere Man" Better 6/10
"Think for Yourself" Darker, 7/10
“The Word" Catchy, infectious pop 7/10
"Michelle" Haunting, remember listening to this as a child, 7/10

Side two
"What Goes On" Bit more country, but I like it, and I like Ringo Starr’s vocals! 7/10
"Girl" Dreamy and ethereal, gorgeous 7/10
"I'm Looking Through You" Album filler, but nice piano/guitar? 6/10
"In My Life" One of my fave Beatles songs ever, love the piano tinkly sound, should it not be the last track though? 10/10
"Wait" Pleasant enough, 6/10
"If I Needed Someone" Again, pleasant enough, 6/10
"Run for Your Life" Darker lyrics here, 7/10
96/14=6.85 = 7/10.

[blackcat]

Great album, John Lennon always described Rubber Soul as The Beatles first "contemporary" album, by which he meant that it was the first album to veer a little away from the fifties rock and roll that had influenced the band, and had more of a folk rock feel than other albums they had done up to that point. And the first album to make great use of new recording studio techniques. 

Also the British version of the album had "Nowhere Man" on it - a top three single in the States - which was surely the Beatles first ever non-love lyric song.

"In My Life" was voted the best song of all-time in a poll conducted by classic gold radio station here in the UK about a year ago. 

Michelle is one of the most covered songs ever, the Beatles second most covered song after Yesterday, I believe.

"If I Needed Someone" was the first Beatles cover version to chart which was not written by Lennon/McCartney.  The George Harrison song was covered successfully by The Hollies, who took their version into the British charts. 

But George Harrison himself did not like the Hollies version, and said so publicly.

A classic album indeed, although I personally thought that "Revolver", the follow up, was even better.

[raliverpool]

Produced as ever by George Martin, the 6th studio album was recorded in just over four weeks to make the 1965 Christmas market (The same sessions included their Xmas 1965 Double A sides "Day Tripper" & "We Can Work It Out". Unlike the five albums that preceded it, this album was recorded during a specific period and not dashed off here and there between tour dates or other promo commitments. While the Beatles still largely stuck to love songs on Rubber Soul, the lyrics represented a quantum leap in terms of thoughtfulness, maturity, and complex ambiguities. "Norwegian Wood" sketches a failed relationship between the singer and a mysterious girl, where she goes to bed and he sleeps in the bath. "Drive My Car" serves as a satirical piece of sexism, and songs like "I'm Looking Through You", "You Won't See Me", and "Girl" express more emotionally complex, gritty and downbeat portrayals of romance. John Lennon's "In My Life" depicts nostalgic reverie for younger days, while "Nowhere Man" (written by John about the lack of direction in his own life) and Harrison's "Think for Yourself" (written by George as a warning against listening to lies by the Government/establishment and the Newspapers/media) explored subject matter that had nothing to do with love at all.

Equally, it was a substantial musical leap forward, with intricate folk-rock arrangements that reflected the increasing influence of Bob Dylan, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It also highlighted their expanding world music horizons via the French influenced Michelle; the Greek influence on Girl; and the Indian sitar influenced Think For Yourself & Norwegian Wood.

Track Rating (Best Cover Versions):

Side one

1. "Drive My Car" 9.0 www.youtube.com/watch?v=W18yzlcNI9I (Bobby McFerrin)
2. "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" 9.5 www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBSTXaBOuQ4 (Buddy Guy)
3. "You Won't See Me" 9.5 www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0v1m0GX2Ck (Anne Murray)
4. "Nowhere Man" 9.5 www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Frumy1ttOc (Low)
5. "Think for Yourself" 6.5 www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDmtYWLo7i8 (Yonder Mountain String Band)
6. "The Word" 8.0 www.youtube.com/watch?v=FumrxU1vDyk (13th Floor Elevators)
7. "Michelle" 10.0 www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzKw7eqr09U (Ben Harper)

Side two

1. "What Goes On" 7.0 www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTU71xoradg (Sufjan Stevens)
2. "Girl" 8.5 www.youtube.com/watch?v=YP3ipQcCntg (Paul Carrack)
3. "I'm Looking Through You" 7.5 www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Y_B_2cLizo (The Wallflowers)
4. "In My Life" 10.0 www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzX7Oq86UjE (Bette Midler)
5. "Wait" 6.0 www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Xji7H8LTcw (Sam Lakeman and Cara Dillon)
6. "If I Needed Someone" 7.5 www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Kn_ILSZnfw (Eric Clapton)
7. "Run for Your Life" 7.0 www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjscFtVwHtc (Nancy Sinatra)

Personally I think A Hard Days Night is a better album, and they certainly made better albums afterwards. But it was the transitional album between the Moptop touring Beatles; and the more adventurous/complex studio based band in the later part of their career.

Overall 9 (82.14% (81-86% = 9 bracket)

My recommendation for a similar album just has to be The Rolling Stones - Aftermath www.youtube.com/watch?v=BByRsub9r_k


The Beatles Studio album rates:

Please Please Me (1963) 7
With the Beatles (1993) 7
A Hard Day's Night (1964) 9
Beatles for Sale (1964) 7
Help! (1965) 8
Rubber Soul (1965) 9
Revolver (1966) 10
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) 10
Magical Mystery Tour (1967) 10
The Beatles "The White Album" (1968) 9
Yellow Submarine Songtrack (1969) 7
Abbey Road 10
Let It Be / Let It Be ... Naked 6 / 8
Past Masters (Vol. 1 & 2) 9

[blackcat]

What a great review of Rubber Soul, in the above post, by Ra In A Manger!  And I thought that I knew my Beatles stuff! 

The only thing I would say is that Magical Mystery Tour, while a great listen, should not be considered a studio album.  The group never intended it to be so, they intended it to be a double e.p. project only. In America it became an album release, and The Beatles did not necessarily approve of that Stateside long player release either. It is really a compilation album, rather than a studio one.

In fact you have past masters in there as well, Ra.  Again, not a studio album.

Agree with the comments about Rubber Soul. Think For Yourself is somewhat punky in its attitude and presentation by George Harrison, and both Nowhere Man and Norwegian Wood are indeed more sophisticated offerings from the genius that was John Lennon.

Even the love songs that are on the album are not your standard Beatles love songs.  Paul's I'm Looking Through You is really about his frustration with Jane Asher, his girlfriend at the time.

A great album. The Beatles ratings are a matter of opinion, of course.  I personally would rate Help! as a 9, and Please Please Me would be higher in my estimation.

I personally would recommend The Kinks 1965 album "Kinks Kontroversy" as a good similiar album to listen too. That album also showcased a band in transition, and has some great tracks on it.

All a matter of taste and opinion, of course.

[vastar iner]

A bit of context. I chose this one because it’s the earliest Beatles album on the list, and they did more than anything else to create the album as a separate set of art in its own right, rather than a jumbled collection of songs or a set of covers linked only by a list mentality (q.v. The Explosive Freddy Cannon where every song had a place name in the title) in place of imagination. So I thought it would help to get it down as a baseline against which to compare other albums.

And in that context I wondered whether it was possible to listen to it as if coming to it afresh. As if there were no metal, hard rock, techno, rap, indiepop, whatever. Where the most challenging song released to date was probably “The Times Are A-Changin’”. How would Rubber Soul have created a new musical landscape? It’s not really possible, given what we now know, and cannot forget, but I thought it worth a shot. I think it does inform how it is to be assessed, i.e. not by modern standards, but then again, listening to it, I don’t know whether that matters...

So, on to the 33.

For a song that’s so familiar, “Drive My Car” has a startling opening; it’s straight into the vocals with barely a hint of an introduction. It’s also interesting listening to it with a fresh ear, trying to forget its familiarity; the verses are surprisingly high, the production surprisingly sparse. It sounds so easy.

“Norwegian Wood”. How must this have come across at the time? Sounds like a sitar. Beyond exotic? It’s not bebop mop top pop pop. At all. Where are the drums? The verse sounds like the chorus and the chorus sounds like the bridge. It’s folk in flock wallpaper. The hippie era avant l’heure. And the lyrics, well, Dylan was telling stories in his songs and this is an early attempt to follow. Must be Lennon.

“You Won’t See Me” sees the harmonies changed again, more conventional ooh la la after the choral twist. The song sounds older than the group, the product of middle age rather than the hot hot heat of youth. And it sounds like filler.

“Nowhere Man” kicks off with the harmonies. And one where the lyrics count. No more yeah yeah yeah. You don’t expect philosophical musings on the middle of an album. The sound reminds one of The Searchers, but they were a covers band. It’s a jolt to have such a melancholic song to the such a backing, even though the downtrend of the melody might have conditioned one to it.

“Think For Yourself”. Never heard this one before. I think it might have been done better as full a cappella. Except for the chorus, which has an interesting kick-on, change in tempo and additional urgency. The buzz guitar to me does not work, but the harmonising is impeccable. It’s dawning on me that The Beatles (or George Martin) are underrated as vocal arrangers, did they start composition with the vox?

“The Word”. Meh. A second filler track. A verse in search of a chorus. The runoff is better than most of the song, they should have run with that.

“Michelle”. I can see why there was a feeding frenzy over this song. Evoking a languid repose dans le countryside. That something as vraimant charmant as this could be an album track shows the quality of the group - even in these somewhat early stages.

“What Goes On”. Sounds like country. I don’t like country. But they needed a track for Ringo to sing, so it suits his vocal range. Indeed, he makes a decent enough country singer.

“Girl”. The love song is a cliche, isn’t it? Even in the sixties it was done to death. This though is a new twist on it, a different sound. Again it’s kicking back, chillaxing, evocative.

“I’m Looking Through You”. A bit like “The Word”, in that there are nuggets of interest in the song, but overall it’s a bit meh. I suppose it’s difficult to keep pushing the boundaries. Sometimes the laurels are there to rest on. Plus there is something to grasp on to. The Beatles were moving into very new directions, a lifebelt for those who were drowning.

And that is perhaps emphasized with the next song. “In My Life” is far more ambitious. The verses, chorus and bridge seem to be the same thing, they merge into each other in a stream of consciousness, and it is, quite simply, lovely. It’s not the conventional pop. It’s not the kind of thing that would grab the attention on the radio with the same urgency as a singalongapopsong, but it’s the sort of thing that would have gone down well a couple of years later. When people were conditioned to it. By the likes of The Beatles…

“Wait” is a bit more filler, but “If I Needed Someone” repeats the sitar heroes idea. All very eastern-sounding, and the harmonies really, really work on it, they complement the instrumentation, rather than either just aping it, or the instrumentation being a bit of random underlying only there because it is necessary. Every track is important on this track.

And finally “Run For Your Life”. There seems to be a throwback with the twiddly guitar at the beginning and leading into the verses. The last lifebelt to those who had not come along on the journey? It’s early-Beatles-by-numbers, so it already sounds dated, two years earlier it would have been a groundbreaker. Tempora mutantur.

In sum, it’s an excellent album, with three-and-a-bit weaker tracks, but the stronger ones easily counteracting those. The thing is though that it stands up well in modern terms. Had it been released yesterday it would be seen as a contemporary sound, bits of retro, but it would not be seen as something that is now nearly half-a-century old. Compare its sound now to how it would have sounded compared to the stuff that was big merely 10 years beforehand (Pat Boone). It’s remarkable how far music had come in that decade; also how creativity has found it more difficult to break new ground because of that explosion.

8 out of 10.

[Shireblogger]

I will be writing a review of Rubber Soul sometime in January. Been a bit busy over the last few weeks.

[Shireblogger]

Beatles – Rubber Soul

Context
My parents weren’t Beatles fans, but growing up in the 70s meant I was well aware of their more popular songs. And thus, as soon as I started killing music by doing home taping, the Blue and Red albums were amongst the first that I copied. I joined the Britannia Music Club when I bought my first CD player, and the original Beatles albums accounted for most of the purchases required to fulfil my contractual obligations. So I first heard Rubber Soul in 1992, and it didn’t have as much impact on me as its chronological siblings, Help! and Revolver.
6/10

General Overview
Despite the fact that none of the tracks were originally released as singles by the Beatles, there are lots of familiar songs here. But the album feels jumbled, with tunes which wouldn’t have been out of place on their early Fab Four releases, and one or two which stand-up against their late 60s creative best. Of course, Rubber Soul is the album which marks the Beatles beginning to mature into the revered song-writers and trendsetters they became, whilst simultaneously trying not to alienate their core fanbase. But, as an album, it doesn’t quite feel right.
6/10

Intro & Outro
First impressions count, and Rubber Soul isn’t off to a very good start. “Drive My Car” is irritatingly childish. It must have taken the dynamic duo at least 10 minutes to write. “Run For Your Life” is much better, and faithfully acknowledges the band’s love of rock’n’roll. Had it been recorded two years earlier, it could have been another chart topping single.
6/10

Music
There’s a great variety here. Ballads, conventional pop songs, folk and a rather fab slice of country & western on “What Goes On”, which is amongst my favourites on the album. Whilst the album lacks harmony, on a standalone basis, many of the songs are terrific. George’s “Think For Yourself” is another underrated cut.
7/10

Lyrics
The lyrics reveal how Rubber Soul represents a transition for the Beatles. We still have the charmingly simple love poems, such as "Girl". But we also have enigmatic short stories, especially “Norwegian Wood”. What did happen to the girl whose wine he drank ? John’s “Nowhere Man”, with its sixth form philosophising also signals a growing sophistication and willingness to break the mould.
8/10

Production & Sound
Track 2 (“Norwegian Wood”) is one of great importance in the history of pop music. For it is here that we are introduced for the very first time, by George, to the sitar as an instrument that can be used in western music. Obviously, this had a long-term effect on the Beatles. We wouldn’t have had Sgt Pepper without it, and, by implication, all those later bands who were influenced by the Beatles, and who experimented beyond the conventional guitar/bass/piano/drums line-up. It’s also a lovely song, and the production sounds years ahead of its time and the technology available. I’d also pick out “Girl”, where George Martin and the band had the confidence to put John’s vocals ahead of the very restrained rhythm track, and then overlay the simple vocal effects – sucking through the teeth, “da da da da”. No need to embellish or submerge the song in a wave of noise.
8/10

High Points
I’ve always loved “Michelle”. It is beautifully simple and to the point.
8/10

Low Points
“You Won’t See Me” is pretty forgettable, and certainly not good enough to be track 3. “The Word” is a little painful, for both the key it is sung in, and its rather pointless lyrics, especially as it is the second longest track on the LP.
5/10

Packaging
A great cover. For the first time, the band look like interesting adults, with long hair and rugged features. John is looking at the camera, but the other three are distracted by something to the left. And the stylised title, predicting flower power by two years, is out there, man.
8/10

On balance
It is very difficult to judge how significant this album was back in 1965. I’d like to think that I’d have recognised this, had I been alive and buying music then. Today it lacks a coherent theme and style, but, taken in isolation, many of the tracks are rather splendid.
6/10

TOTAL SCORE
Isn’t it good, Norwegian Wood.
68/100.

For Haven:
7/10

[smokeyb]

The Beatles – Rubber Soul

1. "Drive My Car" This is a cracking tune to open with 9/10
2. "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" One of my favourite songs 10/10
3. "You Won't See Me" Light weight poppy tune 8/10
4. "Nowhere Man" Always sends a shiver down my spine when I hear this, in a good way, love it. 10/10
5. "Think for Yourself" Doesn’t hit the highs of the previous tracks, but still good 7/10
6. "The Word" A follow on from the previous song, building up to a classic, 7/10
7. "Michelle" Sheer class, what more needs to be said. 10/10

1. "What Goes On" Not the best track and easily forgettable 6/10
2. "Girl" Another track that that sounds great to relax to 9/10
3. "I'm Looking Through You" A foot tapping song, quite infectious. 8/10
4. "In My Life" What a wonderful song, just class. 10/10
5. "Wait" I instantly recognise most of the tracks on this album, but not this one. 6/10
6. "If I Needed Someone" Wow, musically this track stands out above anything else being recorded in 1965. 9/10
7. "Run for Your Life" The album ends with a track that could have come from an earlier album. 7/10
Total 116/140 Overall Rating 8.5

There is no doubt the writing and the music utilising different instruments put them way ahead or their fellow rivals, and for this it feels like an important album of its time. An album I play a few times a year along with most of their albums. Well once a fan always a fan.