RUBBER SOUL

Since I started to listen music, always heard how good Rubber Soul is, and how impressed Brian Wilson was. Well, after years of having it in a box, decided to give the album a new chance, and honestly, was as disappointed as usual. Found it bland and uneven with a few good tracks, but very far of the masterpiece most people talk about.

Some tracks like the opener Drive my Car, You Won't See Me and The Wordare simply out of time, maybe in 1963 or 64 would had been somehow innovative, but in Christmas 1995 and early 1966 sounded dated and terribly repetitive, too many bands were exploring and were miles ahead of this mediocre lollipop-rock.

Others as Michelle and it's clone Girl are simply as boring and predictable as watching the grass grow, hey, no changes, no experimentation, just week soporiferous ballads good for the top 40's list, but not for an album that many people believe marked a crucial point in THE BEATLES evolution. Seems as if they played safe and added this songs to have good reception among teen girls who were still in love with the four guys of Liverpool.

Of course the lowest point is What Goes On, some sort of Folk Rock that really disappointed me. But what can we expect of Ringo Starr, surely the luckiest guy in the universe, an average drummer but not remotely a good songwriter or a vocalist.

But of course there are a couple of impressive songs, starting with the incredibly beautiful Norwegian Wood, a real gem with soft but interesting changes and a great deal of experimentation (starting with Harrison on the sitar), the amazing Nowhere Man, where we can listen George Harrison's touch for the first time and the nice In my Life with the delightful organ solo, but apart from this, nothing caught my attention.

If Rubber Soul would had been released two years before, I would had gone with 4 stars, but in in December 1965 / early 1966, there were many bands releasing stuff far more elaborate and innovative, so will have to go with 2 stars.