#27. The Beatles - Rubber Soul - 1965

What Are We Listening To? - The List.

Chris’s Take

Before we started this project, there was another one I’d been thinking about for years. I was going to call it Who Won the British Invasion. Essentially, I wanted to listen to the Sixties. I would do it in the order in which the albums were released and try to determine for myself who was influencing who. Would Dylan have gone electric without the Beatles? Would Lennon have written “Norweigen Wood” without listening to Highway 61 Revisited? Did the Byrds beget Rubber Soul which beget Pet Sounds which beget Between the Buttons?  It was going to be awesome.

Yeah. That never happened. The project just kept getting bigger and bigger. Do I really listen to everything? Even the stuff from Brazil? What about the singles? What about the alternative versions of the albums in different markets? Also, it’s really hard to find solid info on the release dates of the lesser known stuff. (Gandalf’s Gandalf? Anyone? Anyone?) Sometimes it felt like I was trying to verify the existence of Bigfoot. Eventually I activated the ejection seat. It would have been impossible.

(It’s actually not impossible. There’s a group of folks contributing to a similar project happening right now with the music of the 80’s)

Another question was “where do I start”. When did albums truly become a legit and recognized form of artistic expression? It wasn’t 1960, I could tell you that, but 1965 seemed right and our list supports it. In our 100 only Jazz albums predate 1965. 1965 is the year of Rubber Soul, Highway 61 and Bringing it All Back Home, not to mention non top 100’s Help!, Out of Our Heads, My Generation, and Vince Guaraldi’s A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Here’s the first six non Jazz albums on our list

1. Bob Dylan - Bringing It All Back Home - 03/65

2. Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited - 11/65

3. The Beatles - Rubber Soul - 12/65

4. Bob Dylan - Blonde on Blonde - 06/66

5. Beach Boys - Pet Sounds - 05/66

6. The Beatles - Revolver - 08/66

If you want to consider Rubber Soul the beginning of the Beatles’ serious music period, I’m okay with that. It’s easy to draw a line between this album and Help!, with Help! being the last album that really relies on cover songs, the last of their two goofy, great live action movies, and perhaps the last to present them as the lovable Beatlemania moptops. I will say though, Help! is great and “Yesterday”, “Ticket to Ride” and “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away” seem like pretty serious songwriting to me.

Rubber Soul is fantastic and though there was never a time that it was my favorite Beatles album (Revolver, Abbey Road, the White Album, and even Help! have all held that title at one time or another) there is nothing not good about it. I like George’s songs and love how strong his accent is in “If I Needed Someone”. I like the Ringo tune, but I’m a sucker form all of Ringo’s Country and Western leanings.

I don’t find it necessary to pit John and Paul against each other, but this really is a John album. (I could say the same for Paul when we get to Revolver). It opens with Paul’s “Drive My Car”, which is a really prime pop tune (and damn it if those Rickenbacker riffs don’t sound extra silky on the latest remix) but then John gives us “Norwegian Wood” and I don’t know if we’d ever heard anything like that before. Winner John. Then we get Paul’s “You Won’t See Me”, another good song that takes a lot of inspiration from Motown, but then there’s “Nowhere Man”. Lennon-2 McCartney-nil. Later on we get Paul’s “Michelle” which might be the most famous tune on the album, but John’s “Girl” is its equal. “I’m Looking Through You” vs “In My Life”. John is 3-0-1 in those four matches. Paul wins on the singles though. Paul’s “We Can Work it Out” and John’s “Day Tripper” could have been on this album but were released as a double A-side single. “Day Tripper” is obviously great, but it’s kind of John challenging Paul at his own poppy game. Even if you want to say the reason “Work it Out” is great is John’s dour counterpoint to Paul’s optimism, it’s still Paul’s tune.

Love it. Jangle jangle.

Alisa’s Take

I can’t overstate how big of a Beatles fan my dad was. I got most of my music taste from him and then I married Chris Seiler who people ALSO associate with being one of the biggest Beatles fans they know. The Beatles are basically an extension of my family. I could probably change my last name to Lennon. (And maybe I should???)

Rubber Soul is actually the first Beatles album I remember hearing. Songs like “Girl” and “Michelle” are memorable to a child because they’re unusual. Everything else bled together in a mishmash of childhood songs but these stood out. (I also think this was the first Beatles album where I proclaimed that “I hate the Beatles!” which was a sentiment that didn’t last long.)

Anyway, I know this album too well, but I’m attempting to think of it in a new way to write this, otherwise it’d be like trying to describe breathing. The opening to “Drive My Car” rivals “Where the Streets Have No Name” in terms of how epically good it is, and does it in a fraction of the time. Paul’s bass is an absolute standout the entire album. It’s shocking how good he sounds. And not just on the bass! Paul was such a good singer. We also have some of the simplest and best harmonies the guys did (PS—they taught me 90% of what I know about harmonizing) and this is like THE sing-along album by the Beatles. Those harmonies and backup vocals are so catchy it’s hard NOT to sing along.

Even the obligatory Ringo song is stupid, but if you sing along to it, it’s actually a lot of fun.

“In My Life” is of course the lyrical standout. It’s a song that if you spoke the words as a monologue you’d just instantly be weeping, but they did a little magic by putting it in this ridiculous happy and pastoral key of A major. I mean, had they not, no one could ever get anything done! They’d be crying all the time. It’d be the “Somewhere That’s Green” of Beatles songs and no one with a soul, including them, would ever be able to sing it without crying. As it is, that little Dm chord at the end of each verse (it’s every time John sings the “my” of “in my life” 😢), adds just enough sadness to rip a hole into your damn little heart. (I don’t know music theory; do not ask me any clarifying questions.)

And, of course, it ends, appropriately, with John Lennon singing a song about murdering his girlfriend if she ever leaves him. And I hate to say this, but that song is catchy as hell. John sounds fantastic, and just like everything else, the harmonies are so good it’s impossible to not sing along with a smile on your face!

There’s often less of a distinction between eras in the evolution of a band, but Rubber Soul is a perfect link between the earlier pop music the Beatles became famous for, and the more experimental musicians they became. It taught me almost everything I know about harmony, proper breathing techniques while singing, and French.

Favorite song?

Chris: Man, this question is getting tough. Let’s say “Nowhere Man”. I mean listen to that bass line.

Alisa: “I’m Looking Through You”, but I may or may not mean that.

Best, Greatest, Favorite.

God yes. Just because it’s not my favorite Beatles doesn’t mean that I don’t think that it’s better than the best that most other acts have to offer.

Fun Fact

I owned a Rickenbacker bass.

The Beatles are a Rickenbacker band. They are also an Epiphone band, a Hofner band, a Ludwig band and made any instrument they played iconic. (I’m currently a little obsessed with this six string bass John used on Let It Be. My Brother-in-law has something similar. I’m jealous). John, George and Paul all used Ricks. John was first when he bought his six string in Hamburg in 1961. They weren’t famous yet so he could afford it and it was his guitar of choice for the early years. (Apparently Yoko still has it). George may have had his first Ricky 12 string purchased for him in 1964 by a radio station. Legend has it that he was trying out the guitar while doing a phone interview with the station and they offered to buy it for him if he’d play them a song. In 1965 Rickenbacker presented Paul with a left handed version of their 4001 bass, just in case he wanted to use it instead of his old bass (don’t you besmirch Hofner, you Rickenbacker bastards).

Mine was an early 80s 4001. It was creamy white and had a cool little black dash inlay going around the body. One summer during college I was working as a seasonal employee at the local GM plant. I was working third shift, mopping floors and was bored out of my mind but also making more money than I’d ever seen before. So I spent $1000 on a bass guitar. I believe I got it at the guitar store in Norwalk, which had a better selection than anything in Sandusky. I actually had the choice of a viola Hofner or the Rick. They were about the same price. Both were McCartney basses (but for non freaky right handers). I choose the Rick. I loved that bass but I didn’t play it half as much as I should have. There’s video out there somewhere of me using it with a weird “Brian Runkle not Bim” version of SOD when we opened for Tony Pulizzi’s band at a bar next to Pizza Brothers on Columbus Ave. I sold it for about $400 more than I’d bought it because I needed money to move to NYC. Terrible decision. I should still have that bass.

For your viewing and listening pleasure, here’s an assortment of Rickys.

No Surprises - Radiohead w/Ed O’Brien on the six string Rickenbacker.

All My Loving - Beatles w/John on his short necked six string.

American Girl - Tom Petty. Look at that double necked Rick. Incredible.

If I Needed Someone - Beatles w/George and his best Byrds 12 string sound (and his not so best vocal performance)

Driver 8 - REM w/Peter Buck and his guitar of choice.

The Byrds - Turn, Turn, Turn w/Roger McGuinn on the Ricky 12.

The Rickenbacker band The Bangles doing a cover of a song by the Rickenbacker band Big Star, with Aimee Mann on bass for good measure.

You’ve heard this Rickenbacker bass line.

Geddy! Geddy! Geddy!

Lemmy! Lemmy! Lemmy!

Link to album.