The Beatles’ Rubber Soul was Rock’s First True Album!  

Hi, love your show. IMHO Revolver is the most important album in the history of Rock and it marks the beginning of Rock. Not that it is such a great album, certainly not the best of the Beatles. It's significance is in that it is the first influential major release that contains actual Rock songs, 'Taxman' and 'Tomorrow Never Knows' with the latter being undoubtable Acid Rock. When did (Little Richard, Elvis Presley, Bill Haley, Beatles) "Rock and Roll" turn into (Led Zeppelin, Hendrix, Nirvana, Beatles) "Rock"? If you look at the timeline you can see that Revolver clearly marks the borderline that separates the two genres, the two distinct styles. It was the Beatles huge musical influence that exposed this new way of playing Rock to the world and because of that Revolver as an album had the largest influence on all the rest of the Rock music that was created from that point onward. In the years before Revolver there was some tendency by the Beatles as well as other bands to incorporate into their music some songs that had a slower, heaver, more distorted feel, characteristic of Rock, but most of it was still Rock and Roll. In the year following Revolver, if you listen to Sargent Pepper and other albums like Are You Experienced, Fresh Cream and Surrealistic Pillow, if you look at the swarm of new Rock bands that released Rock albums during that year, one can only conclude that Revolver is where it all started.

You nailed it Michael! The first REAL rock album! Brilliant and Fab, giving us just a taste of what was to come! I remember when it was released; my neighbor was older than me and played it every day! The Greatest Rock And Roll Band in the world!!!

Thank you for making videos Michael.

I think this is my favorite Beatles record. I go back and forth with Revolver. But, Nowhere Man is the quintessential Beatles song. Rubber Soul is an amazing work. The album cover is also amazing. Great video.

Man, I love these Beatles album reviews. Makes me feel young again.

It amazes me the Beatles were able to create this masterpiece in such a short amount of time and have it ready for Christmas, 1965. - Roger

Another fantastic video Thank you Michael 💯 cheers 🎶

Thanks also for taking the time to reply to comments Michael - it is appreciated.

Since I bought the LP in 1965 it was and still is my favourite.

Good review of Rubber Soul! My favorite Beatles album. They had a great sound plus it’s the most melodic album. The beginning of psychedelic music! Have a good one Michael!

My favorite Beatle's album, including the Capital version.

Hey from Louisiana! My favorite Beatles album! “In My Life” favorite song from it.

Man I love both help! And rubber soul. Just excellent albums

Another great video. Tks Michael!! ❤❤

Hi Mike, Rubber Soul has always been my favorite Beatle album. Such brilliant songwriting that remains timeless to this day…

Such a well done overview of another GOAT record, MN! Even though they're equal, I do favor Rubber Soul to Revolver--you know how it is! I was greatly amused to hear someone else posit the insane arsonist understanding of Norwegian Wood. I said this to both my wife andto my buddies, tongue-in-cheek, and then, after "a brief discourse" we all kind of agreed it made it a great, dark joke. Oh, keep going, brother--you're getting better and better every time!

I always loved the fuzz tone on think for yourself. I just found out John burned the apartment down in Norwegian wood. Hmmmm? Sorry, but I'm still not convinced. I love ringo's country songs. If I needed someone is my favorite from this album.

Hey Michael !! I love that you've done a review of this album. It IS a masterpiece & is always in my top 3 Beatles albums - quite often No. 1. If there ever is a perfect album - this is SO close to it. Only 2 minor things i could critisize. A couple of lyrical lines to "Run For Your Life" & the chorus (only) part to "What Goes On". "What Goes On" gets a lot of negative reviews - but the melody of the verse parts in superb, & the lyrics are fine. On top of that i think this could be Ringo's FINEST drumming performance for The Beatles. I challenge any drummer to keep PERFECT tempo like Ringo!! It's similar to "Act Naturally" - but with a more complex kick drum part.

Not saying the Beatles albums and songs before this were bad (They aren’t whatsoever) but oh boy when they came out with Rubber Soul and the singles Day Tripper/We Can Work It Out and Paperback Writer they were starting to make the best music in their careers!

I always agreed with George Harrison that Rubber Soul was Part 1 and Revolver was Part 2. The songwriting was still tight and economical. Rubber Soul had an acoustic vibe overall and Revolver was electric. Rubber Soul has a quality to belies the limited time they had to record it. The quality of the writing, playing and innovation, makes Part 1 and Part 2 their best.

My favourite Beatles album by my favourite band. In fact it's simply my favourite album. Just for the cover, especially Lennon's serene face, this album is tremendous. The best dark green and orange autumn album too, I love the woody scent of RS, it's acoustic and nostalgic. Masterpiece.

Hey, I really enjoyed hearing your commentary, and I'm glad that you included "We Can Work It Out"/"Day Tripper," because those two songs were born out of those same sessions. It is good to have song-by-song commentary, because then you're less likely to overlook anything. Getting back (no pun intended) from the 1965 tour, John and Paul had very little new material, and that is probably why they went back to "Wait," and John suggested that Paul write some proper lyrics to "the French song." It would have been great to be able to listen in on them when they came together (uh, oh, that looks like a pun, too!) to work out songs. It was not only in later years, but in the Beatles' August, 1966 press conference in L.A. (the one where David Crosby was behind the curtain), Ringo was asked out his participation in the writing of "What Goes On?," and he said "About 5 words." About "Michelle," I read somewhere that John came up with the idea of stretching the 3rd "loooovve you," and in a higher note, so that it would give a hint of a tragic tone to it (possibly the girl might not love him back).

I always thought "so I lit the fire" implied that the narrator got the fireplace going so that he could sit there and wait for the woman to come home from work.

Love Rubber Soul and Revolver, my two played the most Beatle albums. Have a great Saturday Mike and family

Although I love the UK Parlophone version of Rubber Soul, I slightly prefer the Capitol version with "I've Just Seen a Face" & "It's Only Love" that give the album a Dylan/Byrds folk-rock feel. Both versions make Rubber Soul one of the first if not the first serious rock album and not just a pop record.

Excellent nuanced analysis as always. In my opinion worlds better than the album that followed it.

👍🤠 My favorite Beatles album. Revolver close second

Awesome video have a great weekend Michael 😊❤

For years I thought the album started with I've Just Seen A Face... which I still prefer over Drive My Car. The album is superb with either the UK or American version (and ""Wait" is such an underrated song!)

I must be the only Beatle fan who didn’t think “I lit the fire” meant that he burnt the house down. I always figured he got comfortable since she left, and lit the fireplace.

Rock's first true transitional album. No other band's albums or singles for that matter had changed as much in such a short time. This is where the experimentation starts to creep in with the instrumentation, lyrics and recording. Recently Paul Carrack covered "Girl" on one of his albums and included the questionable word in his version as well. LOL I too, love "Run For Your Life". Yes, today the lyrics are frowned upon but back in 1965 it wasnt perceived as something violent like it is now, it wasnt taken the same way. Jeez, look at the violence in something like "Copacabana"! LOL

I'd say Rock album #1 is either Kinks, featuring You Really Got Me, from October 1964. Or the Who's My Generation from December 1965. There really isn't anything on Rubber Soul that could possibly be offensive enough to be called Rock. Revolver wasn't until August of 1966.

If this is the " Beatles second masterpiece" what do you consider to be their " first masterpiece" ?

Honestly - Your delivery is def understandable & well stated; Come to your site every few days - I like the old school way of thought, and dissecting of the tunes - Another fantastic show; *Norman 'Hurricane' Smith > Oh Babe What Would You Say (1972) !

My favourite three middle period albums are Rubber Soul, Revolver and Sgt. Pepper! They parallel Pink Floyd's, Dark Side, Wish You Were Here and Animals.

No argument from me , this is where pop/rock grew up , a total game changer ..,

What about Roger The Engineer by the Yardbirds?

Maybe the first Rock album for the Beatles. But many came before them imho. However, having said that, I would have trouble drawing the line between Pop & Rock in the early 60's. The tent was large early on, BB King, Bo Didley, Little Richard, Chuck Berry and on. Pop, Blues, country, folk, rock and even some gospel were all being fused together, and all being called rock. Elvis Presely ia a perfect example of this fusion. In my youth, the Beatles were Rock right out of the gate.

I wanna rock

What about the Kinks face to face album

Highway 61 Revisited had more "rock" attitude than any of the other albums mentioned.

What about The Who Sings My Generation?

This album and those that followed are why Paul McCartney is probably the greatest rock bassist ever. He redefined how the bass fits into the ensemble. Before Paul, bass was strictly rhythm. But Paul made it cry and sing. So I rank Paul and John Entwistle very close. Entwistle really took it a step beyond Paul but Paul kind of did it first in 1965.

I'd say their mid period started with "Rubber Soul". And, you could make an argument for Bob Dylan's "Highway 61 Revisited" or The Byrds' "Mr. Tambourine Man" for rock's first true album. Even The Beatles' "Beatles For Sale".

If the Beatles had removed 2 of the weaker songs and replaced them with Day Tripper and We Can Work It Out, it might’ve been their best album. Norwegian Wood and If I Needed Someone are 2 of my favorites to play on guitar.

A hard days night often gets overlooked and people consider their run of five great albums of rubber soul onwards to be the start of their classic stuff. but AHDN is a classic album too, even if it is more rough around the edges like when i get home, but it works so well as an album. The only skip song on rubber soul is what goes on. I usually let any album have at least one skip, anymore than 1 really really hurts how i view it as an album i think skipping what goes on actually helps the album because paul's michelle followed by john's girl work so well, it's like opposite sides of the same coin in terms of theme and style, both classy french sounding songs

Awesome Job Micheal! Really nice job on your videos I really enjoy them. What are your thoughts do you think Rubber Soul will be released in 2025 as the boxeset. I was disappointed that they didn’t release it this year

What about The Rolling Stones Newest Hit Makers?

I’m inclined to believe John’s version of the story on In My Life. It’s hard to think of a more autobiographical song in rock than In My Life which would suggest that it’s strictly a John composition. Secondly Paul has a habit of trying to rewrite history as he gets older. Rubber Soul is my personal favorite of all the Beatles albums.

Paul overdubbed bass on Ram too.

Highway 61 Revisited by Bob Dylan predates Rvbber Soul and in my opinion has aged better too.

I always found “You Won’t See Me” to be overly long and tedious to my ears. It’s my least favorite track. My absolute favorite is Harrison’s “If I Needed Someone.” His ode to the Byrds jangling guitar sound and the magnificent vocal harmonizing by the three of them is incredibly sublime.

Of course Rubber Soul has several excellent, timeless tracks. But there are two songs, Run for You Life, and What Goes On, that are clearly filler. And are You Won’t See Me, Wait, and The Word really that amazingly brilliant? I say this as a huge admirer of The Beatles. I just think the praise heaped upon Rubber Soul is a bit much.

Had the American version...wasn't until I got it on CD, oh, they butchered this one too. Still, the songs are so heavy: even a slip out or add of a song or two dont matter( imo).☮️ I always sing Norwegian W in the woods. Has an Irish lilt to it.

I respectably disagree, I think Rocks first real album was Highway 61 Revisited by Bob Dylan from August of 1965. It had a harder guitar based rock sound and unifying themes.

The album may have been progressively crafted well for 1965, but for today's audiences, the songs are incredibly mellow. "Michelle" and "In My Life" are not rock. Many people confuse The Beatles with The Monkees.

Whats sad is Paul's bass is there, but as a rule, not as pronounced as it should have been. Think what the songs would sound like with a more dirty bass.