58. The Beatles - Rubber Soul (1965)

Track List: Drive My Car // Norwegian Wood //You Won't See Me //Nowhere Man // Think For Yourself // The Word // Michelle // What Goes On // Girl // I'm Looking Through You // In My Life // Wait // If I Needed Someone // Run For Your Life

The first in a long run of landmarks. The Beatles! The Who! The Byrds! It's going to be a big couple of days here at the blog.

After a few false-starts and a lot of good singles, the Beatles finally come into their own as album artists. Everything about this record, from the production to the song-writing and the inventive instrumentation (acoustic guitars, sitars, and even a box of matches), is a step-up not just for the band but for the rock genre in general. Of course, all this means is that rock and roll is no longer quite so far behind pop as it once was, but that's really just praising with faint damnation. This is impressive stuff!

I mean, just look at the artwork - the four boys, no longer quite so nice-looking, and with their features all twisted and weird against a forest backdrop. The new album is slightly mellow, slightly folky, and more than a little weird - and the cover captures all of this perfectly. From the unspeakably pretty "Norwegian Wood"(which helped introduce the sitar into Western pop), to "Nowhere Man" - the first non-lovesong the Beatles wrote, and one of their most depressing - and the pretty little wedding favourite "In My Life", there's a lot of great stuff here.

Of course, it isn't all good - it's a rare Beatles album that doesn't have at least one stinker on it, and this time out we have a couple of doozies. "What Goes On", anyone? Unbearable, tuneless country. "Oh, but that's a Ringo song," I hear you say. "It doesn't count". Well then, how about the admittedly more tuneful misogyny of Lennon's "Run Fer Yer Life"? It'd be a great song, if not for John's threatening to murder his girlfriend if she even so much as thinks of leaving him.

Is this a masterpiece? No! But it is a landmark in pop music, and a very nice listen (even if it does reek entirely too much of pot). And (thank God) things only get better from here.

B+