RUBBER SOUL

By 1965, Beatlemania had reached its climax. The Beatles were getting tired of the hysteria around them, especially the horrible conditions under which they were touring, not to mention the concerts where no one, including themselves, could hear the music because of the screams. Playing concerts was no joy anymore. At the same time, the musical formula that had brought them to success in 1963/64 was beginning to sound worn out. One can tell by the many half-hearted recordings on Beatles For Sale and Help!. In order to still be musically relevant, they would had to change direction.

Rubber Soul is the first Beatles album that really feels like an album. There are a couple of minor tracks, but all songs are good, and most of them seem to have significance to the album as a whole. The songs differ a lot in terms of mood and composition, but they compliment each other in such a way that together they form a musical entity, even if the songs themselves are not related to each other. Clearly, there is a lot of thought behind the song sequencing, as opposed to Help! where songs often appear in an order that doesn't make sense (e.g. the pairing of "Yesterday" and "Dizzy Miss Lizzy").

Rubber Soul also saw the Beatles taking the possibilities of studio recording more seriously. The songs took longer time to record, arrangements were changed drastically during recording. Ideas were tried out, some rejected, while others were eventually used for the final cut. The album contains some sounds that the average pop listener was not used to at the time; perhaps most striking is the sitar in "Norwegian Wood", the first of a handful of Beatles tracks between 1965 and 1968 to feature the Indian instrument which George Harrison was learning to play. The inspiration from Indian music is present not only in the sitar, but also in the (mostly) one-chord verse where the chord forms a sort of drone behind the melody (see also "Ticket to Ride" from Help!). Other interesting elements include the abrupt harmonic change between verse and chorus from E major to E minor, the almost entire lack of rhythm instruments, and the use of the Mixolydian mode in the verse.

The Mixolydian mode is also present in Harrison's "If I Needed Someone" which, along with his other contribution "Think For Yourself", is a big step forward for him as a songwriter after his mediocre songs on Help!. "If I Needed Someone", like "Norwegian Wood", has a drone-like base in the verse, another possible hint at the Indian inspiration. "Think For Yourself" is especially interesting for its lack of a harmonic base in the verse, only the chorus reveals a clear tonic. His lyrics are pretty sour, even finger-pointing. The same can also be said about later Harrison trakcs like "Taxman", "Within You Without You", "Piggies" and "Savoy Truffle", and it is probably my biggest issue with his songwriting. But musically it is still a great song, and actually the agressive chord changes fit well with the viciousness of the lyrics.

"You Won't See Me" is a bit underrated, but it is actually one of my favourite McCartney songs on the album. There is an intensity in the melody that is hard not to respond to, and the music sounds like it is written out of necessity, especially when you also consider the lyrics about a crisis in a domestic relationship. Especially the intro is one of the most effective the Beatles ever recorded, and I love the answering from the backing vocals in the chorus. The only minus is perhaps the "Oooh-la-la-la"s which sound a bit silly. "I'm Looking Through You" has a similar topic, but musically it sounds less intense, and it is one of the less interesting tracks on the album.

"Nowhere Man" is generally considered a Beatles classic, but it is probably more due to the lyrics than to the music. The depiction of the anonymous Mr. Everyone who "doesn't have a point of view" and "is as blind as he can be" is universal, but musically it's a little repetitive, especially when we get to the superfluous repeat of the second verse and first chorus. But the song clearly has some great moments; my favourite parts being the guitar solo and the close vocal harmonies in the verse. "Michelle" is probably the most unique song on the album with a sadness and a quietness that puts it aside from the other songs. With its quiet playing, discrete ooh's and acoustic guitars it is almost like an easy listening track, and it would have been easy to dismiss it as a piece of schmaltz, but I think its qualities transcend its style. And then of course there is "In My Life" - arguably the best song on the album, and a clear masterpiece. The melody is simply perfect, and fits perfectly with the lyrical theme of looking back at ones past; things that are still there and things that are not. And of course, George Martin's double speed baroque-style piano solo is the icing on the cake ? a cheeky little detail that emphasises the classicist nature of the song.

In the less spirited end of the scale we have songs like "Drive My Car", "What Goes On", "Wait" and "Run For Your Life" which are rooted more in the early Beatles sound. "What Goes On" was actually a very early Lennon song which he brought up for the album as Ringo's vocal spot. It's a fine song overall ? as mentioned, all songs are good ? but perhaps a bit anonymous. "Wait" is a bit hard to really say anything good or bad about, but it is pleasant enough. "Run For Your Life" is probably the most disturbing track on the album due to its violent and sexist lyrics; luckily, Lennon later regretted writing it. On a sole musical level it is still pretty engaging, and especially the "na na na"s in the outro make me think of the Rolling Stones. There's not much sympathy towards women either in "Drive My Car" or "Girl". In the latter they are even singing "tit tit tit" in the middle eight. On the other hand, the girl in "Drive My Car" could as well have been a boy. It has been described as a comedy song, but personally I don't really find it funny. Not even with the "beep beep, beep beep yeah"s.

Finally, "The Word" deserves a mention as one of the great moments on the album. Lyrically it foreshadows the hippie movement with its theme of love in a more universal sense, and consequently the lyrics don't quite stand the test of time. But musically the song is intense as hell, especially because of the middle eight with its perfect interplay between the melody and the guitar riff. Also the vocal harmonies that gradually build up towards the end (with the added high voice) contribute to the intensity, and the culmination is of course the electric organ during the last instrumental middle eights - a truely magic moment.

Bacause of some less outstanding tracks like "Drive My Car", "What Goes On", "I'm Looking Through You" and "Run For Your Life", Rubber Soul is not a perfect album. It is nevertheless an engaging listen from start to finish, and even the weaker songs contribute to the album as a whole, in a way that fillers on previous albums did not. I would often say, that for people who know nothing about the Beatles, Rubber Soul is a good place to start. It may not be their best album, but it is in a way the quintessential Beatles album. It catches them at a point where their songwriting is becoming much more mature and varied while they are still very much rooted in the old sound. Apart from a few unusual sounds, like the sitar in "Norwegian Wood" or the baroque'ish piano solo in "In My Life", the instrumentation is mostly that of classic 60's beat, and we are nowhere near the sonic excesses of Revolver or Sgt. Pepper. Of course that doesn't in any way diminish the impact of Rubber Soul.