Rubber Soul

The great outweigh the meh!

Once again, true perfection from the boys. Only my fourth favorite album of theirs, and still likely a top 25-30 all-time album for me.

5+/5

One of the most important documents in pop music history really doesn't sound like it after nearly 60 years. But in its context it really was earth-shattering and made it okay for rock and pop artists to explore what THEY wanted, and not the record company or the producer. Push the envelope and try to do more than your friendly rivals, and you end up with arguably the most creative period in music. Play with exotic non-western instruments. Upend a song structure. Cut some tapes up and throw them back together. Rubber Soul is the root cause of every album you love (and possibly hate as well, I don't know for sure). But for sure The Beatles started it. Whatever it is.

The music itself is great - not spectacular - but again the value is in the new construction, like post-modernism in art, nothing was ever the same after it.

Sadly, we have returned to the pre-Beatles era where commercialism is the driving force behind pop music, leaving virtually no place for art. There are still great musicians and singers. But their self-expression is absent, it seems. Maybe another Beatles will come along and change that. But that's as unlikely as the first Beatles were.

Good album. Pretty enjoyable all the way through. 4/5

Far from their best work, but still with a couple of classics, and still better than most other bands can manage. In my life and Norwegian Wood were highlights, some of John's songs would probably not get cleared by the legal department nowadays, Michelle is naïve to the point af saccharine sweetness.

Some gorgeous classics mixed with some meh unknowns. Might have been five stars, but the last song is SO violently misogynistic I need to deduct. I understand it was different times but it still left a bitter taste.

Some great songs, some forgettable songs. Overall, a decent album but not one I’d probably listen to all the way through again.

Am I becoming a Beatles fan in 2024??

My absolute favorite Beatles album. Before the full on psychedelic wackiness. Exquisitely written and arranged songs and chill vibes (“Run For Your Life” notwithstanding).

I love The Beatles

So many great songs on this album. Great vibes and a sitar, what more can you want

5 ⭐️

The Beatles sound kind of whiny but I still have to give this a five

Just whose soul were they rubbing, anyway?

This album was mostly calming and soft. Additionally, it sounds a little ahead of its time for an album from 1965.

Definitely some standout hits but not as consistent imo

Those mop top lads from merseyside have only bloody gone and done it again!

I like the Beatles. I'm not one of those crazy Beatles fans that can tell you everything about every album and who their barber was during the recording sessions. I think the Beatles persona sort of transcended the music they made and it's hard to listen to it objectively. Like, it's the Beatles - you're just supposed to love it, right?
That said, I feel like this album is sort of hit and miss. This record seems like it was the prelude to the Beatles getting weird (super high) and I like their weird stuff a lot better. This album is good, but if I was going to make a 'best of' compilation of the Beatles, I don't know that anything from this record would be included. 3/5

Such a great album and it's the clear bridge between the Beatles initial pop output and the more sophisticated music of their later albums. Absolute classics across the whole thing: Drive My Car, Norwegian Wood, Nowhere Man, Michelle, and In My Life (great song, but major props to the Johnny Cash cover version). Of the less "popular" songs, I really like You Won't See Me, The Word (great groove), and If I Needed Someone (love the atmospheric sound to it). Probably the only negative thing on the album is the lyrics of Run for Your Life - particularly given John Lennon's reputation for being abusive to women. Take that song away and this is an absolutely perfect album. Regardless, Easy 5.

2.57

Total classic. This is where the Beatles really started to figure it out, in my book. Not my favorite album of theirs, but better than virtually anything else out there in its day.

Amazing album. #3 on my personal list of Beatles albums. My first favorite Beatles song was "In My Life"...such a great song. 5/5