RESOLVING THE LEDGER
This is one outlet's own report from Billboard — the article as it was filed. Other outlets are covering the same event; open the full story to compare every source side by side.
See the full story · 2 sources
A Super Deluxe edition of The Beatles ‘ seminal 1965 album Rubber Soul will be released later this year with a bevy of new mixes, never-before-heard home demos and an 88-page book with an introduction by Paul McCartney.
Newly mixed by producer Giles Martin and engineer Sam Okell, the definitive version of the album will be released on Oct. 2 via Apple Corps Ltd./Capitol/UMe and be packaged in a 4CD/5LP edition featuring new stereo and Dolby Atmos mixes alongside the original mono mix and the original Capitol U.S. album version.
The new stereo mix was sourced directly from the original four-track master tapes and the audio enhanced with the help of cutting-edge “de-mixing” technology developed by the team at director Peter Jackson’s WingNut Films Productions Ltd. for Jackson’s Get Back documentary.
The Super Deluxe editions will feature 24 early session recordings, including 20 previously unreleased takes and three previously unheard John Lennon demos, including early versions of “Day Tripper,” “We Can Work It Out” and “Little Girl,” a previously unheard Lennon song outline that has never been released before. There will also be 2CD and 2LP versions with a curated selection of session highlights, demos and the album version of the double A-side lead single, “We Can Work It Out”/”Day Tripper.”
Originally released on Dec. 3, 1965, the Fab Four’s sixth studio album was fronted by the double A-side single and was recorded over four weeks beginning in October of that year. The LP expanded the group’s pop sound with the addition of the sitar and harmonium, helping to pave the way for the psychedelic rock revolution of the late 1960s, while expanding the parameters of what was possible on a cohesive pop album. It contains such classics as the frenetic “Drive My Car,” the meditative “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown),” as well as “Nowhere Man,” “Michelle,” “Girl” and the introspective “In My Life.”
The book in the Deluxe versions will also contain a foreword compiled from Lennon’s words, bringing together his reflections on the album from throughout his life, including in the years after the band’s breakup, along with rare photos, track notes and in-depth album background. Like previous expanded editions, Rubber Soul will come in a variety of formats, including standard single-CD and LP versions, as well as 2CD/LP special editions, the Super Deluxe models and on Blu-ray; the latter will feature the new Dolby Atmos mix, high-resolution stereo audio and promotional films for “Day Tripper” and “We Can Work It Out” and limited-edition orange vinyl and D2C exclusive Zeotrope vinyl editions.
The long-awaited Rubber Soul revamp comes after similar treatments for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (2017), The Beatles ( White Album ) (2018), Abbey Road (2019), Let It Be (2021), Revolver (2022) and Anthology (2025).
Listen to “Michelle (Take 1)” below and see the full rundown of the Rubber Soul editions below.
5LP Box Set
5LP Box Set, pressed on 180-gram vinyl, with 7” Single, 88-page hardbound book in a 12” x 12” slipcase”
• LP1: Rubber Soul (New stereo mix) half-speed mastered: 14 tracks
• LP2 & 3: Sessions and Demos (Stereo) half-speed mastered: 26 tracks
• LP4: Rubber Soul (Original mono master): 14 tracks
• LP5: Rubber Soul (Original Capitol US album): 12 tracks
• 7”: ‘Day Tripper’ & ‘We Can Work It Out’ (Stereo)
4CD Box Set
4CD Box Set with 88-page hardbound book in a 12” x 12” slipcase:
• DISC 1: Rubber Soul (New stereo mix): 14 tracks
• DISC 2: Sessions, Demos and the Single (Stereo): 28 tracks
• DISC 3: Rubber Soul (Original mono master): 14 tracks
• DISC 4: Rubber Soul (Original Capitol US album): 12 tracks
D2C-exclusive editions of the 5LP and 4CD Super Deluxe Box Sets, featuring an exclusive poster and set of art cards, are also available from the official Beatles Store , alongside a limited-edition Zoetrope picture disc.
Rubber Soul Special Edition Deluxe (30 tracks)
2LP
2LP on half-speed mastered 180-gram vinyl in a gatefold sleeve with 4-page insert abridged from the Super Deluxe book:
• LP1: Rubber Soul (New stereo mix): 14 tracks
• LP2: The Single, Demos and Sessions Highlights (Stereo): 16 tracks
2CD
2CD in digisleeve and slipcase, with a 40-page booklet abridged from the Super Deluxe book:
• DISC 1: Rubber Soul (New stereo mix): 14 tracks
• DISC 2: The Single, Demos and Sessions Highlights: 16 tracks
Rubber Soul Special Edition Standard (14 tracks)
1LP (New stereo mix) on half-speed mastered 180-gram vinyl
1LP (New stereo mix) on half-speed mastered 180-gram orange color vinyl
1CD in digisleeve + 20-page booklet (New stereo mix)
Rubber Soul Blu-ray Edition: 16 tracks + 4 videos
1 Blu-ray Disc
New stereo mix in hi-res 96kHz/24-bit audio, new Dolby Atmos mix, and four videos
5LP Super Deluxe Box Set
1LP – 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 – Sessions, Demos and The Single (Disc 1)
Side A
A1. Wait (Take 3 – instrumental backing track)
A2. Run For Your Life (Takes 1-5 – instrumental backing track)
A3. Norw...
AIPROPX is an independent multi-source news index — we track, compare, and connect coverage from across the web into one place you won't find anywhere else.