The Beatles: Rubber Soul ---Ink Blot Magazine

The Beatles: Rubber Soul

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The Beatles,
"You Won't See Me"

at a glance...

Hometown: Liverpool, England
Formed: 1957

Personnel:
John Lennon -vocals, rhythm guitar, piano
Paul McCartney -vocals, bass, piano
George Harrison -lead guitar, vocals, sitar
Ringo Starr -drums, percussion

Related Bands:
Plastic Ono Band, Wings, The Rolling Stones, Cream, ELO, Ravi Shankar, every musical group, rock or otherwise, since 1964...

Notes:
The Beatles...well, you know the story. Liverpudlian roustabouts in love with American rock 'n' roll pick up guitars, move to Hamburg to learn to play, figure out how to write pop songs and save the world for teenagers. How did they do it? They invented history's greatest hairdo (for men and women). They wrote four-chord pop and symphonic mood music without claiming one's superiority over the other. They were political, sexual, comical and emotional. They were smart, classy and stoned. Without The Beatles...well, it just doesn't bear thinking about, does it?

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The Beatles
Rubber Soul
EMI/Parlophone, Released 1965

Having already rewritten pop history over the course of two years and dozens of instantly classic singles, The Beatles set upon a higher goal: to write songs with better punch lines.

Despite the titular pun and the amusing tale-spinning on "Drive My Car" and "Norwegian Wood," Rubber Soul didn't turn out to be the Fab Four's comedy album, as they once hoped. And though "Drive My Car" and "The Word" parade a fat, Stax-like bottom end, it wasn't really a soul album either. It was, however, the opening volley of the album era, the first set of rock 'n' roll originals written, recorded and packaged as an album, and the foundation upon which the music industry would be based for the next 15 years.

And what of the songs? There's no cornerstone to Rubber Soul - no "A Day in the Life" or long medley - but as a collection of songs it's virtually faultless. McCartney's "You Won't See Me," "I'm Looking Through You" and "Michelle" are all delightful, immediate, and enduring, while Lennon's "Norwegian Wood," and "Girl" are two of the best ballads he ever wrote. The two collaborations, unsurprisingly, stand out - the punchy R&B of "Drive My Car" and the groundbreaking, misty-eyed reflections of "In My Life" are lasting classics of such different styles you can hardly believe one band recorded them. Only one band could have.

If you like Rubber Soul, check out:
The Beatles A Hard Day's Night
The Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
The Beatles Help!
The Beatles Revolver
The Beatles The Beatles
The Beatles Abbey Road
The Beatles Beatles For Sale
Big Star No. 1 Record
Bob Dylan Bringing It All Back Home
The Beta Band The Three EPs
King Biscuit Time No Style
The Zombies The Singles Collection
Otis Redding Otis Blue

-- jf

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