Rubbed soul

 

On that day, 55 years ago, The Who released their sophomore album, the remarkable A Quick One. Along came the classic single “Happy Jack”, one of those distinct, uniquely British pop/rock songs like The Kinks’ “Waterloo Sunset” or Queen’s “Killer Queen“. You know, the kind you can’t quite put your finger on but keep on singing in your head for days. But we are not here to talk about The Who, that album or that song. Because, exactly a year prior to that, The Beatles happened to release their 6th album, Rubber Soul — along with new single “Day Tripper”, one should add. And, although The Who stand as one of the greatest bands of all time, once is forced to recognize that, in terms of revolutionizing musical trends and genres, the Fab Four stand in a league all of their own…

In three years’ time, between 1963 and 1965, The Beatles released 6 albums, 2 a year to be exact. And, with every record that came out, both expectations and results kept growing. Rubber Soul was the last of those 6 albums, one that came at the tail end of an American summer tour that had the Beatles listening to Motown records on the radio — and meeting some of their heroes, namely Bob Dylan and The King himself. This resulted not only in a heavily US-inspired album, but also a very smartly conceived one: the title itself is a nod to the fact that these four Brits are “fake” soul men… Touché…

In truth, the most obvious stateside inspiration here is not soul, but rather folk music. From “Norwegian Wood” to “I’m Looking Through You”, the album reads quite a bit like a storytelling exercise. And a remarkable one at that. Then you have songs bordering on country: think “What Goes On” or “Run For Your Life” are some of the most Americana-infused British songs of the era. Finally, you get a few songs that are neither here nor there: “Nowhere Man”, “Michelle”, “Girl” are quite simply outstanding pop songs, or however you want to classify them.

Rubber Soul was the first album the quartet produced without having to leave the studio for concerts, TV or movie sets. And it shows: this LP marks a definite step towards more sophisticated productions, more innovative sounds and instruments, more intricate album structures… and more original songs. To be continued…