*Beep Beep! Beep Beep! Yeah!*

A little bit about my favorite band of all time:

I’ve been an obsessed Beatles fan for quite some time. For me, nothing can truly compare to The Beatles. My obsession was kicked into overdrive in November 2001 – after hearing the news of George dying. I decided in an effort to pay tribute to him, I’d spend the day listening to Beatles songs… It didn’t stop after that day though. Something about me – when I really like something, I jump in with both feet and completely submerge myself in everything I can find that is related to… whatever it is I’m getting into. When it came to The Beatles and the vast amount Beatle-related material, it took me about 2-3 years to finally come back to the surface for air. It’s strange because I’d known Beatles music for years and found it enjoyable, but for some reason in 2001, it hit me in a completely different way. I guess before I hadn’t been really listening… This time, it was a whole new kind of experience. In fact, it’s kind of hard to put into words, but getting into The Beatles in such a way… It had a rather profound effect on me. A lot of my thoughts and feelings on music seem to generally lead back to The Beatles. So, I started off listening to all their albums (most of which I owned, but hadn’t listened to thoroughly), watched their films, read the books about the band (Anthology is still the definitive Beatle book in my opinion)… Then that following summer, I branched out into the world of Beatles solo careers.

Anyway, I could probably go on for ages about “my boys”, but in this post, I’m going to limit myself to discussing the first actual Beatles album I ever bought. Rubber Soul. I bought it while I was a sophomore in high school and it’s still one of my favorite albums of all time.

Rubber Soul starts with the twangy guitar intro of "Drive My Car". There is so much that I love about this song, it's hard to know where to start. It's upbeat, optimistic, and unforgettable. The lyrics tell you an amusing story that deals with gender role-reversal. Paul is featured on lead guitar here (and what a cool guitar solo he comes up with!) and George takes the bass line. I love the piano on the chorus – and I love how tambourine is used almost continually on the album. "Norwegian Wood" is mainly a John song, written about an affair. The lyrics are ambiguous, but the story is interesting and ends in a fire – which I find kind of amusing. There aren't many instruments used on this song, just acoustic guitar, bass, tambourine, and of course, the distinctive sound of the sitar. George played the sitar on this song – and I believe this is one of the first, if not the first, pop song where a sitar was featured. "You Won't See Me" is one of my favorites of this album. I listened to this song on repeat when I first got the album and still tend to go back to it. It's a pure pop song, but a great melody and includes some of Paul's less optimistic lyrics. Paul generally has a very upbeat attitude in his songs, but Rubber Soul isn't full of the happy boy-loves-girl sorts of songs. I love the background vocals and the drums on this song are fantastic. Ringo really does a great job – in fact, he does on this entire album. He really shines here. "Nowhere Man" features some great harmonies and very Lennon-like lyrics. Obscure, but something I think a number of people can identify with. A typical McCartney melodic bass line also is present. Also, love the harmonic at the end of the guitar solo. "Think For Yourself" is a George composition with more fabulous harmonies. Love the bass line and lead guitar – and more tambourine! As for the lyrics, George said they were "probably about the government", but I think (like any good song) they can be applied to a number of situations. "The Word" is another song that is up there as far as my favorite Beatles tracks. Great harmonies, cool lead guitar, very idealistic lyrics, and fantastic drumming from Ringo –particularly at the end of each chorus. My favorite part is the last time during the chorus, when that highest harmony part comes out. Great, great song in my book! Besides, it's a hell of a lot of fun to sing along to and blast in the car! "Michelle" is the only song I knew when I bought the album. It's a very typical Paul ballad with a bit of a Parisian feel with French lyrics included. I believe the "I love you/I want you" middle 8 bit was contributed by John, and it's probably my favorite part of the song – I really love Paul's voice when he sings, "I want you, I want you, I want you" the last time. I believe Paul played pretty much all of the instruments on this track – except for maybe the drums.

The B-side of the album opens with a Ringo co-penned song, "What Goes On." It's got the characteristic country-western feel that a number of Ringo's songs had. The lead guitar by George is very Carl Perkins-esque. Random Beatles fact: In the background, if you listen hard, after Ringo sings "Tell me why" you can here John say, "We already told you why!" "Girl" is next – John really has a lot of great ones on this album. Of course, when I bought it back in the day, I was very innocent and didn't realize during the middle 8 they were singing "tit, tit, tit, tit." I believe I thought it was "dit." Anyhow, the guitar has a Greek sort of sound – love the lead guitar part. "I'm Looking Through You" is another less optimistic Paul – I think he was having trouble with Jane during this period. More tambourine! Ringo plays Hammond organ on this track. I love the guitar riff after the chorus (at the end of the chorus?). I have a number of "The Soul Sessions" recordings and it's interesting to hear the evolution of this song. "In My Life" is one of John's best ballads – and another of my favorite tracks. Beautiful melody, tender lyrics, and John does a captivating vocal performance. Paul does great on the harmonies and bass, Ringo's drumming is superb, and of course, George Martin's sped up piano solo is very fitting – giving a classical feel to the pop song. "Wait" is considered a "filler" piece, left over from the Help! Sessions. I've recently re-discovered it and I adore the middle-eight, sung by Paul, with the driving guitar and drums. Good harmonies and more tambourine! "If I Needed Someone" is another George song and shows how very much George had grown as a composer since "Don't Bother Me" the year before. Great lyrics, lovely harmonies, hypnotic guitar intro, and cool bass line (more tambourine!). I like the bridge a lot, too. I think it's the only George composed song that was ever performed live on a Beatles tour. "Run For Your Life" was apparently John's least favorite Beatles song. It's John in jealousy mode, a theme in a number of Lennon songs. There's a pretty cool lead guitar part that has been suggested that it's John playing rather than George. It's not overly apparent as Lennon or Harrison, so I'm not sure. It's not my favorite on the album, but still a song I enjoy.

So… yeah, that’s about it for now! More later!