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1965 June 17-November 11
rev: 2011Jun12
This page is a miniscule look at material typically found in the book Songs of The Beatles' Rubber Soul Period.
The Rubber Soul Period began when The Beatles finished recording the last songs for the Help! LP, 'Act Naturally' and 'Wait', on 65Jun17. They did tours of Europe and the US, including their historic first appearance at Shea Stadium, a baseball field in New York City, the first time a rock band played in a baseball stadium. (55,600 attended - The Beatles played for only a half-hour.)
While in California John and George had their second LSD trip, Ringo his first. Paul had not yet tried the drug. All four Beatles made the trip to meet one of their major influences, Elvis Presley. All were underwhelmed.
Ringo bought a new house far outside London but near John and George, leaving Paul the sole Beatle in the city. Ringo also had his first child, joining John as the second father in the band.
Lennon's second book, A Spaniard In The Works, was published.
The Rubber Soul Period ended on 65Nov11. The Beatles would not return to the studio until 66Apr06 when they started the Revolver sessions with ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1965 Jun 17 | Record last songs of the Help Period. |
| 1965 Jul 23 | Release UK45-10, 'Help!'/'I'm Down' |
| 1965 Aug 06 | Release UKLP-5, Help! |
| 1965 November 11 | Record last songs for the Rubber Soul LP |
| 1965 Dec 03 | Release UK45-11, Day Tripper'/'We Can Work It Out' |
| 1965 Dec 03 | Release UKLP-6, Rubber Soul |
Details on all the sessions and releases are in the book Songs of The Beatles' Rubber Soul Period.
Sixteen songs were recorded during the Sgt. Pepper Period. Thirteen were released on the Sgt. Pepper LP, two were on a single, and one was held back for the Yellow Submarine LP.
| UK45-11 1965 Dec 03 |
Rubber Soul (UKLP-6) 1965 Dec 03 |
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"Brian and I worked out a grand plan of campaign. A single would be released every three months and an album every six." - George Martin, producer of the Beatles.
That was the plan when The Beatles started releasing records, and they managed to stick to it for the first few years. The plan began to falter after Rubber Soul, then broke down completely after Revolver.
Released: 1965 December 03
Day Tripper
by Lennon & McCartney
Solo vocal: John Lennon
The fun little bit in this song is the almost-hidden ascending single notes on the guitar during the guitar solo.
We Can Work It Out
by Lennon & McCartney
Lead vocal: Paul McCartney
John and Paul had been a songwriting team from their earliest days together. This was one of the early times when, instead of writing the entire song together, they contributed separate sections. Paul wrote the sentiment, if not the words, of the verses, where he is pleading to get his way. John wrote the sentiment, if not the words, of the chorus, where he is pleading for the fighting to stop.
Recorded: 1966 December 06 - 1967 April 20
Released (UK): 1967 June 01
Some Beatleologist consider Rubber Soul to be the last album where the band worked on all the songs together, as a band.
Paul had been given a new Rickenbacker 4001S bass guitar during his trip to America in 64Feb. It was used prominently in the Rubber Soul recordings.
Drive My Car
by Lennon & McCartney
Lead vocal: John & Paul duet.
Written mostly by Paul.
Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)
by Lennon & McCartney
Lead vocal: John.
John wrote this song about an affair. The setting of a fire reflected his inner world.
You Won't See Me
by Lennon & McCartney
Lead vocal: Paul
Written mostly by Paul, inspired by his relationship with girlfriend Jane Asher.
I love the way they take the embarrassingly trite vocal phrase, "ooo-la-la-la" and make it work. Any self consciousness vanishes as they have fun with the song. There's no doubt humor was in their veins when they credited Mal Evans with his Hammond organ playing (one held note).Nowhere Man
by Lennon & McCartney
Lead vocal: John.
Written by John.
Part of The Beatles' album formula had been to include at least one three-part harmony song. This was that for Rubber Soul, although 'If I Needed Someone' also featured harmony vocals.
Think For Yourself
by George Harrison
Lead vocal: George Harrison
Written by George as he continued to learn songwriting in full public view.
The Word
by Lennon & McCartney
Lead vocal: John.
Co-written by John and Paul.
Michelle
by Lennon & McCartney
Lead vocal: Paul.
Written by Paul.
What Goes On
by Lennon & McCartney
Lead vocal: Ringo.
Ringo's token lead vocal on this LP.
Girl
by Lennon & McCartney
Lead vocal: John.
Written by John.
.
I'm Looking Through You
by Lennon & McCartney
Lead vocal: Paul
Written by Paul, inspired by his relationship with girlfriend Jane Asher. Notice the theme of not being seen here, in 'Nowhere Man', and 'You Won't See Me'.
In My Life
by Lennon & McCartney
Lead vocal: John
Written by John, who started off to write a song similar to the back-to-school thems, "What I Did Over The Summer".
Wait
by Lennon & McCartney
Lead vocal: John.
.
If I Needed Someone
by George Harrison
Lead vocal: George Harrison
.
Run For Your Life
by Lennon & McCartney
Lead vocal: John.
.
12-Bar Original
by The Beatles
Lead vocal: none (instrumental jam)
This 12-bar blues jam was never intended to be released but appears on the Anthology CD. It's painfully obvious The Beatles were not a jam band, although their aimless mood may have influenced the performance.
Copyright ©2002, 2008-09,11 by Ken Westover at Cliff Canyon Publishing Co. All rights reserved.
This material may not be distributed without the written permission of the author.
E-mail questions or comments to cliffcan@indra.com.
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