UK release date: December 3, 1965
SIDE ONE
"Drive My Car"
"Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)"
"You Won't See Me"
"Nowhere Man"
"Think for Yourself"
"The Word"
"Michelle"

SIDE TWO
"What Goes On"
"Girl"
"I'm Looking Through You"
"In My Life"
"Wait"
"If I Needed Someone"
"Run for Your Life"

===================
US release date: December 6, 1965
SIDE ONE
"I've Just Seen a Face"
"Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)"
"You Won't See Me"
"Think for Yourself"
"The Word"
"Michelle"

SIDE TWO
"It's Only Love"
"Girl"
"I'm Looking Through You"
"In My Life"
"Wait"
"Run for Your Life"


Outside of soundtracks, it was the first time that the UK and US albums came close to mirroring each other. Almost, but not quite.

The album marked a change in the group. While they wouldn't hesitate to cover a song in concert, RUBBER SOUL was the first to feature nothing but original material, with George Harrison having two songs ("Think For Yourself" and "If I Needed Someone") and Ringo getting a credit for "What Goes On?"

At a time when attention for folk music was at an all time high, when Bob Dylan was a savior for many, The Beatles were very much into it too and felt confident enough to touch on that with this album. They wanted to appeal to fans, but they weren't above being sneaky either, with references to "tit tit tit tit" in "Girl" or doing songs about smoking weed ("Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Glown)").

This was considered a much more mature Beatles, both musically and definitely lyrically. If "Help!" was a change for Lennon and his music, people felt he went much deeper with "In My Life", with many considering it one of the best songs he had ever written.

Capitol, insisting on milking the Beatles teet, would chop up the album and save some of it for singles (they liked "Nowhere Man" and "What Goes On" enough to release it as a single the following year), and replacing them with two songs from the British HELP! soundtrack.

There was also the issue of the weird sound heard in "Norwegian Wood", which was discovered to be a sitar, as played by George Harrison. Ravi Shankar, the man whose music Harrison admired greatly, taught him how to play, although when Shankar heard it, he said it was not that good, and obviously from someone who didn't know how to play a sitar properly. In time, Harrison would learn how to play better with many teachings from Shankar, and this friendship would move the media into promoting the bond between Harrison and his "guru", even though Shankar hated the connection. What it did do is open Eastern philosophy, spirituality, and religion to the Western world in a way that had never been done before. Ravi Shankar was primarily known as a classical artist, and rockers weren't meant to crossover into that world. Harrison, on the other hand, knew very well of Shankar, who toured England and Europe religiously (in his autobiography, Shankar said he visited England many times because he loved the country, the scenery, the food, and of course the women). It would end up being a friendship that lasted until the end, as Shankar and his family were in his presence in his final days. Shankar was there when Harrison passed away.

For a lot of people, the music on the album not only signified change in the group, but in the culture and the world. If the early Beatles music was high school fanaticism, RUBBER SOUL was about growing up, moving away from home, and going through self-discovery. Not surprisingly, many fans followed suit. While some distinctly see 1962-1966 and 1967-1970 as distinct eras, many fans feel that the "new era" began in 1965.

As for the title, in interviews it was revealed that RUBBER SOUL was a respone to The Rolling Stones, and how Mick Jagger would always honor black music from America but critics felt it was nothing but "plastic soul". If The Rolling Stones were "plastic", Paul said that perhaps he and his mates were "rubber". With a knack for wordplay, their new soulful album became RUBBER SOUL, which was distinctly British but also American in his appreciation of the current folk scene.









JOHN BOOK'S MYSPACE
http://www.myspace.com/crutmusic

THE RUN-OFF GROOVE
http://www.musicforamerica.org/node/114473

BOOK'S MUSIC Podcast
http://booksmusic.podomatic.com/

THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND
http://www.allmanbrothersband.com/index.php?vst=45730