‘The Beatles Rubber Soul to Revolver’ Book Examines Their Middle Years
by Best Classic Bands Staff
A new book examining the middle years of The Beatles’ recorded output has been published. The Beatles Rubber Soul to Revolver, the latest installment in Bruce Spizer’s Beatles Album Series, arrived Oct. 10, 2022. As the announcement notes, the title covers two of the group’s much-loved albums, December 1965’s Rubber Soul and August 1966’s Revolver albums, as well as Capitol Records’ June 1966 U.S. release, Yesterday And Today, as well as the singles associated with these albums.
More from the book’s announcement: Rubber Soul and Revolver set new standards for pop and rock records, and presented a maturing and evolving Beatles to the world. The 16 tracks recorded during the Rubber Soul sessions, including “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown),” “Nowhere Man” and “In My Life,” are among the group’s finest.
With Revolver, the Beatles were looking for more color in their recordings, trying new instruments and techniques. But they were not using studio wizardry to cover weaknesses; they were looking for new sounds to enhance their already brilliant songs. The album includes such classics as “Eleanor Rigby,” “Here, There and Everywhere,” and “For No One.”
Related: The Beatles Different Revolver Albums
As producer George Martin noted, “For the first time, we began to think of albums as art on their own, as complete entities.”
The book contains chapters on the British, American, and Canadian perspectives, an extensive treatment on the infamous Yesterday And Today “butcher cover” and substitute trunk cover (featuring all of the significant images from the photo sessions and the true story behind the controversial cover). There are also chapters on the recording sessions and album covers, as well as on the news, music, and films of the era to place these albums in their proper context.
Related: Yesterday And Today… Should It Ever Have Existed?
The New Orleans-based Spizer has written 13 critically acclaimed Beatles books, including The Beatles Are Coming and his series on the Beatles albums. He has given presentations at the Grammy Museum, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, and Beatles conventions in the U.S. and Liverpool. He serves a consultant on Beatles projects for Universal Music Group, Capitol Records, and Apple Corps, Ltd.
6 Comments so far
Jump into a conversationHuge thank you to Bruce for keeping the Beatles story alive for fans and future generations! They were such a positive influence on my life and the lives of millions. It’s too sad to think of it fading away.
Why do you think the Beatles will fade away? Beethoven’s music is as relevant today as it was in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The Beatles might not be in that league but they were the biggest phenomenon of the 20th century and are still generally considered the most influential and greatest band ever. They may drift in and out of fashion but they are not going to fade away
Totally agree that there will always be interest in the Beatles story. As a Liverpool Beatles tour guide I can confirm that the appetite for the story is as healthy as it’s ever been.
They’ve been going in and out of style, but they’re guaranteed to raise a smile:)
Sorry, “King of Marigold” the Beatles are more important than Beethoven. I have asked, quite a few children of my daughters age, who is 9, “Can you sing a Beatle song?” and they can. If I ask about “Beethoven”, they say: “Who”
In my view, the middle years begins with Help. The writing was beginning to become more mature and interesting. Songs like Help, You Got to Hide Your Love Away, It’s Only Love and Yesterday are really showing a new depth. I hope you also discuss We Can Work It Out, one of my favorite Beatle songs.