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See the full story · 2 sourcesInside the Special Edition of the Beatles’ ‘Rubber Soul’ Producer Giles Martin breaks down the new versions of the classic 1965 album, which draw on “de-mixing” technology and include a previously unheard John Lennon demo By Rob Sheffield
The Beatles grew up on Rubber Soul . In the fall of 1965, the Fab Four went into the studio as the world's favorite moptops — but they emerged as bold artists, ready to challenge the world. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr were experimenting with new sounds, weird ideas. They invented the whole idea of the album as we know it today — a full-length statement, rather than a hits collection. "Finally we took over the studio," as Lennon told Rolling Stone .
Rubber Soul shocked the world as soon as it arrived in December 1965. But it's never sounded better than it does now, on the long-awaited Special Edition. The new Rubber Soul drops on October 2, from Apple Corps Ltd and UMG. The new editions are available to pre-order here . "Michelle (Take 1)" is available to listen to now.
Producer Giles Martin, son of the band's visionary producer George Martin, gives Rolling Stone an exclusive preview of the secrets of the new edition. "It's an album born out of frustration of not wanting to be little boys anymore," he says. "It has so much depth to it. This is the first album where they weren't trying to write a bunch of singles and deciding what should be the single."
You can hear the Beatles at their most playful and inventive, trying out their wildest whims. They explore fresh sounds like the sitar on " Norwegian Wood ," or the harmonium on "The Word." "It was a license to experiment," Giles Martin says. "I remember asking my dad on his deathbed, did he ever think he was bad at music? And he said, 'Well, I always thought I was brilliant.' And that's the thing about the Beatles. No matter what anyone says about them, my dad said, 'They didn't change a bit. They're the same arrogant bastards that they always were when I met them.' I think that we view them with a sense of humility and nervousness, but there's none of that. They weren't threatened by anyone." Editor’s picks The 250 Greatest Albums of the 21st Century So Far The 100 Best TV Episodes of All Time The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century
Rubber Soul has the original 14-track album in stereo, mono, and Dolby Atmos. It's remixed by Giles Martin and engineer Sam Okell, using the "de-mixing" audio technology developed for Peter Jackson's historic documentary Get Back , by the team led by Emile de la Rey at Jackson's WingNut Films. It follows the previous Special Editions that have redefined the Beatles' legacy over the past decade — Sgt. Pepper in 2017, followed by the White Album in 2018, Abbey Road in 2019, Let It Be in 2021, Revolver in 2022, and Anthology in 2025.
It's got outtakes and alternate versions, including 20 previously unreleased takes. It's also got "We Can Work It Out" and "Day Tripper," both sides of the 1965 stand-alone single made at the same time. There's three unreleased home demos, with early drafts of "Day Tripper" and "We Can Work It Out." But there's also "Little Girl," a new John demo — until now, nobody had any idea this song even existed.
The Super Deluxe Edition has 68 songs in all, on either four CDs or five vinyl LPs, with the "We Can Work It Out"/"Day Tripper" 7-inch single. There's an 88-page hardcover book of photos and essays with a new introduction by Paul McCartney ("a very exciting record to make"), with quotes from John Lennon and track notes from historian Kevin Howlett. There's also the U.S. version of Rubber Soul , with a slightly different tracklist — a massively influential album in its own right. Rubber Soul will be available in standard single-disc editions and double-disc Special Editions, as well as Blu-Ray, featuring the Dolby Atmos mix.
John, Paul, George, and Ringo whipped up Rubber Soul at warp speed — they went into the studio with a tight deadline to crunch out an album in time for Christmas 1965, in just a month. But that just encouraged their madcap sense of experimentation. They wrote half the songs in a week. They were heavily influenced by their hero Bob Dylan — but also by some new substances. As George recalled, " Rubber Soul was the first one where we were fully-fledged potheads." They didn't even put their name on the cover, just their warped faces. Related Content Mick Jagger Says the Beatles ‘Were the Most Prolific Songwriters of That Time’ The Short, Tragic Life of Beatles Manager Brian Epstein Explored in Revelatory New Book Paul McCartney Has Been Telling Eleanor Rigby’s Story His Entire Life ‘The Rest Is History’ Hosts Talk Rome, Trump vs. Obama, and What’s Next for MAGA
But as soon as Rubber Soul came out, listeners were stunned. Brian Wilson heard it one night in Hollywood and got the inspiration for Pet Sounds . "I said to myself, 'Now I'm gonna make an album just as good as Rubber Soul," he said in 2009. The next morning, he went to the piano and wrote "God Only Knows." From Bob Dylan to Stevie Wonder, from Marvin Gaye to Carole King, from the Rolling Stones to the Grateful Dead, artists everywhere took it as a challenge to make their own album-length personal statements.
That's why Rubber Soul has always remained the standard that pop visionaries aspire to reach. " Rubber Soul — that's my favorite from The Beatles," Harry Styles told Rolling Stone. "'Girl,' 'Michelle,' 'The Word' — those are brilliant." Ariana Grande cited it as a key inspiration for her Eternal Sunshine . Phoebe Bridgers said that if she were a music teacher, Rubber Soul is the first album she would play for the kids. As she explained, "I think that's a good introduction-to-everything record."
This edition has a snippet of the late-night studio banter from November 1965, with the Beatles trying out harmonies for George's "Think for Yourself." They're giggling too hard to get it right, cracking ...
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