{"id":73834,"date":"2026-09-29T12:48:35","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T12:48:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/29\/how-rubber-soul-changed-the-beatles-music-forever-review\/"},"modified":"2026-09-29T12:48:35","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T12:48:35","slug":"how-rubber-soul-changed-the-beatles-music-forever-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/29\/how-rubber-soul-changed-the-beatles-music-forever-review\/","title":{"rendered":"How ‘Rubber Soul’ Changed the Beatles’ Music Forever: Review"},"content":{"rendered":"


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The line\u00a0the Beatles<\/a>\u00a0drew to mark a turning point in late 1965 was both bold and significant.<\/span><\/p>\n

With the release of Rubber Soul<\/em><\/a>, their sixth album, in December, the mop-tops took their first big step toward becoming artists. Its influence and history-making chain of events (from\u00a0Pet Sounds<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>to\u00a0Revolver<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>to almost every\u00a0aspiring musical work released in the past six decades) have been well documented for decades. Then and now, it deserves all the attention.<\/p>\n

Things were happening fast for the Beatles in their fifth year together. Since the release of their debut album,\u00a0Please Please Me<\/a><\/em>, in March 1963,\u00a0the quartet was on a nonstop rotation of live performances and studio dates. In the 13 months between their second LP and December 1964’s rushed\u00a0Beatles for Sale<\/a><\/em>, they released three albums\u00a0and a handful of stand-alone singles. In August 1965, they\u00a0issued\u00a0Help!<\/a><\/em>, the semi-soundtrack to their second film; they were expected to produce another album plus a new single before the holiday season that year.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:\u00a0<\/strong>Top 100 Rock Songs of All Time\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

A new four-CD Special Edition of Rubber Soul <\/em>charts the monthlong sessions that\u00a0provided the album’s 14 songs plus the simultaneously released single “We Can Work It Out” \/ “Day Tripper.” From “Wait,” which started during the recording of\u00a0Help!<\/em>\u00a0though completed five months later (an instrumental backing track is included here), to “Girl” (again, an instrumental backing track is featured), the Beatles were all business, wasting little studio time \u2014 a sharp contrast to a half year later, as they began work on the prolonged\u00a0Revolver<\/em> sessions.<\/p>\n

So, the revelations on the Rubber Soul<\/em> box set aren’t as\u00a0pronounced as they are on previous special editions of Beatles albums. It’s the details that stand out:\u00a0take two of “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown),” where George Harrison<\/a>‘s sitar finds its place in\u00a0John Lennon<\/a>‘s song; a “songwriting work tape” version of “Day Tripper” featuring Lennon and Paul McCartney<\/a>\u00a0on acoustic guitars and without the famous riff; McCartney’s brief acoustic demo for “We Can Work It Out” and then an early instrumental backing track for the song that lean into the album’s respective folk and soul influences; and\u00a0three\u00a0takes of “I’m Looking Through You” that show its evolution from mid-tempo folk song to organ-energized R&B number, all found on CD Two’s sessions and demos, the main attraction of these remixed and expanded collections.<\/p>\n

Listen to the Beatles’ ‘Michelle (Take 1)’<\/h3>\n

Also included is “Little Girl,” a\u00a0previously undocumented Lennon song stitched together by\u00a0box set mixer Giles Martin from sections of a demo tape. Like Rubber Soul<\/em>‘s other outtake, “12-Bar Original” (an instrumental blues that appeared on Anthology 2<\/em>), the old-fashioned “Little Girl” would have been an outlier on the album had it been included. (In all fairness, it’s hard to gauge how the other Beatles and their growing interest in the studio may\u00a0have contributed to this spare acoustic demo.)<\/p>\n

The album’s mono master\u00a0on the Special Edition’s third disc is vital because it’s what the Beatles and producer\u00a0George Martin<\/a><\/span>\u00a0originally intended for Rubber Soul<\/em>, but casual listeners may find it redundant. More fitting is the original 12-song Capitol Records U.S. version (CD Four), which positioned the Beatles as a folk-rock group by removing four tracks and some of its inherent Motown elements from the standard U.K. edition, and adding two leftovers from Help! <\/em>While perhaps not better,\u00a0<\/em>the U.S. version arguably could be considered more\u00a0coherent in its tone.\u00a0It’s a compelling argument for Rubber Soul<\/em> as a natural progression rather than a deliberate shift in direction. Either way, after this, they were ready for their next stage.<\/p>\n

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Apple Corps<\/figcaption>beatles rubber soul<\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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From ‘Rubber Soul’ to ‘Revolver’ and More: Every Beatles Album Ranked<\/h2>\n
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From the raw ‘Please Please Me’ to the divisive ‘Let It Be,’ the group changed music over the course of a baker’s dozen records. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Gallery Credit: Michael Gallucci<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n