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rank the songs on rubber soul
15 April 2016
4.57pm
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The Hippie Chick
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“She wasn't doing a thing that I could see, except standing there leaning on the balcony railing, holding the universe together.”  - J.D. Salinger

29 April 2016
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somethingsomething2
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1. Think For Yourself . I have no idea why most people are ranking this so low. The fuzz bass is fantastic and it is easily the best chorus on the album.

2. Norwegian Wood . The famous introduction of the sitar, coupled with Lennon’s peak of acoustic creativity.

3. In My Life . Superb lyrics with a fantastic melody and innovative and influential piano solo.

4. Girl. One of John’s best vocals ever. Haunting lyrics.

5. Nowhere Man . Emotional and beautiful 

6. I’m Looking Through You . A high-energy rocker with fantastic, crunchy guitar.

7.The Word . A delicious piece of pop.

8. You Won’t See Me . Same as above 

9. Michelle . A romantic ballad with some great, bubbling guitar 

10. Drive My Car . Great riff that kicks off this album in proper fashion. Just lacks the creativity and innovation seen elsewhere on the album

11. If I Needed Someone . Great Birds-pastiche from George 

12. What Goes On . One of my favorite Ringo vocals 

13. Run For Your Life . Great slide guitar from George. Just not a standout track.

14. Wait . Filler 

29 April 2016
11.25am
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Ron Nasty
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@somethingsomething2 said
7.The Word . A delicious piece of pop by McCartey

It was mainly a John song, with help from Paul. They were stoned at the time.

The vocal is a three-part harmony between John, Paul and George, while the middle eight is the only part sung by a lone Beatle, John.

This can hardly be said to be “by McCartney”.

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2 May 2016
10.26am
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somethingsomething2
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Ron Nasty said

@somethingsomething2 said
7.The Word . A delicious piece of pop by McCartey

It was mainly a John song, with help from Paul. They were stoned at the time.

The vocal is a three-part harmony between John, Paul and George, while the middle eight is the only part sung by a lone Beatle, John.

This can hardly be said to be “by McCartney”.

Welcome!

Thanks for the correction. I fixed my post.

26 January 2017
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QuarryMan
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1. In My Life – a perfect song. I listen to it when going to sleep

2. You Won’t See Me – One of their best ‘bad love’ songs.

3. Nowhere Man Help ! part 2? I think we can all relate to it and a great Harrison solo.

4. I’m Looking Through You – That little guitar bit after you’re not the same.

5. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) – Some of their best lyrics and great guitar and sitar.

6. Think For Yourself – the bass tone. enough said.

7. Wait – Great contrast of downbeat verses and the amazing chorus.

8. Michelle – Unique sounding song with that winding guitar solo and chord sequence.

9. Girl – Love the sighs on the chorus.

10. If I Needed Someone – Really nice song but not particularly unique.

11. Drive My Car – Lyrics are a bit meh but great guitar parts.

12. Run For Your Life  – Yeah, the jealous guy thing is overdone now.

13. What Goes On – Not a bad song, just uninteresting.

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I've been up on the mountain, and I've seen his wondrous grace,
I've sat there on the barstool and I've looked him in the face.
He seemed a little haggard, but it did not slow him down,
he was humming to the neon of the universal sound. 

26 January 2017
1.18pm
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Ahhh Girl
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^ I approved your post even though you didn’t put Girl as your top song on Rubber Soul . a-hard-days-night-george-10

Hope to see more posts from you on the forum. Let us know if you need any help navigating the site.

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27 January 2017
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Flyingbrians
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1. In My Life – One of the most perfect songs ever written.

2. Norwegian Wood – Love everything about this song, could easily be no. 1.

3. Nowhere Man – One of my favourite choruses by the Beatles. Just a great song overall.

4. Girl – It’s just such a unique Beatles song in lots of ways and it’s incredibly soothing. Plus it’s really fun to play on guitar. 

5. If I Needed Someone – I love this song mainly for the guitar work but overall it’s just a great George song.

6. Think For Yourself – Yet another great George song, love the fuzz bass and lyrics.

7. Drive My Car – I personally find it a great opener for the album, but it does get repetitive after multiple listens.

8. I’m Looking Through You – Good song but never been the biggest fan. I appreciate the lyrical significance of it but I think the the vocal melody in the verse is fairly weak.

9. Wait – Great chorus but fairly weak verses. You can tell it’s more of a rushed song.

10. The Word – Nothing particularly wrong about the song, it just doesn’t really grab my attention like other songs on the album.

11. Run For Your Life – The lyrics don’t really turn me off this song, it just feels rushed in some respects.

12. Michelle – Well written song overall but it’s too smoochy for me. Similar to Girl expect it’s got a lot less going for it in my opinion. 

13. You Won’t See Me – It’s a good song, except I can’t get over the instrumentation in the verses. It just drags on a bit and it even sounds like it slows down in parts. If the verses were more lively it would have been further up this list.

14. What Goes On – Again its not a bad song and it’s definitely not Ringo’s worst. I’ll just always instinctively skip it for some reason.

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20 February 2017
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In my opinion, this is the best Beatles album, ever!

1. I’m Looking Through You – Feel like this one is going to be controversial but I just love the shamble of it all and how you can hear the tambourine drop.
2. In My Life – Classic song, everyone loves it. Whats not to love.
3. If I Needed Someone – Just hold a place in my heart that I can’t explain.
4. Norwegian Wood (The Bird Has Flown) – I know the song is a little sad as I love Cynth and its about his affairs but its an amazing song.
5. Nowhere Man – My mums favorite off the album
6. Michelle – I just love the parts in French, such a lovely song.
7. Girl – Think this song is highly underrated as John’s voice is so raw on this song. 
8. What Goes On – Love me little Ringo and this song is really good. Feel like if one of the other boys sang it then it would be more accepted?
9. Drive My Car – Catchy song, starts off the album well. 
10. Think For Yourself – George sings this so well and I think it’s a good representation of what George was channeling at that time. 
11. You Won’t See Me -Not too keen but sung beautifully. 
12. Wait – I never know how I feel about this song. Some days I’ll listen and really enjoy it and others not so much. Conflicting emotions. 
13. Run For Your Life – The lyrics in this make me want to hate the song as they’re just pure awful but the music is so darn catchy to the point you sing along without realising you’re doing so. 
14. The Word – Least favorite of the album. 

apple01apple02

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5 March 2017
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QuarryMan
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Ahhh Girl said
^ I approved your post even though you didn’t put Girl as your top song on Rubber Soul . a-hard-days-night-george-10

Hope to see more posts from you on the forum. Let us know if you need any help navigating the site.  

thanks 🙂

actually, my order would probably a bit different now. Getting a ranking that I’m satisfied with is hard so I’ll divide the songs into A, B and C grade. (Note: I don’t dislike anything on here except for what goes on so the C grades would be A grades on lesser albums

A – In My Life , Nowegian Wood, Nowhere Man , Michelle , If I Needed Someone

B – You Won’t See Me , Girl, I’m Looking Through You , Wait , Think For Yourself

C – What Goes On , Run For Your Life , The Word , Drive My Car

I've been up on the mountain, and I've seen his wondrous grace,
I've sat there on the barstool and I've looked him in the face.
He seemed a little haggard, but it did not slow him down,
he was humming to the neon of the universal sound. 

5 March 2017
11.07am
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Ahhh Girl
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^Hope this means Girl is moving up. I will wait patiently for the day it moves into the A category. a-hard-days-night-george-10

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5 May 2017
1.53am
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14. Run For Your Life – I don’t mind this song but it certainly isn’t the best.

13. Wait – This song could very well have been on Help ! which is where I feel like it would have been better suited.

12. Michelle – I could never get into this song as some others but it is alright.

11. What Goes On – One of Ringo’s best songs, which he also shares his first writing credit.

10. Think For Yourself – Good song by George, he was really starting to compete woth Lennon/McCartney on this record.

9. Girl – Very well written lyrics but I feel like this song could be better.

8. You Won’t See Me – I like this song. It is an upbeat break up song.

7. I’m Looking Through You – Another break up song, which is upbeat but a little bit more melancholy.

6. The Word – I was surprised that this song rated so high as I think it goes under the radar but I think it’s a funky tune.

5. Nowhere Man – I love the harmony vocals and the guitar solo on this song. Great lyrics as well.

4. If I Needed Someone – George really comes into his own with this masterpiece. Great Byrds inspired riff. 

3. Norwegian Wood – Great storytelling from John and of course the Sitar from George makes this song special.

2. Drive My Car – Fun rock/soul song which is the perfect opener for an album.

1. In My Life – Wonderful sentimental lyrics that we can all relate to and as bad as this sounds as I would rather not think about but I want this song played at my funeral.

This was harder than I thought it was going to be but I am not sure why I thought this would be easy as this is one of the best Beatles albums.

And in the end the lunch you take is equal to the lunch you bake.

5 May 2017
10.09am
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sir walter raleigh
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I like seeing If I Needed Someone so high. 

I agree George really does hit the mark there. In my opinion, it is his first really great song. The first of many… ahdn_george_06

I’ll do a top 5 just for @Ahhh Girl 

If I Needed Someone

Im Looking Through You

Norwegian Wood

In My Life

Girl. 

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5 May 2017
5.45pm
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The Hole Got Fixed
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This was very hard, having just 2 songs I dislike on this album!

14. Michelle

This song gets on my nerves. 
13. Wait

It’s not bad, but not fantastic. 
12. Girl

This is where it gets hard. I like Girl, but can’t put it any higher. 
11. I’m Looking Through You

Finally started to appreciate this song. It would be higher, but the lead guitar stabs annoy me. 
10. In My Life

Sweet little song that doesn’t quite do enough. 
9. Drive My Car

Great opener to set the tone. 
8. What Goes On

Ringo! Stellar harmonies in this song. 
7. If I Needed Someone

There’s a little known ABBA song called Santa Rosa that sounds very much like this song… and what a song this is!
6. Norwegian Wood

Classic. Just wish Ringo had of done more on this. 
5. Think For Yourself

The fuzz bass makes this song. 
4. Nowhere Man

Never get tired of the harmonies and the Lead Guitar!
3. You Won’t See Me

I can’t quite work out why I love this sing so much, but boy, do I love it!
2. Run For Your Life

One of the few songs that I appreciate more for the lyrics than the music. 
1. The Word

Mmmmm… Such a cohesive song. Love the bassline, Ringo’s fills, the piano, the harmonies, everything!

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30 May 2017
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QuarryMan
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Wow! My opinion on this topic has changed quite a lot. I have recently compiled my own version of Rubber Soul (without The Word , Drive My Car , Run For Your Life or What Goes On but adding Day Tripper and We Can Work It Out ) and I’m hoping to burn it onto a CD soon.

1. In My Life – my favorite song of all time. The wistful lyrics, the unusual chord sequence, the baroque piano solo.

2. If I Needed Someone – This song is thoroughly unappreciated, it seems to me to be George’s first great song.

3. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) – I’m not actually too fond of this as I’ve heard it too much but it’s a fantastic tune.

4. Michelle /Girl – Happy, @Ahh Girl ? These are similar plus I love them equally so they’re tied.

5. Nowhere Man – Still don’t understand how @meanmistermustard doesn’t like this one, and prefers the travesty that is What Goes On .

6. I’m Looking Through You – a messy recording but that can’t take away from the genius of the song.

7. Wait – An easy listening one I’m quite fond of.

8. I’m Looking Through You – just a great overall song.

9. Think For Yourself – unfortunately, the bass is the only thing I really like here.

10.The Word – not a bad song, just not as interesting.

This is where I start to dislike the songs.

11. Drive My Car – Could have been okay if not for the lyrics.

12. Run For Your Life – John did this better on You Can’t Do That .

13. What Goes On – The all time worst Beatles song. Sorry, @meanmistermustard 🙂 

Kind of a shame that the last three songs on my list suck because the other eleven are truly fantastic.

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Ahhh Girl

I've been up on the mountain, and I've seen his wondrous grace,
I've sat there on the barstool and I've looked him in the face.
He seemed a little haggard, but it did not slow him down,
he was humming to the neon of the universal sound. 

30 May 2017
9.43am
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Ahhh Girl
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OK. OK. In the top 5. a-hard-days-night-george-10

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30 May 2017
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meanmistermustard
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@QuarryMan,

I find it a bore of epic magnitudes. Not as incorrigibly dull as ‘Penny Lane ‘ but still a right bore. 

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30 May 2017
3.38pm
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Dark Overlord
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Interesting how you don’t like Nowhere Man and Penny Lane , 2 of their most classic songs. I personally think Nowhere Man is one of their best songs, especially with those 3 part harmonies, no wonder how many people loved The Beatles back in the 1960’s.

Here’s a list from yours truly:

14. You Won’t See Me – Boring time consuming pop rocker. The most amusing part of the song is that on the back cover of the album, it refers to Mal Evans, who played organ on this song, as Mal “Organ” Evans, it’s a stupid thing to say because no one ever called him organ, people mostly refered to him as Mal.

13. What Goes On – The Ringo song, you can only expect so much from the Ringo song, especially when everything except for the vocals and guitar outro were recorded in one take.

12. Run For Your Life – Pretty empty closer, wouldn’t you say.

11. If I Needed Someone – Nothing special, I like the 12 string guitar though.

10. Girl – Nothing special here. Fun fact, the backing vocals during the bridges are saying tit repeatedly, now you know what the man in the song is thinking about.

9. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) – Although I think this song is overrated and that it isn’t anything special, I still think it’s a nice song.

8. The Word – A song about love, somewhat dull yet enjoyable, especially with that harmonium.

7. Wait – This is one of those songs where both John and Paul share lead vocals, although just John starts off the lines in the verses and Paul gets the bridges to himself, great song.

6. In My Life – Another of John’s auditory self portraits, a really lovely one at that about remembering his past and how some is gone and some remains, this also features a piano solo performed by George Martin, who played it at half speed and then sped it up, giving it that harpsichord sound.

5. I’m Looking Through You – Another underrated gem, this song showcases Paul’s style of playing acoustic guitar, which involves using the 1st finger and thumb.

4. Drive My Car – This is such a great opener, a real good rocker indeed and if I could go back in time, I would convince The Beatles to open their 1966 US tour with this song. Fun fact, Paul plays lead guitar for the intro, solo, and outro using his Epiphone Casino while George doubles Paul’s bass using his Fender Strat.

3. Michelle – The Beatles are great when it comes to singing ballads, and this song is no exception, just remember to place your capo on the 5th fret for the acoustic parts and if you’re playing the solo, I recommend removing the capo.

2. Think For Yourself – I love when the bassist gets the spotlight and I think Paul McCartney is an excellent bassist, combine that with the fact that Paul swapped over his inferior sounding Hofner for to his Rickenbacker plugged into a Maestro Fuzz Tone and you can see why this George penned tune is so high on the list.

1. Nowhere Man – This is best song The Beatles had at the time, with beautiful 3 part harmonies by John, Paul, and George, a sweet bassline, a beautiful chord progression, and Fender Stratocaster tones that are so bright, they can light up a dark room, this song is to die for and it is living breathing proof why so many people loved The Beatles.

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30 May 2017
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meanmistermustard
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We are very different here @Dark Overlord.

Drive My Car ‘, ‘I’m Looking Thru You’, ‘Nowhere Man ‘ and ‘Think For Yourself ‘ are the weakest songs on the album for me.

I do like the use of the word “opaque” in ‘TFY’ however and the false start on the U.S. ‘I’m Looking Thru You’ is worth hunting down – or just look for take 4.

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30 May 2017
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Dark Overlord
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Interesting considering that Drive My Car and Nowhere Man are the 2 most popular songs on this album.

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31 May 2017
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QuarryMan
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I can’t stand Drive My Car . The music is great but the lyrics make me cringe. Seriously ‘I found a driver and thats a start?’

The annoying thing about Rubber Soul is that its best songs are incredible and one is my favorite ever but its worse are literally my 3 most hated Beatles songs, right up there with I Wanna Be Your Man . What a contrast.

I've been up on the mountain, and I've seen his wondrous grace,
I've sat there on the barstool and I've looked him in the face.
He seemed a little haggard, but it did not slow him down,
he was humming to the neon of the universal sound. 

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