Rubber Soul is the sixth album from the legendary British rock band, The Beatles. This album was the beginning of a more experimental sound for the band and was their second record that contained only original songs from the band. The sound of this thing has aged phenomenally and it’s turning 60 years old this December, which is just hard to believe. Here are my thoughts.

   We start off the record with the first track, “Drive My Car.” This track was actually somewhat controversial at the time for the mild sexual innuendo, but it’s a clever song nonetheless. The funky guitar riff from George Harrison and catchy chorus sung by John and Paul make it a standout introductory track. Following that, we have another favorite of mine, “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown). I love the folksy and psychedelic sound of the track with the inclusion of acoustic guitars and the Indian string instrument, the sitar. When this track first came out, people were mindblown by the exotic sound of the track. Lyrically, the track has a very dry sense of humor about a man who got angry that his partner declined sex so he got revenge by burning the house down. It’s thematically dark, but the person who does this is the butt of the joke. “You Won’t See Me,” was about a real-life argument that Paul had with his girlfriend at the time, Jane Asher, it’s very real and is a stark contrast to the more upbeat love songs that the band was known for earlier in their career. “Nowhere Man,” is another track with a folksy sound to it. It tells the story of a man who is directionless in his life, and it came from John having trouble coming up with a song idea and out of nowhere he thought of himself as being a “Nowhere Man sitting in his nowhere land.” “Think For Yourself,” was written by George as a sort of political commentary of the narrow minded thinking that often exists in national governments. “The Word,” is a happy, upbeat love song, but it’s definitely one of my least favorites on the record, as in my opinion, The Beatles just have so many stronger love songs in their discography. I’m also just not much of a fan of the vocal harmonies, but I do like the reed organ included in it. “Michelle,” is one of the most underrated love songs that the band has recorded, and I like the backstory of the song where that when John and Paul were younger, they thought that by knowing how to speak French, they would impress all the women. “What Goes On,” was the first track that Ringo got songwriting credits for, and he actually contributed much of the vocals on the song. It’s incredibly relatable as it asks the age old question for us men which is, “What goes on in a woman’s mind?” It’s bluesy and uptempo and serves as a nice call back to their earlier songs. “Girl,” serves as John’s companion track to Paul’s “Michelle,” I like the religious themes of the song and just the overall melancholy vibe of the track. “I’m Looking Through You,” is another one of my favorites on the record as I love the fuzzy electric guitar riffs, and Paul’s vulnerable lyrics. “In My Life,” is one of the most bittersweet tracks the band has ever recorded as it’s a reminiscence of the people and places they’ve loved that they’ve lost in their lives. John had lost his uncle who raised him, his mom who got him interested in music, and his close bassist friend, Stuart. “If I Needed Someone,” has these glimmering guitar arpeggios that really make the track feel radiant, and “Wait,” is another overlooked track in the band’s catalog. “Run For Your Life,” is one of the tracks that John heavily regretted writing as he actually disowned it for the misogyny that was prevalent in the lyrics. I mean he’s basically saying that if he catches his girl cheating then she’s not going to continue living, which seems like something that Eminem would come up with, not so much The Beatles. It’s not a bad song, but I would have to agree with John’s view of the track, in that it feels like a bit of a throwaway.

   Overall, Rubber Soul is a great album, but it’s not without its flaws. I do wish that the later tracks on the record continued that psychedelic and folk infused sound that the first half accomplished so well. This is considered a classic for a reason and it paved the way for further masterpieces like Revolver, Sgt. Pepper, The White Album, and Abbey Road, but in a way you can hear that the band is still discovering their sound. It serves as a strong transitory album to their later work, and it’s still strong but it was in between their early more pop oriented stuff and their more experimental and revolutionary albums. There wouldn’t be those records without Rubber Soul, so it deserves plenty of love and credit for its greatness.

Overall Score: 8/10

Favorite Tracks: “Drive My Car,” “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown),” “You Won’t See Me,” “Nowhere Man,” “I’m Looking Through You,” “In My Life,”

Least Favorite Tracks: “Run For Your Life,” “The Word,”

Listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_V6y1ZCg_8

Genres: Classic Rock/Folk Rock/Pop/Psychedelic