RUBBER SOUL

Rubber Soul is where the Beatles really began to shake off the pop tag and move on to something different. Named after McCartney's "plastic soul" comment which can be heard on the Anthology, this is the Beatles at their sharpest before Dr Robert's drugs began to take hold. The Otis Redding-inspired opener "Drive my car" kicks off the album nicely, before we move into the pyromaniac "Norwegian Wood" (supposedly Lennon confessing an affair). "You won't see me" is another rocker, possibly overlong. "Nowhere Man" features some stunning harmonies (even better on the recent Yellow Submarine songtrack CD). "Think for yourself" is the first of Harrison's 2 strong efforts, featuring distorted bass. "The Word" is another soul-influenced number, predicting the Summer of Love almost 2 years in advance. The slightly cloying "Michelle" is pretty much a Macca solo effort, but, bypassing the obligatory Ringo effort "What goes on", this leads us into a run of 4 classics, from "Girl" with the rude "tit tit" backing through to "Wait". "I'm looking through you" was aimed at Jane Asher and features a great Macca vocal. There is a good version of this on the Anthology. "In My Life" is possibly Lennon's finest moment, rivalled only by "Strawberry Fields Forever". An emotional lyric, wonderful harmonies and Martin's speeded up baroque style piano solo make this the highlight of this album and a true gem. "Wait" is a rare Lennon-McCartney joint effort left over from the "Help" sessions. "If I needed someone" is Harrison's 2nd effort, featuring a Byrds-inspired guitar line. Even Lennon didn't like the slightly nasty "Run for your life", which ends the album on a bit of a low note, however this album was the start of greatness for the Beatles, eclipsed by "Revolver" the following year. I've only given it 3 stars as it can't really be called an "addition to any prog music collection". In the PopArchives it would be a 4 star gem.