Soul revue

Forget the collarless suits, mop-top haircuts and self-absorbed lyrics of The Beatles before Christmas ’65.

This is “Rubber Soul.”

Released in December 1965, “Rubber Soul” marks a departure from The Beatles’ established and successful style of lovesick pop songs.

Instead, The Beatles began to broaden their sound with influential lyrical and instrumental experimentation. John Lennon’s “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)” is credited as the first recorded pop song to feature a sitar, with George Harrison maintaining a simple melody on the complex, stringed classical Indian instrument.

Along with Paul McCartney’s fuzz bass on “Think For Yourself” and Greek-like guitar lines on “Michelle” and “Girl,” “Rubber Soul” truly incorporates eastern musical influences to create a worldly sound.

Along with instrumentation, The Beatles also prove themselves as dynamic lyricists.
On the whole, “Rubber Soul” expresses a lyrical maturity missing from The Beatles’ earlier work. For the first time in their recording history, The Beatles did not include a single cover in this album.

Instead, the Lennon/McCartney team offers up  sophisticated and introspective lyrics filled with self-doubt and multi-layered emotions.
 
Lennon’s Dylan-esque “Nowhere Man” eschews The Beatles’ formulaic love song, and embraces self-examination and self-exploration.

With lyrics like “doesn’t have a point of view / knows not where he’s going to,” Lennon exposes his own hesitation and uncertainty in the face of growing celebrity and Beatlemania.

However, Lennon’s unexpected and heavy-hearted honesty in “Nowhere Man,” “Girl” and “In My Life” ultimately leaves “Rubber Soul” unbalanced with McCartney’s light and fluffy contributions.

Despite being lyrically simple, McCartney’s songs remain some of the most popular Beatles’ songs in history.

Overall, “Rubber Soul” showed the world that The Beatles were more than four cute boys from Liverpool. Instead of a pop-sensation boy band, they revealed themselves as poetic songwriters and instrumental innovators.