While the Beatles still largely stuck to love songs on Rubber Soul, the lyrics represented a quantum leap in terms of thoughtfulness, maturity, and complex ambiguities.
Musically, too, it was a substantial leap forward, with intricate folk-rock arrangements that reflected the increasing influence of Dylan and the Byrds.
The group and George Martin were also beginning to expand the conventional instrumental parameters of the rock group, using a sitar on "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)," Greek-like guitar lines on "Michelle" and "Girl," fuzz bass on "Think for Yourself," and a piano made to sound like a harpsichord on the instrumental break of "In My Life." While John and Paul were beginning to carve separate songwriting identities at this point, the album is full of great tunes, from "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" and "Michelle" to "Girl," "I'm Looking Through You," "You Won't See Me," "Drive My Car," and "Nowhere Man" (the last of which was the first Beatle song to move beyond romantic themes entirely).
George Harrison was also developing into a fine songwriter with his two contributions, "Think for Yourself" and the Byrds-ish "If I Needed Someone.".
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Drive My CarJohn Lennon, Paul McCartney | The Beatles | Play | 02:28 | 5 MB | 15 MB |
| 2 | Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)John Lennon, Paul McCartney | The Beatles | Play | 02:04 | 4 MB | 12 MB |
| 3 | You Won't See MeJohn Lennon, Paul McCartney | The Beatles | Play | 03:19 | 7 MB | 21 MB |
| 4 | Nowhere ManJohn Lennon, Paul McCartney | The Beatles | Play | 02:43 | 6 MB | 17 MB |
| 5 | Think for YourselfGeorge Harrison | The Beatles | Play | 02:18 | 5 MB | 15 MB |
| 6 | The WordJohn Lennon, Paul McCartney | The Beatles | Play | 02:43 | 6 MB | 18 MB |
| 7 | MichelleJohn Lennon, Paul McCartney | The Beatles | Play | 02:42 | 6 MB | 15 MB |
| 8 | What Goes OnJohn Lennon, Paul McCartney, Richard Starkey | The Beatles | Play | 02:48 | 6 MB | 17 MB |
| 9 | GirlJohn Lennon, Paul McCartney | The Beatles | Play | 02:31 | 5 MB | 15 MB |
| 10 | I'm Looking Through YouJohn Lennon, Paul McCartney | The Beatles | Play | 02:26 | 5 MB | 15 MB |
| 11 | In My LifeJohn Lennon, Paul McCartney | The Beatles | Play | 02:26 | 5 MB | 14 MB |
| 12 | WaitJohn Lennon, Paul McCartney | The Beatles | Play | 02:14 | 5 MB | 14 MB |
| 13 | If I Needed SomeoneGeorge Harrison | The Beatles | Play | 02:22 | 5 MB | 15 MB |
| 14 | Run for Your LifeJohn Lennon, Paul McCartney | The Beatles | Play | 02:21 | 5 MB | 15 MB |
| 35 mins | 81 MB | |||||
| 35 mins | 225 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Beatles | Primary Artist |
| 2 | Mal Evans | Guest Artist |
| 3 | Robert Freeman | Photography |
| 4 | George Harrison | Composer, Sitar |
| 5 | Mike Heatley | Liner Notes |
| 6 | Paul Hicks | Remastering |
| 7 | Kevin Howlett | Liner Notes |
| 8 | John Lennon | Composer |
| 9 | Sean Magee | Remastering |
| 10 | George Martin | Guest Artist, Harmonium, Piano, Producer |
| 11 | Guy Massey | Remastering |
| 12 | Paul McCartney | Composer, Piano |
| 13 | Sam O'Kell | Remastering |
| 14 | Steve Rooke | Remastering |
| 15 | Norman Smith | Engineer |
| 16 | Richard Starkey | Composer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |