THE BEATLES: RUBBER SOUL (2 LP 180 GRAMMI DELUXE)

Performer: The Beatles
Artist: The Beatles
Number of discs: 2
Barcode: 0199957217514
Label: Universal Music
Format: LP
Genre: Pop/Rock
Year: 2026

This Deluxe Special Edition 2LP of the Beatles' sixth album, Rubber Soul, features a new mix by Giles Martin and Sam Okell, plus a second disc containing 16 tracks selected from the album's recording sessions, including early versions of songs that offer deeper insight into the album's story. It also includes the non-album single tracks “Day Tripper” and “We Can Work It Out”. The entire set is mastered at half speed and pressed on 180-gram black vinyl, with a four-page insert housed in a gatefold sleeve.

First released on 3 December 1965, Rubber Soul marked a pivotal moment in the Beatles' evolution. Arriving at the end of an extraordinary year in which John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr reached new artistic and commercial heights, the album revealed a band moving beyond the conventions of pop music and embracing a more adventurous approach to songwriting and recording.

Recorded over four weeks between October and November 1965, following the band's record-breaking concert in front of more than 55,000 fans at Shea Stadium in New York, Rubber Soul captures the Beatles at a creative turning point. Featuring classics such as Drive My Car, Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown), Nowhere Man, Michelle, Girl and In My Life, the album saw the Beatles experimenting with new instruments, sounds and recording techniques. It is widely regarded as the album that paved the way for the concept of the pop album as an art form.

Listening notes

The reviewer is over seventy and already owns two original copies, the UK and Italian editions purchased decades ago. Like many of you, they then had the opportunity to hear this new stereo version at Milano Hi-Fidelity, in the Audiogamma listening room, on a system featuring the new JBL Everest loudspeakers driven by Mark Levinson amplification. For the first time, I heard details I had never noticed in the original versions. If you love the Beatles, don't miss this new stereo edition!

LP1 – New stereo mix

Side A

A1. Drive My Car
A2. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)
A3. You Won't See Me
A4. Nowhere Man
A5. Think for Yourself
A6. The Word
A7. Michelle

Side B

B1. What Goes On
B2. Girl
B3. I'm Looking Through You
B4. In My Life
B5. Wait
B6. If I Needed Someone
B7. Run for Your Life

LP2 – The Single, Demos and Sessions Highlights

Side A

A1. Day Tripper (Songwriting work tape)
A2. Day Tripper (2023 mix)
A3. We Can Work It Out (Paul's demo)
A4. We Can Work It Out (2023 mix)
A5. Wait (Take 3 – instrumental backing track)
A6. Run for Your Life (Takes 1–5 – instrumental backing track)
A7. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (Second version – Take 2)
A8. Drive My Car (Takes 1 and 2 – instrumental backing track)
A9. If I Needed Someone (Take 1 – instrumental backing track)

Side B

B1. In My Life (Take 1)
B2. Nowhere Man (Second version – Take 5 – instrumental backing track)
B3. Michelle (Take 1)
B4. What Goes On (Take 1 – instrumental backing track)
B5. I'm Looking Through You (Second version – Take 3)
B6. The Word (Takes 1 and 2 – instrumental backing track)
B7. Girl (Take 2 – instrumental backing track)