It's 60 Years of The Beatles' 'Rubber Soul'

Exactly 60 years ago today, the Beatles released Rubber Soul, their sixth UK LP album.

Rubber Soul represented a sharp departure from the sound which had brought the group unprecedented worldwide success over the past three years. Even the atmospheric, autumnal cover portrait of the group hinted that what was on the record was going to be something new – more mature and introspective than what had come before. Rubber Soul ushered in the most intensely creative and experimental period of the Beatles’ career, which would continue to play out over the following two years.

Interestingly, this was only the second Beatles LP to completely eschew covers in favour of all-original material, following 1964’s A Hard Day’s Night. Although said by some – including producer George Martin – to be a pioneering example of a pop album being constructed as a cohesive whole rather than simply as a collection of songs, it did feature a few missteps, showing that the group were still in the early stages of honing this particular craft, which they would go on to perfect over their next two LPs, 1966’s Revolver and 1967’s Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Sonically, the group continued to explore new territories, including Hindustani music, folk rock and Baroque forms. Recorded over an intense four-week period in the autumn of 1965 to meet a Christmas release deadline, Rubber Soul proved that even though they were already unquestionably the world’s leading pop group, the Beatles had no intention whatsoever of resting on their laurels.

Track by track

‘Drive My Car’

Right off the bat, the Beatles play a cheeky musical trick with the instrumental intro to this catchy opening track, an auditory illusion which leaves listeners disoriented as to where the beat starts. The musical sleight-of-hand extends to half-spoken, half-sung (sprechgesang) vocals which also leaves listeners unsure of the song’s key – qualities shared with the contemporaneous single ‘Day Tripper’, recorded at the same sessions.

‘Norwegian Wood (This Bird has Flown)’

Vaguely Bob Dylan-esque, this John Lennon-penned track is believed to be a thinly-veiled account of an extramarital affair. More notably, this is when George Harrison first revealed to the world – with the pioneering use of a sitar – his budding yet intense interest in Hindustani music, which began when he took an interest in a sitar displayed on a set for the film Help!, shot a few months earlier.

‘You Won’t See Me’

An underrated Paul McCartney gem, this vivid account of romantic turmoil was inspired by his turbulent relationship with the actress Jane Asher, as was ‘I’m Looking Through You’ on side B. Its elegant chord progression and long running length (the longest Beatles song recorded to date) showed McCartney’s determination to continue pushing boundaries as a songwriter.

‘Nowhere Man’

An enduring Lennon classic, this arresting account of a lost soul (probably a reference to the author himself) ‘making all his nowhere plans for nobody’ is in keeping with the philosophical theme established in his song ‘Help!’ from the previous album, although it strikes a more hopeful tone with its assurance to the ‘Nowhere Man’ that ‘the world is at your command’. Achingly beautiful backing harmonies and a jangly guitar solo evidence the group’s ongoing exchange of ideas with the rapidly-rising US folk-rock act The Byrds.

Source: Chaitanya Ramachandran/thewire.in

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