| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| lemonade kid |
Posted - 03/12/2015 : 17:10:31
Wow, 50!....still have my 1965 first pressing MONO vinyl and it is still as fresh as the day I removed the shrink wrap! What a happy day when I first saw Rubber Soul in the record shop window - Dec. 6, 1965...what a cool album cover. A fifteen year-old drummer's musical dream (Ringo was the man at that time to my young eyes and ears-the Fabs made a garage band's aspirations actually seem possible). That beautiful record jacket cover was so sophisticated and we knew something amazing was contained within.
It is very interesting to get the background story of how the US track listing came about.--lk
The BeatlesÕ ÔRubber SoulÕ Turns 50
Is it possible to make a better Beatles?
Debating different versions of an iconic album
By MARC MYERS / Wall Street Jounal
The 12-song album issued in the U.S. was markedly different from the British version, which featured 14 songs. PHOTO: COURTESY OF UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP
For most American teens, the arrival of the BeatlesÕ ÒRubber SoulÓ 50 years ago was unsettling. Instead of cheerleading for love, the albumÕs songs held cryptic messages about thinking for yourself, the hypnotic power of women, something called Ògetting highÓ and bedding down with the opposite sex. Clearly, growing up wasnÕt going to be easy.
Released in the U.K. on Dec. 3, 1965, and in the U.S. three days later, ÒRubber SoulÓ remains one of the most critically acclaimed albums in rock history, influencing a generation of artists, including Brian Wilson, Bob Dylan and Stevie Wonder. It also marked rockÕs shift from formulaic pop to studio experimentation and high art.
But while ÒRubber SoulÓ has been hailed as an epic masterpiece and one of the first fully developed folk-rock albums, the vision for the U.S. release wasnÕt entirely the work of John, Paul, George and Ringo or the BeatlesÕ producer, George Martin.
The 12-song album issued in the U.S. was markedly different from the British version, which featured 14 songs. Though both versions shared Robert FreemanÕs cover photo and psychedelic lettering (ginger here and burnt orange in the U.K.), the U.S. version dropped two songs and replaced two others.
Over the years, many U.S. critics have hailed the British release as the true masterpiece, a pure reflection of what the Beatles and Mr. Martin intended. But the U.S. version of ÒRubber Soul,Ó with its more consistently poetic sound and narrative, is arguably the more powerful statement. ItÕs also the version that changed the direction of American rock.
The invisible hand behind the U.S. release belonged to Dave Dexter Jr., the head of CapitolÕs international A&R in Los Angeles. Dexter and his team set out to keep the compelling folk narrative running throughout the album.
In 1965, Capitol had contractual permission to alter British versions of Beatles albums for the U.S. market. The agreement dated back to 1955, when British EMI purchased Capitol. At the time, EMI didnÕt want to lose U.S. executives and figured theyÕd know best how to milk their own market.
Once the Beatles were signed to Capitol in late 1963, Dexter was put in charge of reprogramming U.K. versions of their albums for the U.S. market. U.S. versions usually used 11 songs to stay within licensing budgets. The dropped songs were then used on subsequent albums released only in the U.S.
But by late 1965 the Beatles had a problem. Bob DylanÕs album ÒHighway 61 RevisitedÓ and the single ÒLike a Rolling Stone,Ó with its socially conscious folk-rock theme, was resonating with draft-age listeners in the States. To remain relevant, the Beatles needed a more mature, acoustic album.
Fresh off their successful stadium tour in August Õ65, the Beatles returned to London and recorded ÒRubber SoulÓ in just four weeks. When the recording was completed, a master reel was shipped to Dexter in Hollywood.
Earlier that fall, Brian Epstein, the BeatlesÕ manager, spoke with Voyle Gilmore, CapitolÕs head of U.S. A&R. Gilmore, in turn, wrote a memo to Capitol president Alan Livingston and Dexter urging that the cover and tracks for the American ÒRubber SoulÓ be identical to the British version.
Dexter pushed back, explaining that a 14-song album was out of the question due to costs and that the covers should be different. Capitol compromised by featuring 12 songs instead of the customary 11 but retained the same covers.
Then Dexter went to work on the U.S. track list. Instead of just dropping two songs, he replaced the raucous ÒDrive My CarÓ and cornball ÒWhat Goes On,Ó which opened sides 1 and 2, respectively, on the U.K. version.
In those critical lead-in slots, he inserted ÒIÕve Just Seen a FaceÓ and ÒItÕs Only LoveÓÑacoustic songs he had cut from the British version of ÒHelp!Ó for itÕs U.S. release. Next, he dropped the alienating ÒNowhere ManÓ and mystical ÒIf I Needed SomeoneÓ from ÒRubber Soul.Ó
All of the changes were brilliant and resulted in a more cohesive album. But when the U.S. version was released, the Beatles voiced displeasure to EMI, which demanded that Dexter no longer work on Beatles releases. In early 1966, Dexter was replaced by Bill Miller, who programmed the next two U.S. releasesÑÒYesterday and TodayÓ and ÒRevolver.Ó
Today, most Beatles fans view Dexter, who died in 1990, as a villainous rock-hating executive who resented the Beatles and whose programming approach diluted the bandÕs U.S. releases.
Whatever DexterÕs shortcomings, the Beatles albums he programmed for Capitol are the ones American teens heard and loved. As for ÒRubber Soul,Ó it may have been his greatest achievement, turning an unfocused album into a taut acoustic story of self-awareness and romantic confusion. It also provided millions in the U.S. with their first gentle glimpse of adulthood.
Mr. Myers, a frequent contributor to the Journal, writes daily about music and the arts at JazzWax.com.
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So much music, so little time. |
| 8 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| lemonade kid |
Posted - 18/12/2015 : 14:41:19
quote:
Originally posted by John9
Yes indeed, Ed - She's Not There somehow sums up the sense of urgency, drama, innovation and excitement that we so fondly remember from that time. Of course there are younger generations who would claim that all this is just nostalgia on our part.......but that's definitely not true. If I have a vision of living a disgraceful old age, then it would be that of getting into trouble with the retirement home matron for playing Eight Miles High after lights out! 
...or Feel Like I'm fixing' to Die Rag.... Gimme an "F" (a la Woodtock!)
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| John9 |
Posted - 16/12/2015 : 16:33:56
Yes indeed, Ed - She's Not There somehow sums up the sense of urgency, drama, innovation and excitement that we so fondly remember from that time. Of course there are younger generations who would claim that all this is just nostalgia on our part.......but that's definitely not true. If I have a vision of living a disgraceful old age, then it would be that of getting into trouble with the retirement home matron for playing Eight Miles High after lights out! |
| ed the bear |
Posted - 15/12/2015 : 09:27:35
John, I couldn't agree more about 1965. So many "pop" masterpieces date from that year! Today I heard "She's Not There" on the radio, and the DJ said "1965." "Don't Talk to Strangers" I could go on and on. So could you, or anyone else from our time. |
| John9 |
Posted - 14/12/2015 : 21:50:56
Whichever version is preferred, I think that Rubber Soul is one of the first examples of a pop LP being akin to a work of art - and every Beatles' album after that followed suit. People go on an on about 1967 - but to my mind, 1965 was the truly pivotal year.....two revolutionary albums from Dylan, the Stones upping their game considerably, The Byrds....and in studios on the West Coast music as yet unheard was being recorded for release the following year - from Love and the Airplane. Scott Fitzgerald could also have been speaking for our generation when he wrote "we had the best of it".  |
| lemonade kid |
Posted - 04/12/2015 : 14:14:21
quote:
Originally posted by ed the bear
I can't imagine the album not starting with "I've Just Seen a Face." But I suspect that someone might stop by to disagree.
Yes, Ed. Or side two without the "It's Only Love" start.
Capital's Dexter really did put together a very cohesive masterpiece of a folk-rock album (one that inspired Brian Wilson to say it is a complete album that inspired him to rise to "Pet Spunds")... and it really wasn't as "together" in its UK format.
Quite brilliant.
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So much music, so little time. |
| ed the bear |
Posted - 04/12/2015 : 07:25:36
I can't imagine the album not starting with "I've Just Seen a Face." But I suspect that someone might stop by to disagree. |
| lemonade kid |
Posted - 03/12/2015 : 17:54:00
As most of you already know, far as the differences between the US release and the UK release, (I know it is whatever version we grew up with) but for me the two tracks included that were from the UK's HELP and the exclusion of a couple of the UK tracks (because they appeared on the Butcher LP)...was accidentally a GENIUS move by Capital Records!! It is a complete and perfect album, start to finish.
US release
Side One
1. "I've Just Seen a Face"
2. "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)"
3. "You Won't See Me"
4. "Think for Yourself"
5. "The Word"
6. "Michelle"
Side two
1. "It's Only Love"
2. "Girl"
3. "I'm Looking Through You"
4. "In My Life"
5. "Wait"
6. "Run for Your Life"
....................
UK release
Side 1
1. Rubber Soul Documentary
2. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (2009 - Remaster)
3. You Won't See Me (2009 - Remaster)
4. Nowhere Man (2009 - Remaster)
5. Think For Yourself (2009 - Remaster)
6. The Word (2009 - Remaster)
7. Michelle (2009 - Remaster)
Side 2
8. What Goes On (2009 - Remaster)
9. Girl (2009 - Remaster)
10. I'm Looking Through You (2009 - Remaster)
11. In My Life (2009 - Remaster)
12. Wait (2009 - Remaster)
13. If I Needed Someone (2009 - Remaster)
14. Run For Your Life (2009 - Remaster)
UltimateClassics.com
By the time the Beatles reached America, their record company, Parlophone/EMI, had already released two albums and a handful of singles in their native England. EMIÕs U.S. label, Capitol, had repeatedly rejected the groupÕs output for a year, but as word began to spread in America at the end of 1963, it finally relented and got behind the groupÕs latest single, ÔI Want to Hold Your Hand.Õ
This put Capitol in the enviable position of having a considerable backlog of songs at the very moment U.S. fans couldnÕt get enough of the Beatles. But instead of putting out the same albums as Parlophone, Capitol compiled new ones out of whatever it wanted, with no concern for the BeatlesÕ artistic choices. There were a few reasons for this: For starters, U.S. albums rarely included more than 12 songs (possibly out of fear of fidelity loss due to Ògroove-crammingÓ), and all of the U.K. albums contained 14 tracks. Then there was the matter of the non-LP singles, a practice common in the U.K. but not in the U.S. Capitol needed a place to put hits like ÔI Want to Hold Your HandÕ and ÔShe Loves You.Õ In those first few years, the Beatles operated under a breakneck schedule of a new single every three months and a new LP every six months.
Complicating matters even more was the issue of ÔIntroducing . . . the Beatles,Õ a near-repackaging of their U.K. debut, ÔPlease Please Me,Õ which was licensed to Vee-Jay Records when Capitol passed on it in the summer of 1963. As part of a lawsuit settlement, the rights to those songs were transferred to Capitol in October 1964 Ð a year and a half after they were released overseas.
For their part, the Beatles were unhappy with this practice, but in all fairness, Capitol never had the chance to catch up. The band was simply too prolific in the early days. But by the time of 1967Õs ÔSgt. PepperÕs Lonely Hearts Club Band,Õ the group was able to demand that the same album be released worldwide (with a couple of exceptions).
When the Beatles first issued their entire catalog on CD in 1987, they decided to streamline their records once and for all, and only the original U.K. albums were released (except for ÔMagical Mystery Tour'; see below for explanation). While this may have confused American fans who couldnÕt get ÔBeatles VIÕ or bought ÔRubber SoulÕ expecting to hear it begin with ÔIÕve Just Seen a FaceÕ only to get ÔDrive My CarÕ instead, it ended their messy catalog headache for good.
Until 2004 that is, when Capitol put out a box of the groupÕs first four U.S. records, replicating track listings and artwork, and followed it up two years later with the next four albums. And now thereÕs ÔThe U.S. Albums,Õ which compiles CapitolÕs 12 LPs (including the first CD appearance of ÔThe Beatles Story,Õ a two-record cash-grab from 1964 made up of interviews and press conferences) and the soundtrack to ÔA Hard DayÕs Night,Õ which originally came out on United Artists. WeÕve compiled this guide to the BeatlesÕ U.S. albums, showing how their label assembled them from what was available.
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So much music, so little time. |
| lemonade kid |
Posted - 03/12/2015 : 17:21:55
The Beatles' 'Rubber Soul' turns 50
Jayme Deerwester, USA TODAY 11:08 a.m. EST December 3, 2015
Last week marked the 50th birthday of Arlo Guthrie's Thanksgiving classic Alice's Restaurant and today marks a half-century for the Beatles' sixth album Rubber Soul. (The title was a play on the term "plastic soul," used by black musicians to describe Mick Jagger's sound.)
Going down the track listing, you'll note that most Beatles compilations pull liberally from Rubber Soul Ñ it produced the classics Michelle, Norwegian Wood, Girl, Drive My Car and the wistful In My Life. It also marked the Beatles' shift from boy band to serious artists.
"Rubber Soul is this great transition to a more sophisticated Beatles," says anthology producer Martin Lewis, who claims it as his personal favorite. He told USA TODAY, "There's warmth, emotion and a level of maturity beyond their years in songs like In My Life. Rubber Soul is their last quintessential English album. It's very Edwardian."
So to paraphrase John Lennon's opening line to Girl, go ahead and listen to their story.
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