Recommendations of the Editorial team
In the fall of 1965, at the height of their fame, the Beatles were able to take a short breath – and it smelled sweet. The amphetamine-driven beat had given way to a new melancholy, the band discovered the studio for themselves and within a month created their first work of art, which was finally released two weeks after the end of the sessions, on December 3rd. It was called “Rubber Soul” – the title a homage to Stax and Motown on the one hand and the English weather on the other. An album that, in its originality and diversity, would not have been conceivable without what happened in the months before.
Sitar, LSD, Elvis
The Beatles began the year by producing their second film, “Help!”. Most of the time they were stoned, so they lacked the necessary concentration and constantly forgot their dialogues. However, the sensory perception intensified by marijuana had other groundbreaking effects on pop music: George Harrison fell in love with the sound of the sitar while filming in an Indian restaurant on London’s Blandford Street; John Lennon, who had previously suppressed his inner conflicts with the help of amphetamines and alcohol, suddenly found himself stilled and learned to say “I” in his songs – which inspired him to write the best pieces of his career in 1965: In the spring he wrote “Help!” and “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away,” and in the fall, “In My Life,” “Girl,” “Nowhere Man,” and “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown).”
Another drug probably played a role in Lennon’s changed self-perception: a dentist friend had mixed LSD into his and George Harrison’s drinks in the spring of 1965 – a revelation for both of them. They made their second trip in August 1965 during their US tour, during which the Beatles also played rock music’s first stadium concert in New York’s Shea Stadium in front of 55,000 visitors. With Peter Fonda and the Byrds in a house in the Hollywood Hills. A few days later, the Fab Four – again stoned – met their idol Elvis Presley at his house in Bel Air.
Songs of Experience
After the final concert of the tour at the Cow Palace in Daly City on August 31st, the Beatles had a few weeks off for the first time after a year and a half of Beatlemania. However, during this time they had to write a new album, which was to be released that same year.
They began recording on October 12th, then had to stop on October 26th for a trip to Buckingham Palace, where Queen Elizabeth II named them Members of the British Empire after they shared a joint in the palace toilet. On November 11th, the album on which they processed all the influences of this crazy year was finished.
To paraphrase William Blake, “Rubber Soul” contained their “Songs of Experience”. It sounded as if the Beatles had been switched from black and white to color: the four-headed monster had become four guys; the upbeat beat had given way to melancholy and folk; the rhythm section had emancipated itself, became freer and gave the songs a new musical depth; and the lyrics had broken away from the usual pop formulas, telling of strong women, insecure men and complicated relationships. Pop music had grown up. With “Rubber Soul” the album was elevated to an art form. And Brian Wilson listened closely from his home in the Hollywood Hills.
For the album’s 60th anniversary, we ranked the 14 songs for you in our podcast ROLLING STONE Weekly. What is the best and what is the worst song on the album?