Product Description: No Description Available No Track Information Available Media Type: CD Artist: BEATLES Title: RUBBER SOUL (BRITISH) Street Release Date: 08/09/1988 Domestic Genre: ROCK/POP
Amazon.com essential recording: Rank 'em how you like, Rubber Soul is an undeniable pivot point in the Fab Four's varied discography no matter where, or how, you first heard it. The album was softened up in its original 12-song American edition to jibe with the Dylan/Byrds folk-rock sound, as well as squeeze money from the Parlophone catalog. The 14-song U.K. edition--the version now available on compact disc--is a different, more dynamic, and ultimately more accomplished achievement. So many classics: "Drive My Car" and "Nowhere Man" (both omitted from the U.S. edition) merge the early combustible Beatifics to a burgeoning studio consciousness; "The Word" can be read as a pre-psych warning shot; the sitar-laden "Norwegian Wood" and the evocative "Girl" (the latter written on the last night of the sessions) stand as turning points in John Lennon's oeuvre. George finally emerges too, with the McGuinn-ish "If I Needed Someone." --Don Harrison
Leaving Beatlemania behind Though they continued to tour until 1966, by late 1965 the Fab Four considered themselves primarily studio musicians, and the two great mid-period albums "Rubber Soul" and "Revolver", even in their abbreviated Capitol versions, reflect this. Gone are the simpler, crowd-pleasing rave-ups that had driven teenaged girls crazy just a short time earlier, replaced by meticulous studio craftsmanship. In its original Parlophone form (the CD reviewed here), "Rubber Soul", from December, 1965, contains fourteen originals, ranging from Paul McCartney's cheery "Drive My Car", to John Lennon's much more complex "Norwegian Wood" (about a brief tryst, a landmark song in the Beatle canon, as it deals with much more adult subject matter than the group had ever addressed before), to George Harrison's rather sour "Think For Yourself"; again, far removed from Beatlemania. Best known is McCartney's oft-covered "Michelle", a signature love song. The four lads from Liverpool had been the best-known pop group in the world for quite awhile. Now they settled down to crafting music.
The Beatles...It's a no brainer. I was amazed to find a couple of songs on here that I didn't remember. This has a lot of my favorites. If you are a Beatle fan, I would definately recommend 'Rubber Soul'.
Delicious! My favorite Beatles album, actually. Others were more experimental, influential, and innovative, but Rubber Soul is really the bee's knees, musically speaking. Chronologically speaking, it captures the Fab Four at a crossroads, bridging the gap between their tenure as the world's smartest teen pop band and rock `n' roll's preeminent celebrity mad scientists. As such, it captures the best of both worlds: The songs are smartly crafted pop classics with perfect melodies, but they're also bold and original. The lyrics are subtly poetic, the instrumentation is rich and complex, and even the most innocuous tracks burble with exciting new ideas.
"Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" is a sepia-toned miracle, full of folk and mystery and parallel-universe pop melodies. It also has some of the best use of a sitar on a Beatles record. "In My Life" is a tearjerker that can really jerk tears, a haunting work that's full of memory and melancholy. "Drive My Car" is really fun and really groovy, and the guitar solo is wonderfully, unbelievably, quintessentially 60s.
But the real draw of this album is the underappreciated gems. Rubber Soul is full of `em. Take "You Won't See Me," for example. It would have been the highlight of just about any other 60s group's career- it's an absolutely flawless pop song, from harmonies to lyrics to chord progressions. It's cool, it's wistful, it's catchy, it's dynamic, and it's fun. Perfect, I tell ya! "I'm Looking Through" is absolutely gorgeous, and "Wait" has one of the most bewitching choruses in history. I even like the much-maligned "Run For Your Life," because it creates a genuine sense of menace and aggression. Marvelous!
To top it off, the cover art is hipper than anything else in existence. Be hip and buy Rubber Soul. Bon Appétit.
Coming of age A lot has been written and spoken about "Rubber soul" It is basically The Beatles coming of age release. Their work takes on a more reflected and personal identity. They sound more mature in their singing, playing and songwriting. At no time though does this CD sound heavy handed or preachy. Some of the pop sheen is still present, but their melodies and subject matter have a very passionate feel to them. They were still writing in a "singles" (45's) mode and so most everything on the CD sounds like it could have been a hit single in 1965. For that matter probably could be a hit record these days too. Really the only true throwaway song on here is Ringo's "What goes on?" Everything else brims with worthy craftsmanship. Imagine how good this album would have been had they included "Day tripper" & "We can work it out" instead of issuing them as a double A side single.
Beatles Rubber Soul I received this CD as a gift and was very disappointed to find that the songs were not the same as on my old record. I've Just Seen A Face was my favorite song and it is not included.
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