He's a real nowhere man,
Sitting in his nowhere land,
Making all his nowhere plans, for nobody.
Doesn't have a point of view,
Knows not where he's going to,
Isn't he a bit like you and me?
Nowhere man, please listen,
You don't know what you're missing,
Nowhere man, the world is at your command.
He's as blind as he can be,
Just sees what he wants to see,
Nowhere man can you see me at all?
Nowhere man, don't worry,
Take your time, don't hurry,
Leave it all till somebody else lends you a hand.
Doesn't have a point of view,
Knows not where he's going to,
Isn't he a bit like you and me?
Nowhere man, please listen,
You don't know what you're missing,
Nowhere man, the world is at your command.
He's a real Nowhere man,
Sitting in his nowhere land,
Making all his nowhere plans, for nobody.
Making all his nowhere plans, for nobody.
Making all his nowhere plans, for nobody.
THE BEATLES: "Rubber Soul" LP. ORIGINAL UK PRESSING IN MONO, 3rd DECEMBER 1965.
PARLOPHONE: PMC 1267
MAITRIX; XEX 579 - 4 / XEX 580 - 4
EMI STAMPING CODES: GM 3* / GAP 3
*'4' was stamped and crossed out, '3' was either re-stamped underneath or perhaps both were stamped at the same time
and the mistaken '4' crossed out. I often find uncorrected mistaken digits on Beatles singles, EP's and LP's, my pictures
show both side's 9 O'clock digits. Including the maitrixes, all the information in the run-out grooves show this record was
definitely part of the original pressings made before the 3rd December 1965, release date. Anyone who seriously believes
one pressing batch was enough for the average selling LP titles, let alone a new mid-1960's mono Beatles album, is living in
a fantasy world.
THE TEXTURED LABELS HAVE:
PRINTING IS IN THE 'Times New Roman' FONT USED FOR EMI /PARLOPHONE'S 1965 - 1966 LP's .
"Sold In UK"
'Gramophone Co.Ltd.' ON THE RIMS.
'KT' IS EMBOSSED ON SIDE 2's LABEL.
ORIGINAL 1965 'Use Emitex' INNER SLEEVE, UNSPLIT, UNWORN AND BARELY USED, WITH ONLY MINOR AGEING
AND A GENTLE RECORD IMPRESSION, IN NEAR MINT CONDITION.
EXTREMELY RARE FIRST ISSUE 'E J Day' PRINTED MONO COVER, A LAMINATED FRONT WITH FLIPBACK EDGES.
PPRINTED ON THE BOTTOM RIGHT EDGE NEXT TO 'E J Day' CREDIT IS:
"Patents Pending" AND '12 LL'
('12' = December, I Have Never Understood How 'LL' Designated The Year - 1965.)
THE VAST MAJORITY OF 1965 FIRST ISSUE/ORIGINAL "Rubber Soul" MONO & STEREO COVERS WERE MADE BY
'Garrod & Lofthouse', WHO TOOK OVER THE 'E J Day' COMPANY IN THE SUMMER OF 1965.
This is not the usual ebay seller fairy stories, I always wondered why the "Help!" cover never had any covers made by
'E J Day' and while trading at record fairs in the early 1990's I met a former Garrod employee and he answered that
and many other questions I had about 60's Beatles covers. With the take-over in the summer of 1965, all trading for
'E J Day' was suspended and so "Help!" covers were exclusively printed by Garrod, once in control now 'E J Day' only
made small single pressing batch for the upcoming "Rubber Soul." Out of intesrest, that same policy was true for the
1966 "Revolver" & "A Collection Of Oldies." 'E J Day' were set to work almost exclusively for Polydor related labels,
and that was far reaching enough to leave Garrod to make virtually all the Beatles covers from "Rubber Soul."
Ebay has created a bizarre situation where any angle to sell a worn out Beatles record possible is sought after, those
who announce a 'mis-pressing/mis-spelling' due to a dot on a label, are really scraping the barrel. Virtually nothing
of any significance has been discovered since those early days of Beatles conventions we traded at back in the 1980's.
For all the re-treading of old ground and scouring labels and covers for dots or commas, I have held back on divulging
a really significant ommision on a first issue Beatles cover due to being fed up with vultures ripping off my descriptions.
Thyey have really missed something that would have upset EMI and makes an Apple logo two inches to the left, look as
minor and common as that is on "Abbey Road." I decided to reveal all today, when it magically appears on other Beatles
'experts' descriptions, you will know exactly who has is guilty of plagiarism.
Almost like a tradition that began in 1963, Beatles covers had Parlophone's circled '£' logo and like all registered logo's
they had accompanying legal text stating that was a 'Trade Mark.' With psychedelia in music and and art beginning, the
cover of "Rubber Soul" reflected both the era and Beatles intake of marijuana in the chose of the artwork. Paul revealed
in 'Anthology' how it happened, Bob Freeman showed them pictures he had taken in John's house, to get the prespective
he projected the slides onto a 12" cardboard square to simulate how they woud look on an album cover. Allowing them to
to choose one for "Rubber Soul," one of the slide's slipped back at an angle and elongated the image, the Beatles loved it
and shouted excitedly, "Can we have that one just like that?" The stretched images occupied most of the right side and
bottom left of the cover, leaving the logical and asthetically pleasing position for the album title's lettering, to fill the top
left corner. "Rubber Soul" now had fourcover 'first's', the first Beatles cover without their name on the front and also
the first time the boxed 'Parlophone' logo was moved from that top left cover to the bottom right corner. The third 'first'
was the circled '£' logo was not printed in yellow, but the same brown colour s the early psychedelic /'pop art' curvy
lettering of "Rubber Soul." The fourth 'first' fourth was not including 'Parlophone' lettering underneath the '£' logo, the
confined space in the botton right corner, this was the actual beginning of art taking priority over record company policy.
"Revolver" was next to benefit from this break with convention and from here none of the following Beatles front covers
had the EMI /Parlophone/ Apple logo's littering the artwork.
With the '£' logo in brown, it acted to make it inconspicuous and for all the examinations of ridiculous items on Beatles
covers and labels that are no bigger than a pin head. The above was directly tied into a major mistake.... but one only
made by the EDay printers, on all the Garrod printed 1965 covers, as well as all the following UK "Rubber Soul" covers
including into the 21st century, have this text printed underneath the '£' logo in that bottom right position.
"Trade Mark Of The Gramophone Co. Ltd."
When covers are unworn, you can see a faint outline around the lettering of a box, the text legally required to accompany
the Parlophone logo was completely left off on the EJDay covers only. I have sold more than my share of them over the
years and I can state the EJDay artwork or proof sheet was prepared with that mistakenly forgotten, you can clearly see
how it was assembled in two parts on the Garrod covers. Only the '£' logo was there and either it was ovelooked in 1965
or more likely seen but felt it was uneconomical to destroy the covers because the original full size boxed Parlophone logo
had been down sized to being really small. If you check the top left corners of say "Please Please Me" & "Help!" LP covers,
just how large the original 1963 logo had grown and was due to appear on "Rubber Soul." I have taken a close up picture
with a Garrod cover's bottom right corner overlapping this cover, I try to explain everything with text because it gives the
fuller story behind events like this, but that picture will clearly show how many dots etc. have been missed..... until now!
AFTER THAT LOT I HAD BETTER DESCRIBE THE COVER ITSELF IN DETAIL BELOW, AS A SUMMARY, A BARELY USED
AND LOVINGLY STORED, REALLY BEAUTIFUL COVER WITH ONLY A RECORD IMPRESSION AND MINOR STORAGE.
RARE OR NOT, I WILL GIVE THE STRICTEST POSSIBLE GRADING, EXCELLENT+++/ NEAR MINT CONDITION.
THE RECORD HAS ONLY BEEN PLAYED 5 /6 TIMES PER SIDE, EXCEPTIONALLY LOW FOR A MONO "Rubber Soul"
AND ULTRA CARE WAS TAKEN WITH HADLING AND THE STYLUS. A REALLY BEAUTIFUL, TOTALLY UNMARKED
RECORD WITH ABSOLUTELY STUNNING SOUND QUALITY, THE MANY ACOUSTIC TRACKS HAVE OUSTANDING
AUDIO CLARITY. MY GRADING WAVERS BETWEEN NEAR MINT AND MINT-, WHEN IT'S THAT CLOSE, AS USUAL
I OPTED FOR, NEAR MINT CONDITION.
SIDE 1
"Drive My Car"
"Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)"
"You Won't See Me"
"Nowhere Man"
"Think For Yourself"
"The Word"
"Michelle"
SIDE 2
"What Goes On"
"Girl"
"I'm Looking Through You"
"In My Life"
"Wait"
"If I Needed Someone"
"Run For Your Life"
John Lennon - vocals, acoustic & electric rhythm guitars & electric piano on "Think for Yourself"
Paul McCartney - vocals, bass, piano & guitars
George Harrison - vocals, lead guitar & sitar on "Norwegian Wood"
Ringo Starr - drums & lead vocals on "What Goes On"
Mal Evans – Hammond organ
George Martin piano on "In My Life" and harmonium on "The Word"
I am normally waiting to get to discussing the music, but I thoroughly enjoyed all the cover details, not just because revealing a
fact known thirty years ago among fellow Beatles fans is undocumented in say 'Record Collector', or heard of on ebay. Both are
too hung up about ficticious 'loud cuts' and '1st, 2nd, third, fourth pressings' etc, when in reality a new Beatles album was more
like the biggest scale of vinyl production and related printed items the world had ever seen. All that aside, I hope to have given
an insight into how the Beatles covers developed and how unique "Rubber Soul" was, I could actually write even more because
the UK colours were not deemed suitable for America, the Capitol cover was lightened and the brown LP title lettering changed
to a golden colour. The EJDay cover is much darker than Garrod's printing, as my close up picture shows, time to discuss music!
"Rubber Soul" was a milestone in the development of both the Beatles' musical creativity and for entering into the second half of
of the 1960's , even more so as a catalyst for what was to follow in that decade of wonders. Such fantastic sound textures with
deeply beautiful melodies enhanced by acoustic instruments would become the basis of all psychedelic music, first changes that
began such the most major change in direction for popular music ever know, affecting both the UK and the USA. The touch paper
had been lit, Brian Wilson was so strongly influenced in late 1965 /early 1966, he still regularly tells in interviews how he was
inspired by hearing "Rubber Soul," it spurred him on to producing his 1966 masterwork, "Pet Sounds." The Beatles had not made
an overnight progression, right from 1962 every Beatles LP, EP and single traces their astoundingly rapid progression from their
earliest influences, r&b/blues & rock & roll. Bob Dylan had encouraged folk music and more meaningful lyrics, ironically in 1965
Dylan was getting into more electric r&b music I just outlined, a cultral exchange between England & America was happening on a
scale nobody could have predicted, it just evolved with leading artists running on pure inspiration and following their instincts.
This was so rapid, only 1963 remained relatively stable, during 1964 and positively by 1965, the Beatles' songwriting centered
around anacoustic instrumental style, that in itself accounted for why they were now placing the fullest emphasis onto melodies
and beautiful sound textures. Even though two out of their last three albums were dominated by writing film soundtrack music,
newly written original songs on all three albums were favouring acoustic instruments backing intricate vocal harmonies, without
ever sacraficing their love of a 'shot of rhythym and blues.'
Guided by George Martin's production skills, unreserved encouragement and sympathetic ears, they were now gradually starting to
take command of the Abbey Road recording studio. Without such a gifted ability to create new songs, they could not have made the
album with such unique material. The recording sessions for "Rubber Soul" began in October 1965, their contracted two albums a
year schedule meant after "Help" this was getting very late in the year to start a new album from scratch without any new material
written yet. They had to come up with the entire album's songs without a single one left over from previous sessions, managing to
not only produce fourteen self written tracks and avoided performing any cover versions, they composed two further new songs for
the next scheduled 1965 single, "Day Tripper"/"We Can Work It Out." Not forgetting they had to fit in recording material for their
UK Fan Club annual Christmas record, I have recently fully detailed that for ebay. If you examine the Beatles tour schedule from
October and leading up to and including Christmas, add in TV, radio & media work, it was a monumental feat still unacknowledged
today. By that I mean the astonishing quality of those sixteen songs, plus it was certainly not a hurried or functionally produced
body of work, the greatest care possible went into the finished album, the Beatles had always been perfectionists about making
records, they were also backed up by EMI's sound engineers, who made certain the resulting stunning sound of the master tapes
was perfectly transferred onto vinyl. "Rubber Soul" is the most unique Beatles album, bridging two distinctive era's, from "Help"
to "Revolver", now was standing on the very threshold to psychedelia, but not with studio effects just yet, just beautiful melodies
and softer textures that were always leading into new concepts in the mid-60's. Up until then, album were just a loose collection
of usually dis-jointed and unconnecting songs, "Rubber Soul" went beyond that, unintentionally or not, it was an album with songs
that flowed so sweetly into each other,it became the creation a single entity.
This stunningly perfect pressing has that incredible sound achieved, although for the actual order or sequence, not the very first
made, like every latest Beatles LP and single, (EP's were losing their appeal by now) they were made in astronomical numbers
to meet the colossal demand on the issue date and the initial first few weeks of sales leading up to Christmas. It was not by any
means a coincidence EMI aimed their second album of the year's release. to fall during Novemberto December for very obvious
economic reasons. Now I enter an era that sadly "Rubber Soul" should never be dragged into, lies and deceit when there should
only be a celebration of the beautiful music in both original mono and stereo, in fact, even digital sound has an honesty that has
not been tainted by greed.
This record was positively pressed prior to the 3rd December 1965 release, normally that detail would suffice, first here are the
reasons that conclusively place this in a British record shop on the above date. The labels are printed with all the lettering in the
same 1965 type face as found on the August 1965 "Help" LP, the "Sold In UK" text is in the tiniest lettering size ever used by EMI.
I have to once again firmly dismiss the completely mistaken tag placed onto the first pressing with maitrix digits ending '- 1 /-1'.
Add in the conclusively very first issue 'Earnest .J. Day' printed mono cover, everything associated with this album is from 1965.
That has inncorrectly and outrageously inherited the ridiculous 'loud cut' title, thanks to an unbelelievable term in the UK's main
Price Guide. (Record Collector). In fact the last copy of "Rubber Soul" I sold on ebay was a superb Mint- one, for that and several
other copies placed on ebay, even for on my own sales I have given my strongest possible disclaimer to that nonsense. I was not
prepared to use a descriptive term that is totally untrue about a much loved really major Beatles record in order to attract higher
bids. Unfortunately few who sell Beatles records regularly care less about the music, they blindly, well more deafly, pronounce
a record has a 'loud cut' without even bothering to find out or personally verify if is true. It's now become accepted in the same
way as the children's fable,"The Emperor's Invisible Clothes." Surely someone who bough a copy found it was no louder than any
other of the 1960's mono originals? As someone once said, 'nothing is real', every Beatles first pressing is very special indeed
but the '-1 / -1' pressing and any one of the other originals have exactly the same precise George Martin mono mix, as intended
to give maximum power to balancing out the vocals and instruments. The volume levels are exactly the same! Not only for every
UK Mono"Rubber Soul", but on for the 1960's stereo records, how convenient nobody claimed that, then the maitrix digits did not
need to have batch rises due to so few being made. Play any Beatles record against a '66 original then you will hear a 'loud cut'!
I can only continue being the only record seller who refuses to tell lies, if people choose to believe in myths than fair enough, but
if you just want to hear "Rubber Soul" in all it's original 1965 mono glory, the condition of the record is absolutely vital, not the
machine stamped digits.
This record does indeed hold that staggering sound, just as loud as they all are, a fantastic '-4 /-4' pressing that brings me full
circle to where I first came in, the music on "Rubber Soul". As a 12 years kid smitten by hearing the latest Beatles album, this
is a staggering playing example of the true mix /sound of an original UK mono, "Rubber Soul".
Both labels are in pristine unblemished condition with untarnished ultra bright silver printing on the titles & credits, unscuffed
lettering for "Parlophone" and their'£' logo, they are an unfaded deep yellow colour. The printing type face or font was unique
to deep into the second half of 1965 and on into 1966, by the time of "Revolver" EMI reverted to standard printing until right at
the end of the year. In Beatles terms or by album titles, the first pressings only of "A Collection Of Oldies" re-inherited Roman
font printing, to become the last ever Beatles record with that. You will of course read all manner of contradictory claims being
made on ebay, facts are facts and major details pertaining to covers and more importantly, inner sleeves come into play. Also
by the August 1966 release of "Revolver", EMI changed the "Use Emitex" tracing paper lined inners for the plain white curved
edges types. These labels have "Sold In UK" is in exceptionally tiny lettering," "The Gramophone Co. Ltd." was introduced just
a few months ago on the "Help" album, that is obviously on the rims, completing the details of a late 1965 pressing.
Spindle use traces are showing this record has only been played four/seven times, for this 44 year old Beatles original pressing
that is is sensationally low, particularly for a mono record in the mid-60's. Especially low for such a mega heavyweight record,
this is a real stunner, the gleaming, deeply glossy mint sheen is unspoilt by any marks on either side. I was pleasantly suprised
to find no playing/ handling traces, I refuse to subject stunning vinyl to floodlit conditions, especially when the entire record
has absolutely stunning sound quality. Like so many labels with textured labels, one side has tiny little spoke line paper lines
radiating from the centre hole from the pressing process that included punching out the centre hole. That was always done after
the labels were fixed and often a slightly dome shape on one side and a lower, flatter centre is found from the same process.
Often stated as being 'contract records. but every one made will differe even from the one made immediately before and after
this , another reason why all that nonsense about '1st, 2nd, third, fourth pressings' always was and always will be used to sell
poor condition records and covers. This is a really beautiful looking record that thorougly deserves a Near Mint grading, and
even then, with a totally unmarked, as new record with perfect sound, I hesitated over Mint-, because that was also deserved!
As a quick summary of the overall sound quality, every track has the most perfect, crystal clear audio definition imaginable and
like all the 1960's UK Beatles singles, EP's and LP's, extremely loud and powerful indeed, enough said on that one! Like on every
pressing from 1965 - 1969, the only track that has positively had some minor in-built pressing static/surface sound is "Michelle."
It was corrected on "A Collection Of Oldies" but it is still rare to find a stereo or mono first pressing of "Oldies" perfectly clean, I
sold a stunning stereo first pressing that was lasyt year,I always tell it exactly how it happened because I do not see the point
of glossing over the plain truth, EMI only very rarely produced tracks with surface sound but they were not infallible or immune
to human error. Any other absolutely minimal, miniscule surface sound is so minor, I do not hesitate saying this records one of
the finest first/ original pressings I have been privileged to hear. Acoustic music is always prone to natural static and I never
pretend otherwise, however, the music has it's natural razor sharp edge, with the music signals at their fullest strength. As you
might have noticed just now with my firm refusal to buckle under pressure from other sellers or text books,"Rubber Soul"always
was a very special Beatles album to me, with some of my all time favourite songs. They are all acoustic based recordings with the
minimal instrumental backing, leaving them completely vulnerable to having excessive needle noise.
Those much loved tracks include, "Norwegian Wood", "Girl", "Nowhere Man" and "In My Life" etc. so I am very easily offended by
hearing them below the staggering audio standard of sound reproduction EMI pressed them with. That's why over the years I have
rejected more great looking, but poor playing original "Rubber Soul" LP's, from being good enough to sell, than any other Beatles
album. I can only repeat how a blunt 60's mono needle was very common, undetectable visually, but just one play was enought to
cause horrific damage to the precious music signals that blunt subs unmercilly ploughed through, more like chalk on a blackboard
to my ears. My same simple way of approaching every record I sell applies here, either"Rubber Soul" blows me away or it is not
worthy enough to recommend.
Side 1's run-in grooves are silent and ultra smooth without any crackles or clicks and any low level static is not audible before
the massive impact of power and audio sharpness of the UK mono mix, is heard on the intro for the opening track "Drive My Car".
Paul's superb bass guitar lines are very prominent, the percussion was a major part of this track, sounding amazingly crisp and in
the 'real to life' authenticity analogue sound really delivers. It amuses to think this staggering in-built volume could be in anyway
thought to be less than another pressing. I am afraid financial gain by claiming UK Beatles labels, covers and the one I find the
most apalling of all, the sound itself, will long continue to be used to entice collectors. I know my records will perform exactly
as it 'says on the tin,' because I am not influenced or swayed by stamped digits, when I find I have bought a record with inferior
or substandard sound reproduction, unless a major rarity, which few Beatles LP's are, I am fully prepared to accept it can never
be re-sold, regardless of the visual appearance. The superb vocals ring out in perfectly defined audio, with the piano played by
Paul pushed way up in the mix. This is indeed George Martin's mono mix being heard and enjoyed in all it's glory, this incredible
opening track has a very strong r&b rhythm, the "beep beep" backing vocals are stunningly clear, a wonderful pressing like this
is not about volume alone, it places listeners in No.2 Studio, Abbey Road in 1965. In close up detail you can hear every single
individual part of this song, or you can just let a colossal impact submerge you in the audio magic of The Beatles, I enjoy a bit of
both! The ending fades into a totally silent gap, no crackles or static,I always include any natural static but there's nothing and
I am straining my ears to check because this is one of those deeply tracks starting. Miraculously it means John's single acoustic
guitar intro to his beautiful "Norwegian Wood", is heard in superbly clean and clear sound. There simply is no actual static or
surface/needle sound, George Harrison's sitar is in pristine audio and John Lennon's incredible vocal has a real cutting edge to
it, add the powerful mono mix into the equation and this wondeful melody is just staggering to hear! If anyone reading this has
ever tried to play a record for sound grading, they will understand the strange paradox of hearing such amazing sounding music,
yet trying to ignore magnificent audio, instead straining your ears for the slightest hint....a record is producing such fantastic
sound quality. I'm used to but it does seem quite bizzare on "Norwegian Wood" while this is plays with sheer audio perfection!
When a record lacks the common noise or irritations and has such astounding sound as this stunning record, I get to thoroughly
enjoy my most loved Beatles songs. A major reason for being so objective and obsessed with finding perfection on original vinyl,
the final note of the sitar fades away naturally into near enough silent grooves, before Paul's outstanding "You Won't See Me"
begins with an ultra clean intro. I describe exactly what I am hearing and this happens to be an amazing record, another superb
track in maximum sound quality, the backing harmonised "la-la-la-la" after the lines in the verses are as crystal clear as Paul's
brilliant lead vocals are. As well as standard guitars, the instruments include a piano and a Hammond organ, on worn out vinyl,
they become the victims of deteriorating sound. Not here! They are heard with their original full strength signals, still with the
natural edge undulled from heavy plays. The fade-out is perfectly clear of any needle sound so another smooth as silk gap gives
a wonderfully clean intro to the sublime "Nowhere Man", as I said, this is some record! A stunning and deeply beautiful acapella
or vocals only intro, and from the first seconds to the last, this has just awesome sound, mega sharp definition on the vocals for
this song is the ultimate way to hear it, without one second of any static or surface sound. A very emphatic powerful mono mix
tends to magnify one of, if not the John Lennon's greatest ever melodic vocal performances. John had introduced his personal
experiences into songs, giving him additional inspiration for his writing beautiful melodies and challenging lyrics. I am trying
to write an informative but concise description with sound quality the priority, or I indulge my fanatical love of discussing the
recording sessions and out-takes etc. So far so good, I cannot avoid the superlatives for such a famtastic record, the backing
harmonies are just breathtaking! Complete silence in the gap also waits for the intro to the first of the two great songs George
Harrison contributed, "Think For Yourself ". Once again heard with the same stunning audio sharpness, with George's 'fuzzed'
lead guitar in the clearest and cleanest audio, if you listen closely there's a very clever piece of percussion, just a little detail
now and again is impossible to avoid. After the verses, a shuffling drum part is closely followed by four beats on a tambourine.
This record really is That Sharp! The mono sound on an unworn 1965 pressing is sensational! Absolutely silent grooves run
into a perfectly clean intro to "The Word", one of the last songs written as time was running out, these are very mature lyrics,
not that far from the 1967 message of, "All You Need Is Love", the sheer clarity on the George Martin played harmonium is a
the ideal indication of how capable this1965 record is of such immaculate sound reproduction. Their vocals are astonishingly
projected in the mono mix, reinforcing how these music signals are the equivilent of a just pressed record. Please bear in mind
how every second of this first side has been as perfect as you could wish to hear as we approach the last track. It requires such
a stunning record to validate previously made comments about static /surface on the same track of every pressing ever made.
"Think For Yourself" fades into a near silent/silent gap, a single acoustic guitar intro to Paul's very atmospheric "Michelle" is
exceptionally clear but instantly I hear the same low level static there in 1965. There is in fact very little surface sound or as
static found on "Michelle", but I insist on including the most minor surface sound, while stressing how it is minor and background
as I have found on every original/first pressing, it varies in degree and this is really minimal. Eveything musically is in the same
stunning audio sharpness, I am trying to keep a distance from the term, 'first pressing' and it such a shame we have a contorted
view of an otherwise uncomplicated Beatles pressing. Static or not, a great sounding "Michelle", now to try and keep Side 2 down
to the same reasonably minimal amount of text after my extended headings!
Side 2's opening grooves are once again near silent, with barely any natural static before "What Goes On" powerfully kicks in so
forcefully to make a real impact. This is Ringo's turn to sing the lead vocals, the Beatles were very fond of always providing him
one track on every album to feature as the lead vocalist, that also happened in concert and what better than having John, Paul and
George singing the backing vocals! The instruments are exceptionally clear,with Ringo's lead and backing vocals in perfect sound
quality, electric instruments here but the subtle arrangement finds John's rhythm guitar pushed up front and louder than George's
lead. Such is the clarity all their guitars ring out with really outstanding sound, George's solo now commands all that volume as
John eases back, the Beatles guitar playng ability never stood still, they were still young enought to be maturing as musicians in
1965. Starting from an absolutely silent track gap, I will repeat that, a silent gap before my personal choice as "Rubber Soul's"
most outstanding track,"Girl", if the had Beatles split up in 1965 this would have been greatness acheived, but the story was far
from over yet. This is the toughest track for needle noise, ironically much more exposed than "Michelle," but this plays without
any form of audible surface or needle sound at all, any 'way off in the background static' is much too faint to register and natural
to vinyl, I am only stating the obvious for a superb, magnificently clean sounding "Girl." The gentleness is unspoilt by anything,
and that is allowing those beautiful backing harmonies to John Lennon's most stunning lead vocals, to be fully enjoyed in nothing
less than staggering sound quality. John takes a long intake of breath between the verses and as he sighs very deeply, the audio
definition on that really quiet sound is immaculate audio perfection. The simple, but very effective instrumental backing is very
pronounced and to be so crystal clear, has nothing to do with outrageous claims for a 'loud cut'! This most certainly is one hell of
a powerful playing track, then so is every UK original pressing of "Rubber Soul" in mono and stereo! This is Master Tape sound,
in a purity that defies the age of the 1965 analog recording, to master that onto vinyl is a part of the legend of both The Beatles
and the decade it originated from. A 'Golden Era' that produced 'Golden Music' makes sense to me, as I was saying before, those
who invent such lies about records, now being perpetuated by ebaysellers, do not even vaguely appreciate the true magic of this
monumental LP. I do not set out to upset other sellers, but I care passionately about the music I have loved all my life, I can't
and won't play their stupid games with something as sacred and precious as a Beatles album, this is the beautiful "Girl" not stamp
collecting! The Greek sound from the acoustic guitar was Paul's idea after returning from a recent holiday in Greece. "Girl" fades
into those problem free, ultra smooth gaps, then an ultra clean acoustic guitar intro to "I'm Looking Through You", in comes the
very powerful sound of the percussion, extraordinary audio clarity leaves me struggling to say how even the simplest tambourine
rings out, is unbelievable, Paul's vocals are superbly clear and so is the piano played by George Martin. This track is the perfect
example of how effective mono actualy is. The true greats just keep coming,"In My Life" starts from near silent linking grooves,
I am usually fed up mentioning the parts without music by now, but this is "Rubber Soul" and absolutely essential details for any
potential next owner. The sharpness makes the vocals a joy to hear and experience, a beautiful melody, but this has wonderful
sentiments expressed in the lyrics, John's vocal delivery is once more him at his most inspired, the melodic tone in his voice is
particularly heard when he hits that last really high note. With George Martin emphasing this melody with his exquisite piano,
yet another reason this album became a major stepping stone to the next year's "Revolver". The Beatles could have successfully
stayed at this amazing level of recording, but they were now on a roller coaster ride, which would lead to staggering records over
the next few years. "Wait" maintains the superb top quality audio, particularly with the vocal harmonies in the extremely sharp
sound this record was pressed with. The pleasure of hearing these amazing tracks without someone else's wear is why I insist on
patiently waiting until audio perfection like this emerges from among the usual worn out originals. Ringo's percussion rings out
in true life sound, the interchange between Paul and John's vocals created a very special song, then the gap as smooth as silk into
George's second great composition ,"If I Needed Someone", now equal to Lennon & McCartney's songwriting, George's lead guitar
is just as superb as the delightful vocal harmonies. Another wonderful melody given a stunning production, the vocal arrangement
was ofmaximum importance, the sheer quality of the audio enhances the glorious mono mix. So many great songs and to end this
side and the album, a reallystrong electric guitar riff punches out the intro to "Run For Your Life." John may have later on voiced
a dislike for the lyrics during his time with Yoko and a better understanding of femenine rights, but his vocal was as great as any
of the tracks on "Rubber Soul". He was unhappy about sympathies the threatening lyrics, his upbringing in 1950's North England,
was during a time when men adopted a different attitude to women, the interviews were made with John's more enlightened views
after meeting Yoko. The melody is as superb, once more the combination of the three guitarists created a distinctive sound of the
Beatles in full flight, a great rhythm developed with Ringo's percusion pushing the tempo along. The sheer clarty here reflects on
how this immaculate record presented the most exposed acoustic tracks so cleanly but also powered out r&B performances like,
"Run For Your Life" and "Drive My Car," a wonderful all round listening experience.
In spite of the mono format dominating, these first issue 'E J Day' mono covers were only had one printing batch made in such small
amounts, few are left in anything better than Very Good condition. This is one of the rarest Beatles first issue LP covers and I am
not refering to the ommision of the legally required text "Trade Mark Of The Gramophone Co. Ltd.", but about how few were made.
They were strictly pre-release printed, the fact this record was positively in the cover when bought at the beginning of December
1965 does make nonsense about the 'first pressing' scenario so many accept as gospel. This LP was bought as part of a collection
of hardly played and lovingly stored from new and I can safely say even the inner sleeve is the one it left EMI's pressing plant in.
The colours of the front artwork look stunning with their darker colour tones unfaded, my pictures show how glossy the laminate
is, everything connected to 'E J Day' "Rubber Soul"covers differs in some way, the laminate is not as 'smooth' as found on Garrod
covers, a slight glazing effect that works superbly with that stretched picture, amazing how many Beatles innovations happened
by chance and they seized on something different. All I have to mention here is an expected impression from this massively thick
and heavyweight record, but no creases or thumb held laminate crescents, just the merest storage and light handling way back in
1965, the last time it was played before I did today.
The spine is completely different, it has a unique and distinctive shape, with heavy use of the record, this becomes sqaushed flat
and as rarely seen as clearly as hardly used cover. The shape slants from either side into a central position, leaving the printed
central titlealmost visible when the cover is laying flat in front of you. The background has an unaged, unyellowed pure white
colour to 100% perfect black titles. The laminate is unworn and so they are perfectly preserved, my pictures will demonstrate
how superb that is.
The top left corner/ spine tip has very minor and small wear, the bottom left/spine tip is near perfect, amazing for the standing
tip of the spine. Top right is also near perfect, the bottom right is unworn and perfectly square shaped with a factory laminate
finish. The extra thick laminate was tightly wrapped around the sloping corners and a small section on the bottom right did not
stick,I detail all in front of me but I also differentiate from storage, wear or hanndling to a printer's finish.
Both opening edges are also in superb condition, with very crisp, sharp, unfrayed cardbord, the top and bottom edges are also
unworn and superbly strong.
Even the back panel has a different texture to the Garrod covers, open grained and more of an of-white colour, not that I am
avoiding saying there is minimal ageing, but so minimal I am being over critical because of the textured top surface itself.
All the printing including the eight Beatles photo's is unscuffed and unworn, the record impression has not caused ring wear,
just a gentle slope near the bottom left of the placement inside. For a mid-60's cover I am stating the obvious because there
is no actual wear to detail except the tip of the spine. The flipback edges are in near perfect condition, the unique 'E J Day'
wider and thicker vertical flipback next to the spine, helped keep the spine in such astonishing condition. A really beautiful
cover with minimal traits of storage.
The original 1965 "Use Emitex" inner sleeve is also in superb condition, apart from minor ageing and the expected but gentle
record shape impression of course.
{Roy}
R & M RECORDS.
My lifetime's love of music and records began at a very young age, the arrival of
the Beatles and the 1960's decade in general had a very profound effect. It was
only natural to bring that first hand experience of collecting vinyl into becoming
a professional record seller. Around twenty five years ago we entered into the
wonderful atmosphere of record fairs with the highest possible standards set for
the records offered for sale. The Internet became the world's new market place
for vinyl, in 2001 it was time to join ebay. The same strict selective policy was
rigidly adhered to as it will always continue to be, the basics of honesty and
integrity were very much part of the era the music I love originated in, so here
is our friendly and very efficient service we are proud to provide;
We take 100% responsibility after an item has been posted and offer our fullest
support in the event of any problems.
"There Are No Problems, Only Solutions" (John Lennon)
My descriptions will always be 100% honest and totally accurate on all gradings
from 'V.G.' (Very Good), to the ultimate 'Mint' condition.
Any questions about our items are welcomed and will be promptly replied to.
We are fully experienced at shipping worldwide and no effort is spared to protect
records and covers etc. We welcome bidders from any country in the world.
All the records are removed from original covers/sleeves and placed into new
protective card sleeves and then into new, heavyweight plastic outer sleeves.
The greatest attention is given to making packaging extremely strong & secure.
Every possible effort is made to ensure a safe delivery and we only use the very
best quality packaging materials, the cost of an item is immaterial,every record
is treated exactly the same, they are all equally precious.
We do not treat postage as a money making project, postage charges are less than
the cost to us, using only professionally packed boxes with substantial protective
packaging, which, does weigh a little extra.
Under Paypal and Ebay guidelines, all records will be sent via a fully insured and
trackable, signed for service.
In The UK, Records Up To The Value Of £39 Will Be Sent 'RECORDED DELIVERY,'
Over £39 Will Be Sent, 'SPECIAL DELIVERY'.
The Rest Of The World Will Be Sent Via 'INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR.'
POSTAGE COST FOR LP'S:
UK:UP TO VALUE Of £39,FIRST CLASS UNINSURED (NOT RECOMMENDED): FREE
UK: UP TO VALUE OF £39, FIRST CLASS RECORDED DELIVERY: £4.00
UK: OVER VALUE OF £39, FULLY INSURED SPECIAL DELIVERY: £7.00
EUROPE: FULLY INSURED VIA INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR: £11.00
FOR THE USA, JAPAN AND THE REST OF THE WORLD FULLY INSURED,
VIA INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR: £16.00
POSTAGE COST FOR EP's & 7"
FOR THE UK:
UP TO THE VALUE OF £39 FIRST CLASS UNINSURED (NOT RECOMMENDED) FREE
UP TO THE VALUE OF £39 FIRST CLASS RECORDED DELIVERY: £2.00
OVER THE VALUE OF £39 FULLY INSURED SPECIAL DELIVERY: £5.00
FOR EUROPE: AIR MAIL VIA INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR: £7.00
USA, JAPAN ETC. AIRMAIL VIA INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR: £8.00
PAYMENT DETAILS.
WE WILL SEND ALL WINNING BIDDERS AN INVOICE WITH THE FULL
PAYMENT AND POSTAL DETAILS, AS NEAR TO AN AUCTION ENDING
AS POSSIBLE, THEN SHIP AS SOON AS IT IS PHYSICALLY POSSIBLE.
OUR AIM IS TO MAKE YOUR PURCHASE SMOOTH AND TROUBLE FREE.
FOR UK BUYERS;
WE ACCEPT: PAYPAL, CHEQUES, POSTAL ORDERS & BANK WIRES.
FOR OVERSEAS BUYERS;
WE ACCEPT: PAYPAL, INTERNATIONAL MONEY ORDERS IN POUNDS
STERLING ONLY, OR BANK TO BANK WIRE TRANSFERS.
WE WILL NOT MAKE FALSE STATEMENTS ON CUSTOMS DECLARATIONS
FORMS AND WILL ALWAYS CONDUCT ALL OF OUR BUSINESS WITH THE
SAME TOTAL HONESTY OUR ITEMS ARE DESCRIBED AS.
AS MUCH AS WE SYMPATHISE WITH THE WAY SOME COUNTRIES CHARGE
SUCH HEAVY IMPORT DUTIES, WE WILL NOT LIE.
― scott seward, Sunday, 28 February 2010 21:49 (fourteen years ago) link
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