“On a personal creative level, it’s how we got to Random Access Memories”: Thomas Bangalter on Daft Punk’s Tron: Legacy scoreBefore their official retirement in 2021, Daft Punk were known for their mysterious presentation as much as they were for their unmatched electronic hooks. The two members, Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, practically never showed their faces in public. When they accepted their Album of the Year Grammy in 2014 for Random Access Memories, they donned their iconic robot helmets.

Well, during a new interview on the A24 podcast, Bangalter admits that until that album, their creative process was just as shrouded. It took them engaging with the vast collaborative process of writing for an 85-piece orchestra on Tron: Legacy to open things up.
“Before Tron, all the music we had made was just the two of us in my bedroom, and on a very super intimate level, not letting anyone in the process, even until it’s mastered,” Bangalter says. “The benefit of the Tron score, on a very personal creative level, was how we got from Tron to Random Access Memories.”

READ MORE: Daft Punk’s Thomas Bangalter admits that scoring Tron: Legacy was at times “depressing” and “limiting”

The proof is in the pudding in terms of how collaboration influenced Random Access Memories. While all three previous Daft Punk albums were completely without features, the final album had a star-studded cast including Pharrell Williams, Julian Casablancas, Panda Bear, and even fellow pioneer of electronic music Giorgio Moroder.
Bangalter and de Homem-Christo were actually working on Random Access Memories before Tron: Legacy, but they were initially unhappy with the demos. Scoring a movie and seeing how numerous musicians could contribute to a larger whole expanded their vision for the album.
“Tron was this kind of collaborative process… film work,” says Bangalter. “That’s what Random Access Memories was – I really consider that Random Access Memories was like a film without cameras, basically the entire process of it. And somehow, at the same time, Tron happened in the middle of this process.”
“After the Tron thing, there were all these demos, and we were like ‘OK – maybe we can go to LA and have these amazing session musicians turn it into something.”
Thomas Bangalter’s new ballet soundtrack, Mirage – Ballet for 16 Dancers, is out now.

The post “On a personal creative level, it’s how we got to Random Access Memories”: Thomas Bangalter on Daft Punk’s Tron: Legacy score appeared first on MusicTech.

Flame Sound Analogue Drums ($39 value) is FREE for BPB readers until Sunday
Flame Sound is offering Analogue Drums, a $39 collection of analog drum machine samples, as a free download for BPB readers until Sunday, August 2nd (23:59 CEST). Yesterday, I released VATRA, the first Flame Sound plugin, and it’s been a huge deal for me after almost two years of development. To celebrate VATRA finally being [...]
View post: Flame Sound Analogue Drums ($39 value) is FREE for BPB readers until Sunday

UVI Rumble complements your most trusted synths, but should it do more?Rumble is a bold new member of the prestigious UVI family of software synthesizers. The French developer is known for its flagship synth plugin Falcon and an impressive range of sample-based instruments, analogue-modelling synths, and effects. Rumble is a brave new venture into a multiband synthesis concept inspired by modern production workflows.

READ MORE: Arturia Pigments 7 review: “Almost a no-brainer at $199”

The design cleverly uses Rumble’s three sound layers across the frequency spectrum with two adjustable band splits dividing the lows, mids, and highs. This allows you to build complex, composite sounds, with the flexibility to reshape the individual layers and expand each one across the entire spectrum, depending on what suits your production.
Created with ex-Native Instruments designer Efflam Le Bivic, Rumble looks both intriguing and somehow familiar at the same time, with intelligent use of symbols and superb attention to detail. Once you move on past its dashing good looks, Rumble is a creative instrument that is refreshing to use, and although it can sound like it in a few moves, it’s not trying to be vintage in any way.

The Rumble in the…
Because Rumble’s workflow revolves around switching between its three layers, it makes sense that all controls are accessible in a single-screen interface. This is achieved in fine style, and as you move from one band to the next, the respective Oscillator, Shaper, and FX sections change to reflect the settings of the body, character, or air band you’ve selected.
As you work your way through the patch library’s 10 distinctive categories, a simple workflow becomes apparent that allows you to mute the bands you don’t require as you populate your track with sounds. Automation is made easy, with the patch-specific macro controls that range from basic filtering and effects sends to complete timbre transformation.
Before you dive into more advanced editing of the individual layers, you can set the two crossover points, choose between eight different multiband compression modes, and adjust a four-band EQ. The EQ follows the same production-friendly workflow, letting you treat and shape the entire sound with the purpose of fitting it into your mix. Each band can also be soloed, so you can focus on the finer details of the layer before hearing it in context.
There is a wide range of sound generation and shaping tools, including nine different oscillator modes ranging from virtual analogue and samples to kick drum membrane modeling, wavetable, and FM engines. Then, there are 10 shaping modes, with various clipping, wavefolding, and ring modulation algorithms, as well as a global dual-filter section with six filter types.
Meanwhile, a choice of ten different effects can be applied on a global or per-layer basis, which means you can use one effect for each band or a chain of three effects over the entire sound. Each of these macro effects processors is also linked to a separate feedback loop, which gives it the ability to self-resonate, which is ideal for creating tonally rich distortion effects.
Presets. Image: Press
UVI Rumble’s deep, dark underbelly
When you peruse Rumble’s modulation controls for the first time, the interface actually resembles a household synth plugin like Pigments and presents a vast array of ways to manipulate the various parameters. To design the way your MIDI keyboard interacts with Rumble, the velocity and keyboard tracking features can be mapped with nodes on a graph. This allows you to orchestrate the sound around your performance approach, which appears useful for commercial music or motion picture scoring.
For detailed shaping, three envelopes have curve controls for the attack, decay, and release parameters, and there is a one-shot mode for drum synthesis applications. In addition, there are four basic LFOs with individual routing and a quad LFO mod source that uses the sum of all four LFOs. Then, there are two multi-segment envelopes with a range of preset shapes and patterns, and the ability to save and recall your own custom settings. There are also three random generators with three operating modes, an analogue drift module, and an extensive mod matrix that gives you a complete overview of all your modulation routings.
While Rumble’s modulation section sounds intimidating, it’s actually really easy to find your way around. As you click and hold on a mod source, the interface lights up with all the potential destinations, which is both a practical and aesthetically pleasing touch. Also, if you don’t want to move past basic envelope shaping, more complex modulation sections are conveniently hidden from view, which avoids confusion, and the modulation panel can be collapsed for a streamlined look.
Rumble’s powerful sound creation platform is not particularly resource-economical, however, and I struggle to run it smoothly on an M2 MacBook Air with 8GB RAM. Regardless of what spec UVI states as the minimum, I recommend running an Apple Silicon MacBook Pro with at least 16GB RAM, or you simply won’t enjoy the experience, as there will be latency at every turn, and loading patches will become laggy.
Modulation. Image: Press
Can UVI Rumble replace your favourite synth?
Releasing a synth plugin that is intended to be used monophonically for the most part is an incredibly brave move, but the UVI sound design team has really done itself proud, with a phenomenal sound library that can inspire you in so many creative directions. However, Rumble’s adaptability and polyphonic mode allow you to use it for so much more than just leads and bass.
Rumble has an incredibly producer-centric workflow, but it also offers far more sound design potential than most plugins marketed as bass synths. The multiband approach has been executed to perfection, with just the right parameters available on a per-layer and global basis, providing an impressive balance of micro and broad spectrum sound manipulation.
Rumble has been created for the workflows of producers in modern EDM and commercial music genres, but the flexibility of the multiband platform allows you to turn a lead into a pad in a few clicks. One could argue that it lacks extensive effects racks and sequencers like Pigments or Serum, but this would alter the cohesive single-screen interface, turning Rumble into something else.
As amazing as Rumble is as an instrument, its $199 price tag does let it down, because it simply isn’t in the same league as Arturia Pigments, which is already a well-established part of our musical landscape.
If UVI had made Rumble just $50 cheaper, it would have made it an exciting new prospect. However, as things stand, it remains a complement to the mainstay synth plugins like Omnisphere, Serum, and Pigments, rather than a complete replacement.

Key features

AU, AAX, VST3, standalone. NKS compatible.
3-band synthesis engine
9 different Oscillator Modes
Dual filter section with 6 filter types
Preset library with 500 patches
Per-band waveshaping with 10 shaping modes and 10 effect types
Deep modulation
Multiband compression and EQ

The post UVI Rumble complements your most trusted synths, but should it do more? appeared first on MusicTech.

I tested five of the best kick drum plugins in 2026 — here’s which one you should buyThe kick drum is a crucial element in many modern genres, especially in electronic and dance music. It creates the foundation around which the rest of the track can groove, so it’s important to get it right. You could just pick a decent-sounding kick sample and be done, but to get the best results, you’ll probably want to refine your kick to make sure it fits perfectly with the other elements in the track, especially the bass. You could use the tools in your DAW to get meticulous with your 808s and 909s, but for quicker, deeper results, a kick plugin can be a worthy investment.
I’ve tested five kick drum instrument plugins that give you fine control over the transient clicks, the low-mid punch, and the sub-heavy tails. They use a mix of synthesis and sample playback to create powerful-sounding hits that can slot neatly into your mixes. There are a range of prices and tools on offer, the usefulness of which will depend on your genre and workflow.
Best kick drum plugins at a glance:

Best overall kick drum plugin: Sonic Academy – Kick 3
Best kick drum plugin for precise editing: Audija – KickDrum
Best kick plugin for sound design: The Him DSP – Kick Ninja
Best value kick drums: F9 Audio KiCK! – Argon Drums v1.5
Best kick drum plugin for analogue and experimental: d16 – PunchBox 2

During testing, I find the import functions on both Kick 3 and Kick Ninja to be most effective; I have worse results with KickDrum as the import requires more editing and doesn’t match the original quite so closely. Of all the node-based instruments, Kick 3 is the most intuitive to edit, but all of them can create powerful and punchy-sounding kicks, and the added node modulation options in Kick Ninja and KickDrum lend them a touch more precision.
If you want a quick and cheap solution, the F9’s KiCK sounds great and will integrate easily into your setup. And if you can stretch a little further, then PunchBox 2 feels more like a deep creative instrument that sounds more analogue and alive.
Best overall kick drum plugin: Sonic Academy – Kick 3
£63.96, sonicacademy.com

 
Version 3 of Sonic Academy’s Kick plugin brings some fantastic new features to an already excellent kick drum plugin. It includes five layers of synthesised sub or sample playback, with fine control over the pitch and amp curves. New linear and logarithmic views help make editing more precise, alongside useful features such as phase locking nodes, and the ability to pitch track just the sub tails. This means the attack portion can remain consistent, whilst the sub can change pitch; a useful feature for moving 808 kick basslines.
Elsewhere, the import feature lets you analyse any kick from a full track and then create a preset version for further tweaking. There’s also flexible harmonics generation with its own curve, a revamped effects section with a broad range of excellent effects, and a Trigger mode for replacing or augmenting kicks in your productions.
Kick 3 is a strong all-rounder that’s feature-packed with a vast number of presets, and it’s already seen a handful of updates since its release that have added new features and effects.
PROS

High-quality kick sounds with a broad preset collection
New programming features refine the editing process
AI import works well and lets you edit any kick in detail
Superb new effects section expands the sonic capabilities

CONS

Limited modulation options
A few missed opportunities
Macros limited to one effects control each

Read our full review of the Kick 3 here. Check the latest deals for Sonic Academy Kick 3
Best kick plugin for sound design: The Him DSP – Kick Ninja
£59.99, pluginboutique.com

Kick Ninja is developed by EDM DJ/Producer The Him, and offers plenty of control for crafting the perfect kick. It includes a flexible anti-aliasing oscillator that blends a pure sine wave with a selectable waveform and harmonic oscillator. Alongside this, it has three sample layers with automatable pitch, amp and high-pass/low-pass filter envelopes. In fact there are a total of 28 different envelopes for various parameters that can be controlled over time, opening up options for crafting evolving kicks and basses.
Elsewhere there’s an oversampled effects section with two distortion modules, filters and a compressor. Again, this one has an AI import feature, but this time you can choose whether the original sample is layered on top of the sub, provided with a filter for further tweaking, or whether it just uses the attack portion to retain the original transient. It does an impressive job that’s on par with Kick 3.
PROS

70 presets
28 envelopes allow for broad expression and sound design
AI import function works very well
Can edit kicks in fine detail
Good sounding distortion and filters

CONS

Would be nice if there were more creative effects
Somewhat limited presets
GUI feels a little cluttered

Check the latest deals for The Him’s Kick Ninja. 
Best value kick drums: F9 Audio KiCK! – Argon Drums v1.5
£29.50, f9-audio.com

KiCK! is a slightly different proposition as it’s not technically a virtual instrument or kick synth. It’s actually a collection of 127 club and house kick samples, but the way it’s presented makes it much more flexible and more like an editable instrument. The core samples are also provided split into body and transient portions, so you can mix and match alongside 190 textural layers to form a vast number of variations. In addition, you get all 127 kicks resampled via an MPC3000 for added punch and crunch.
To take this pack to the next level, the samples have been meticulously mapped to a number of formats including Ableton Live Racks, Logic Pro X, Halion Sonic 7, and MPC, with custom controls and macros.
New to version 1.5 is a five-layer kick drum designing engine including drag and drop of your own samples, which loads into the full version of Kontakt. Plus all body, transient and layer samples loaded into Serum 2. It’s a great option if you’re looking for a lightweight pack that can be used alongside tools that you already own.
PROS

Carefully crafted, punchy and usable kicks
Layer textures help add more character and variety
Integrates with tools you already have
Great value

CONS

Not as flexible as some of the other options here
Can’t edit specific pitch and decay curves

Check out the latest deals for F9 Audio KiCK.
Best kick drum plugin for precise editing: Audija – KickDrum
€44, audija.com

KickDrum is a colourful instrument that offers precise editing and a modular workflow. You can build your kick by combining different devices. These include a sine oscillator with harmonic distortion and a phase lock function, a sample playback and editing device, an EQ, a gain envelope, a saturator, and a clipper. The most recent update has added a wavetable oscillator and editor, plus spectral pitch and wavetable distortion devices.
Various device settings can be automated via the internal automation system, giving you the option to draw additional curves and fine-tune how the kick changes over time. There’s also excellent visual feedback where the oscillogram updates for every tiny change that you make.
Like Kick 3, it has an analyze function that can take a sampled kick and turn it into a device chain preset that utilises the oscillator and sampler, or just the oscillator. We find the results not quite as effective as Kick 3 and Kick Ninja though, as the import required more editing and wasn’t as close to the original. It is, however, very precise, punchy sounding, and reasonably priced.
PROS

Incredibly precise editing
Modular layout lets you focus on what you need
Flexible modulation curves
Very punchy sounding

CONS

Small number of samey presets
Some areas such as sample import no very intuitive
GUI can get a little confusing
Somewhat limited effects

Check out the latest deals for Audija KickDrum.
Best kick drum plugin for analogue and experimental: d16 – PunchBox 2
£85, d16.pl

PunchBox 2 is the most recent release on the list that features a more hardware-like visual design. You get a blending of worlds with classic synth emulations for the 808, 909 and 606 kicks alongside samples and a wavetable module for more modern sounds. The core sound can be supplemented with up to 3 sampled layers, and then further shaped with bitcrush, distortion, filter (with new SH-101 mode), EQ (with vintage Pulteq mode) and a limiter.
In a significant upgrade, version 2 now includes an Advanced window that lets you draw curves for the pitch and amp and a number of other sound and FX parameters. There’s also an extensive preset and sample browsing system with tagging. d16 teamed up with sound designers from Sounds of Revolution and CFA-Sound to bring a vast library of punchy and original kicks, clicks and layers, which helps to make this one of the most experimental options here. It should also be noted that the 808, 909 and 606 are analogue synth engines, making this the only instrument that models the subtle variations between hits.
PROS

Colourful and enticing GUI with flexible internal and external routing
New Advanced mode offers extensive control and modulation
Analogue engines and FX provide more subtle, nuanced sound
Large and varied presets and samples
Good choice for more organic and experimental kicks

CONS

A touch more expensive than other options here
GUI and large number of presets/samples initially a little overwhelming
Could benefit from some extra creative effects

Check out the latest deals for d16 Punch Box 2.
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Binance.US to attempt prediction markets entry as CFTC-licensed entity, says CEOThe CEO of the US crypto exchange said that the company would apply for a license with the CFTC in August allowing it to offer prediction markets.

Expanded Special Edition and Remixed Beatles Rubber Soul Due October 2Pictured above: The Beatles, Rubber Soul Cover Shoot, 1965. Photographer Robert Freeman. Photo Credit: Apple Corps Ltd

“In December of 1965, I was 10 years old and well aware of the Beatles’ LPs from 1964. I purchased a copy of Rubber Soul at a Thrifty Drug Store in Hollywood and brought it home to play on our record player. After I heard the entire album, my step-brother, actor Tim Rooney, came into the room. He was really into the Beatles and Jimmy Reed.

“I was a little confused after my first listen to Rubber Soul. Lots of new instruments and a folk-rock thing happening. I asked Tim, ‘What happened to the Beatles?’ He immediately replied, ‘Bob Dylan.’”    ---David Kessel, CEO, Cave Hollywood.

In April 2026, Where the Music Had to Go: How Bob Dylan and the Beatles Changed Each Other-and the World by acclaimed journalist Jim Windolf was published by Scribner. The book underscores the relationship between Bob Dylan and the Beatles.

In late July 2026,UMG and Apple Corps Ltd. are pleased to announce the forthcoming release of an expanded Special Edition of The Beatles’ landmark 1965 album Rubber Soul. Newly mixed by producer Giles Martin and engineer Sam Okell, the collection presents the album in stunning new stereo and Dolby Atmos mixes, alongside the original mono mix, the original Capitol U.S. Album version, and expanded with previously unreleased session recordings and home demos, and the contemporary double A-side single, “Day Tripper” / “We Can Work It Out.”

First released on December 3rd, 1965, Rubber Soul marked a pivotal moment in The Beatles' evolution. Arriving at the end of a year that saw John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr reach artistic and commercial heights, the album revealed a band pushing beyond the conventions of pop music and embracing a more adventurous approach to songwriting and recording.

Recorded over four weeks during October and November 1965, following the band's record-breaking concert to more than 55,000 fans at Shea Stadium in New York, Rubber Soul captured The Beatles at a creative crossroads. Featuring classics including “Drive My Car,” “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown),” “Nowhere Man,” “Michelle,” “Girl” and “In My Life,” the album saw The Beatles experiment with new instruments, sounds and recording techniques, and is widely regarded as having pioneered the long-form pop album as an art form.

Widely heralded as one of the greatest albums of all time and a milestone in the evolution of the pop album, Rubber Soul reflects the start of a period when, unburdened by concert, radio or film commitments, The Beatles’ music, ideas and unbridled creative ambitions began to truly flourish.

All of the new Rubber Soul formats feature the album's new stereo mix, sourced directly from the original four-track master tapes. The audio is brought to the fore in stunning clarity with the help of cutting-edge de-mixing technology developed by the award-winning sound team led by Emile de la Rey at Peter Jackson's WingNut Films Productions Ltd., while remaining faithful to the spirit of the original recordings.

The forthcoming reissue brings together all 14 new stereo mixes for the first time, while the expanded editions open the studio doors on the making of Rubber Soul. Across the Super Deluxe collections, fans can explore 24 early session recordings, including 20 previously unreleased takes and three previously unreleased home demos - among them early versions of “Day Tripper” and “We Can Work It Out,” plus “Little Girl,” a previously unheard John Lennon song outline never before released or even rumored. The collections also include the original mono album, the original Capitol U.S. album version and the 1965 double A-side single, while the 2CD and 2LP Special Editions feature a curated selection of session highlights, demos and the single.

The 4CD and 5LP Super Deluxe editions are accompanied by an 88-page hardbound book featuring a brand new written introduction by Paul McCartney, and a foreword compiled from John Lennon’s own words, bringing together reflections on Rubber Soul from across his life, including the years following The Beatles’ break-up. The two pieces offer a unique perspective on the making and enduring impact of the album, alongside rare photographs, in-depth album background and track notes.

Rubber Soul will be available in standard 1CD and 1LP editions, 2CD and 2LP Special Editions, and 4CD and 5LP Super Deluxe editions. The collection will also be available on Blu-ray, featuring the new Dolby Atmos mix, high-resolution stereo audio and promotional films for “Day Tripper” and “We Can Work It Out,” alongside limited-edition orange vinyl and D2C exclusive Zoetrope vinyl editions.

The Beatles remain one of the most successful and influential acts in history. More than five decades after their split, their music continues to resonate across generations, from fans who lived through Beatlemania in the 1960s to new audiences discovering “Hey Jude” and “Let It Be” through streaming and social media. Beyond record sales, they reshaped fashion, youth culture, songwriting and album production, sparked the “British Invasion” in America, and redefined popular music with groundbreaking albums like Rubber Soul and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Their legacy continues to draw millions of visitors to landmarks such as Abbey Road Studios, where fans still flock to recreate the iconic Abbey Road crossing photo. In an announcement made earlier this month 3 Savile Row, the location of their iconic rooftop concert, is to be made into the first official fan experience, opening in 2027. Looking ahead, an eagerly anticipated four-film Beatles cinematic event is set for release in April 2028 through Sony Pictures Entertainment and Neal Street Productions. The project marks the first time Apple Corps Ltd. and The Beatles have granted full life story and music rights for a scripted film. Directed by Sam Mendes, it will star Harris Dickinson (John Lennon), Barry Keoghan (Ringo Starr), Paul Mescal (Paul McCartney) and Joseph Quinn (George Harrison).

More than six decades after its original release, Rubber Soul remains a defining moment in The Beatles' story as an album that bridged the craze of Beatlemania and the experimentation that would follow on Revolver, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and beyond.

“RUBBER SOUL - the album that changed the musical world we lived in then to the one we still live in today.” ---Andrew Loog Oldham, record producer/manager of the 1963-1967 Rolling Stones, founder of Immediate Records, author, deejay, and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.  

“Today we think of the Beatles epic as one incredible breathless run, and it did all happen very fast, their 8 or 9 dizzying years,” offered writer and novelist Daniel Weizmann.

“But on close inspection, before Rubber Soul, there was a subtle sense that the Beatles were...almost starting to run of steam, exhausted from all that mop-shaking. And who can blame them? Beatlemania would have driven four less durable souls into an insane asylum. Beatles for Sale, Beatles VI, Help! -- the songs are great but some near-invisible identity crisis is at work in them, a groping for more. In an alternate, less beautiful universe, the band might have even thrown in the towel right then and there. Which is partially why Rubber Soul is such a miracle -- it's not just an album, it's an announcement, that they would not back down. They had stripped down to essentials, learned to stifle their own cuteness, and were ready to push past youth, guided by introspection. They aren't there yet, but the plot had thickened -- and Rubber Soul is the first chapter of Act II, the very best part of the story.”  

Rubber Soul was the Beatles’ first release not to feature their name on the album’s cover, an uncommon strategy in late 1965.  The cover photograph was by Robert Freeman in the garden of John Lennon’s home in Weybridge.  

In 1997 I conducted an interview with George Harrison. He mentioned he had first heard the sitar instrument on the set of The Beatles’ movie Help! Later that year, he would record with it on the session for John Lennon’s “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown).”

George told me about his earliest attempt at playing the sitar with the Beatles, “Very rudimentary.  I didn’t know how to tune it properly, and it was a very cheap sitar to begin with.  So ‘Norwegian Wood’ was very much an early experiment.  By the time we recorded ‘Love You Too’ I had made some strides. 

“That was the environment in the band. Everybody was very open to bringing in new ideas.  We were listening to all sorts of things, Stockhausen, avante-garde music, whatever, and most of it made its way onto our records.”

During 2007, I interviewed my friend Brian Wilson for the 40th anniversary Pet Sounds tour program notes. Brian confessed “Michelle” and “All My Lovin’” were his two favorite Paul McCartney songs and immediately cited Rubber Soul.

‘“Norwegian Wood’ completely blew my mind, and marijuana was around for Pet Sounds. Well, when I first listened to Rubber Soul, I then went to the piano, and all I could see were my keys. I locked in with the keyboard and wrote [with Tony Asher] ‘God Only Knows’ in 45 minutes.”

In 1998, I interviewed Elvis Costello in Hollywood during his Painted By Memory recording sessions with Burt Bacharach at Ocean Way Studios. He discussed Rubber Soul.

“I have a perspective on it that someone of my years probably shouldn't have.  I always heard Burt’s tunes in cover form first.  And that was important.  The stuff that my dad [Ross MacManus, musician, singer and trumpet player who performed with Joe Loss and his Orchestra] brought home were ‘A’ label singles. 

“Like the Beatles ones I had, were the non-single tracks like ‘Michelle,’ and songs from Rubber Soul that they [music publisher Dick James’ Northern Songs] thought were better suited for covers than, maybe, ‘Drive My Car’ was.  They were sent over on demonstration acetates.  Rather than having the Parlophone label, which never pressed ‘Michelle’ as a single, the publisher, pressed an acetate.  And that was how small they were thinking about that ‘radio cover.’”

“Firstly, what a fabulous elasticisable title!!  Puts it all in the perfect perspective,” volunteered author and broadcast journalist, Ritchie Yorke.

“Creativity grows.  And it shows. On Rubber Soul, we are seeing the beast that became John Lennon’s composing heart is gaining traction, and he’s beginning to let it flow on through. How blessed we were that it flowed upon our watch.  And in our presence. A wonderful album made most of us realize that there was a lot more to these dudes than just pulling off limp versions of great R & B tunes.’’

“They were the natural progression from the roots of the music,” underscored Blondie’s drummer Clem Burke. “The early recordings spread the gospel of Little Richard, Buddy Holly, and Motown to a new generation of rockers. They are and always will be my muse. I’ll listen to a few songs before a show and get a rush of emotions. They had the best drummer in rock ’n’ roll that really made the recordings creative.”

Engineer/producer Ken Scott is a veteran of Abbey Road and behind the console for many recording sessions of the Beatles beginning in 1964 sorting tapes in the EMI studio library. He attended the “I Should Have Known Better” date, on an invite from engineer Norman Smith, and handclapped with Ringo and Paul for a take that wasn’t used for A Hard Day’s Night soundtrack LP.

Ken Scott’s first day as a second engineer was June 1, 1964, during sessions for A Hard Day’s Night. Songs not utilized in the film: “I’ll Cry Instead,” “I’ll Be Back,” “Matchbox” and “Slow Down.”

At Abbey Road one of his early jobs was “banding,” a task entailing putting exactly five seconds between each track on the albums. Scott subsequently learned the aspects of mastering process.  In 1965 Ken worked on Help! and Rubber Soul, before engineering the bulk of The Beatles (White Album). 

Q: Ken. You spent a lot of time in the mastering lab that informed how we eventually heard the mono and subsequent stereo discs of the band.

A: The whole thing that one learned from the mastering, first and foremost, was what could go onto vinyl. Because you could put a lot more onto tape than you could on vinyl. You had to watch phase, you had to watch the amount of low end, all of that kind of thing, because it would make the stylus jump. That was really why they out you into mastering before allowing you to engineer.

“The other aspect of it that you learned was about EQ. Tone control. Bass, middle, high end and how you could affect that. What sounded good and what didn’t sound good and how much it took to try and change a sound. After a few days you learned you could make it perfect just by adding one notch as opposed to piling it all on.

“Abbey Road had their own pop shields for vocals. My belief is that they were made especially. I can’t tell you the pop shields around the microphones at Abbey Road made a huge difference, but it’s a combination. Everything starts in the studio. They were so good together vocally to start with and then that just made it so much easier for Norman to get it that much better.

“For me, mono is the way we listened to them. We never ever, as we were recording, listened to it in stereo. Always mono. We only listened to it on one Altec (604) speaker. They weren’t that good and we had to struggle to get things sounding good through those speakers but we knew if we got them sounding good through those speakers, they would sound amazing anywhere else.

“I learned so much from working in mono.  Because these days, just take George and John’s electric guitars. If you want to high light the differences between the two of them, you’d put George’s guitar on one side and put John’s guitar on the other side. They’re separated and you can hear the differences between them. When it was the mono, we actually had to make sure we had different sounds on them. Because they’re both coming out of the same source. So, you have to make sure they are very different to be able to hear. ‘OK. That’s John playing here and George playing there.’ We had to work that much harder for the difference than you do in stereo.  Anything they recorded at Abbey Road was done on EMI tape. EMI manufactured its own tape and it was incredible. It was really good.

Q: Norman Smith engineered all the Beatles albums ending with Rubber Soul. Norman was responsible for groundbreaking technical changes in their recorded catalog.     

A: Every single album he tried to make sound different. He pushed the envelope as far as he could. It was very difficult to make radical changes when he was engineering. Each album got progressively more radical if you like. A change in microphone placements. Absolutely. And using different microphones.

   “On the first album he wanted to capture them live in the studio. So, he set them up without baffles and without anything. It was as if they were on stage. That was the first album. Each one was different. To me, the way the Beatles got into experimentation a lot of that came from how they saw Norman changing things. Obviously. they caught the ball and ran with it. Unlike anyone else at the time. But he was the one I think that first instilled in them ‘it doesn’t always have to be the same every album. You can change it sound wise.’ Obviously musically their experimentation with other instruments. Norman was the first pop engineer to record sitar at Abbey Road. He was amazing. He was always pushing it.”

Last decade I interviewed Abbey Road-based engineer Allan Rouse. He emphasized Norman Smith’s role with the Beatles.

“Norman was a musician’s engineer, and had formed his own band in the 1940s. So, for the Beatles’ early sessions, he understood that they had hardly any experience in a recording studio but a great deal in performing live and that is the feel he wanted to capture. I believe the approach Norman took in recording them this way helped them settle into studio life and allowed them to perform in a way that made them feel the most relaxed and I think it shows in their performances.”

Richard Bosworth is a Hollywood-based engineer and record producer who worked with Johnny Rivers, Neil Young, Carlos Santana, Marty Balin, Kim Carnes, KISS, the Knack, and the Hollies at Abbey Road. 

“Norman Smith, their first engineer, regardless of his age at the time, he was a young engineer,” observed Bosworth in a December 2023 conversation.

“Norman was not a long-term staff guy at the EMI Studio, who happened to come along in an era and started doing things like closer microphone placements for the aggressive sounds. When you consider Smith went all the way through Rubber Soul. Just Incredible.” 

Bosworth points to a piece of equipment engineers Smith, Scott, and EMI Studio engineers had at their disposal capturing other worldly vocals committed to vinyl.

“EMI Recording Studiohad a custom-built wind screener pop filter closer to the mike being the plosives where certain sounds would become very powerful and actually collapse the microphone capsule,” Richard elaborated.  

“You could get the vocalist closer to the microphone and a more in-your-face sound. They came up with a metal windscreen that had two different screens and two different meshes on them and different physical angles, where the one metal mesh was rounded and one was flat.    

“The patterns of the mesh were diagonal to each other. Bolted tight onto the microphone, made with custom metal for EMI Studio. People started noticing quickly that moisture would get on the microphone capsule and you’d have to replace the capsule. Any pop filter changes anything to a certain extent.  Unlike screen pop filters made out of foam, these were made out of metal and certainly not dampening high end. Those are unique.

“One of the other reasons the Beatles’ recordings sound so good still to this day,” Bosworth maintained, “is that the tape machine format was one-inch 4-track—a much wider tape width per track than any other analog tape format that has ever been conceived. The equivalent of 24-track would require that the tape format be six inches wide to get the same fidelity that the one-inch 4-track provided.

“Norman Smith engineered virtually every studio performance of the band from 1962 through 1965. On Rubber Soul, Smith captured innovative new sounds such as fuzz bass guitar, sitar and distinctly dry vocals.

“There's a definite delineation point in the record production and musical instrument sounds for The Beatles with the release of Rubber Soul. There were hints of what was to come on Help! (‘You've Got to Hide You're Love Away’). Many influential American musicians of the day believe the U.S. version of Rubber Soul is one of the greatest albums ever (including Brian Wilson). In fact, the opening songs on both sides of the American Rubber Soul, ‘I've Just Seen a Face’ and ‘It's Only Love’ respectively, are two tracks from the English Help! LP and set an introspective acoustic tone for the American release.” 

Big sonic changes are introduced on Rubber Soul with the actual electric guitars and the guitar amplifiers the band adopted at this point. Up until now they had stuck with the musical instruments they're famously known for. Gretsch and Rickenbacker guitars for Lennon and Harrison and Hofner 500/1 bass guitar for McCartney, via various Vox guitar amplifiers.  Rickenbacker had made a left- handed 4001S electric bass guitar for McCartney that he received on the Beatles 1964 U.S. Tour and except for one song, "Drive My Car," he used his new Rick bass exclusively on Rubber Soul. As the Rick is solid body as opposed to the hollow body Hofner, it gave a more solid electric bass sound than the more acoustic qualities of the Hofner.

“Whereas McCartney gravitated to Rickenbacker, Lennon and Harrison moved on to Fender, Gibson and Epiphone electric guitars,” explained Bosworth.

“The Beatles were aware of the brand of American guitars and amplifiers used by their idols Buddy Holly and Chuck Berry.  However, these were not available in England until 1965. Harrison and Lennon acquired twin sonic blue Fender Stratocasters which they used to great effect on "Nowhere Man" (U.S. single/British album release.) Harrison added a Gibson SG Standard and a Gibson ES-345-TD to his arsenal. Lennon, Harrison and McCartney all purchased Epiphone ES-230-TD Casino guitars and these became their ‘go to’ instruments for the next several albums and the 1966 tours.

“The Epiphone Casino became Lennon's main guitar for the duration of the Beatles career and he used it exclusively on his first solo album and the ‘Cold Turkey’ Plastic Ono Band single,” underlines Bosworth.

“During the Beatles’ 1965 U.S. tour, Harrison was given a second Rickenbacker 360-12 by a Minneapolis radio station and he utilized it on 'If I Needed Someone’ (British album release) in a tribute to the sound of the Byrds.

“Aware that many American musicians used Fender Musical Instruments’ guitar and bass amplifiers, they began to buy a steady supply that continued right through the Abbey Road album. McCartney got a blonde Fender Bassman amp and soon after Harrison and Lennon bought two Fender Showman rigs with 15" JBL D130 speakers. They still used Vox amps as well. They had an endorsement deal with Vox since 1963, and once that was in place, the Beatles never appeared live without Vox amps. The company always supplied the band with their latest models, and during this period both Lennon and Harrison received the ultra- rare Vox 7120 electric guitar amplifier, and McCartney was given the equally rare Vox 4120 bass amp.

“I think vocally the Beatles are influenced by Bob Dylan during this period,” suggested Bosworth. “They had noticed there weren't effects like reverb and vocal delay on Dylan's vocals and it gave his performance an intimacy that really suited the lyrics.

“The Beatles own lyrics were taking on a new depth and they felt this kind of vocal sound would accommodate the new songs.  They would say to George Martin and recording engineer Norman Smith ‘Why do our vocals have to have echo on every song? Why do we always have to do things the same way every time?’  With the release of Rubber Soul, the Beatles signaled they were not going to be artistically trapped by their success.”

“There were actually three Bob Dylan LPs in 1965: Bringing It All Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited, and Rubber Soul,” suggested poet and deejay, Dr. James Cushing. 

“Of course, I don’t mean that literally – but it may be helpful to think of them as an unintentional set of three. They all share roots in folk traditions (lots of acoustic guitars) but they’re breathing the air of pop/R&B/art-song/blues, and the blend they achieve contain both the sophisticated complexity of art and the accessibility of popular culture. These were the albums that marked the emergence of Rock as an art form with appeal to thoughtful adults. 

“Look at the covers. Dylan: hermetic, highbrow, literary, arrogantly challenging. The face is a provocation, whether framed by a cat and a woman in red or a Triumph motorcycle T-shirt and a headless photographer. Will you dare to meet my eyes? The Beatles: distorted, hair longer than long, eyes turned away – all except Lennon, looking at us but also looking within, clearly baked. Will you dare to look at what we’re seeing?

“Dylan created a novelistic mass of characters and situations in ‘115th Dream’ and ‘Desolation Row,’ but the Beatles began developing their own individual characters. Lennon could not have shown the Continental grace of ‘Michelle’ any more than McCartney could have summoned the wry confession of ‘Norwegian Wood.’ Harrison, for the first time, assumes the role of spiritual pundit, and tells us to ‘Think for Yourself.’ The songwriting Beatles debut their distinct sensibilities here; the seeds of the White Album, and their later breakup, are thereby planted.

“I agree that this LP is the first one where the US edition is aesthetically superior to the UK one – deemphasizing rock (‘Drive My Car,’ ‘What Goes On’), highlighting an introverted-acoustic folk sensibility, and resulting in a more coherent 12-song, 30-minute statement. Lennon’s ‘Run for Your Life’ is the only false moment – a blast of misogyny that sits poorly with the tenderness of ‘In My Life’ or ‘Wait.’ (It’s also a blatant plagiarism of ‘Baby Let’s Play House’ from Elvis’ Sun sessions.) Might not ‘Yesterday,’ another song from the UK edition of Help!, have made a more fitting end to the album?” 

“Rubber Soul seemed the first Beatles' album released in the U.S. more or less to correspond to its U.K. counterpart, 1965 being rather late in the game to issue the themed Beatle musical think pieces recorded at the same session rather than grab-bags of singles from one and meat and potatoes from another two or three,” posed photographer and music journalist Heather Harris, who witnessed the Beatles’ 1964-1966 Southern California concerts.   

“Therefore, American fans could rejoice simultaneously with their British our new musical heroes waxed experimental while still remaining front runners in the pop game. Brian Wilson wasn't the only one who noticed. Harpsichord, Franglais, actual threatened violence, Dylantries et al. stewed and brewed through ... the world's best- selling pop band?! We teens reveled in the high caliber of largesse from these songwriters, only to find it successively topped in the 2 years to come with Revolver and Sgt. Pepper. Acute bliss.

“Lastly, psychedelic font lettering on an anamorphic stretch photo by Robert Freeman, exponent of natural and directional lighting, and director of Performance-type precursor insofar as it deftly balanced fey pop culture and butch violence, The Touchables.  That cover: pure inspiration, in and of itself and to anyone interesting in the field of graphic art, photography and trailblazing visuals...”

“Remember when record stores had separate sections for Mono and Stereo? It was in one of them I bought my first Beatles record. I was living in Milwaukee, working as an actor at the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre and reading beatnik poetry, Ferlinghetti, Corso and others, in schools,” recalled music scholar, photographer, deejay and author, Roger Steffens.

“My friends were nearly all artists of various edge-busting kinds, with music as a common chord. We had begun dropping LSD and looked for albums that understood that experience and turned it into art. But that album would be Revolver. Rubber Soul was the pot album. At least according to John.

“By 1965 we knew that the Beatles were always trying to top what they had done before. My copy is mono, just the way they wanted it to be heard. On the bottom of the back cover, it reads: ‘This monophonic microgroove recording is playable on monophonic and stereo phonographs. It cannot become obsolete. It will continue to be a source of outstanding sound reproduction, providing the finest monophonic performance from any phonograph.’ (italics mine). Essentially an acoustic album, half a century later, it fulfills that promise.

“It was the album that took the Beatles’ audience out of the One Direction screaming teenage groups category and began insinuating their seductively sumptuous sound into hipsters’ pricked ears.

“It was the first album in which the boys took over everything, including the cover.  Oddly enough ‘rubber’ soul meant ersatz soul, plastic soul. But there’s nothing insincere in these tracks. It’s George’s favorite album, heavily influenced by herb.

“‘Norwegian Wood’ is John’s first confessional, predating his first solo album by half a decade and introducing a nascent eastern influence as George plays a sitar on record for the first time.

‘“Think for Yourself’ utilizes the LSD prophet Timothy Leary’s famous dictum, coming into notoriety at that time: ‘Think for yourself/question authority,’ although it’s ostensibly a love song.  The Beatles were taught early to use personal pronouns in their titles – ‘I, Me, Mine,’ You, Your - to create the most appealing way to control the emotional effects of songs about the various aspects of love. As Bob Marley once noted, ‘what’s so bad about telling people to love one another?’

“Another eastern instrument is introduced in ‘The Word,’ on which the only person who can legitimately claim to be The Fifth Beatle, producer George Martin, plays the harmonium.  Here love is depersonalized to a philosophical principle. “It’s so fine, it’s sunshine, it’s the word love.” And Paul declares, “I’m here to show everybody the light,” his first admission that their music is meant to be transformative and enlightening. Teacher Paul.

‘It’s Only Love’ is another sneaky attempt by John to include some drug references: “I get high when I see you walk by,” but not as overt as the smoke-sucking licks on “Girl,” a ravishing ballad about sexual frustration. And then there’s the Beatles singing tit-tit-tit-tit in the background, wanting so much to shock like kids in middle school, smirking through the take.

‘I’m looking Through You’ is like an acidic revelation, seeing the image behind the illusion. And then there’s the transcendent ‘In My Life,’ which John considers his first real major piece of work. With George Martin on an Elizabethan piano solo recorded at half speed, “In my life, I love you more,” has become a wedding perennial.

“But the album seems a bit unbalanced at the end, with the misogynistic ‘Run For Your Life’ and its harrowing, no-doubt-about-it threat: ‘I’d rather see you dead little girl than to be with another man’ a death knell for “I want to hold your hand” sentiments. And a prophecy of ‘Helter Skelter’ proportions.

“Rubber Soul is an album I shall never stop playing. Like Astral Weeks and Moondance, it and Revolver are of a pair, and of a time; irretrievable and absolutely essential,” concluded wordsmith Steffens.

“With their own, unique version of Rubber Soul American Capitol finally got it right,” claimed proud Canadian Beatlemaniac Gary Pig Gold.

“Up until then of course, all of Parlophone’s precious Fab LP’s had been thoroughly sliced, diced and, I quote, Prepared for release in the U.S.A. with the assistance of Dave Dexter, Jr. With varying degrees of success, shall we say. But no sooner had John Lennon caught sight – not to mention sound – of Capitol’s slap-dash ‘very special movie soundtrack souvenir album’ for Help! than the (in)famous Dex was given the heave-ho by the powers-that-were at EMI’s London HQ, leaving substitute Capitol international A&R exec Bill Miller’s staff to assemble a Rubber Soul for 1965’s all-important North American Christmas market.

“And what a fine job they did! For the first time leaving the Beatles’ U.K. cover photos and graphics of choice intact – one of the Sixties’ most iconic long-playing images, absolutely – Miller’s men cobbled together what some still profess to be a ‘folk-rock’ blend containing two left-over numbers from the British Help! LP while removing several of the rougher, as in fully plugged-in tracks from Rubber Soul U.K. In doing so however, the core of the band’s intricate original running order was wisely left as-is and the ultra-refreshing result was a slightly more ‘mellow’ perhaps (‘mature’ was the word many startled reviewers used in ‘65) package from those hitherto poppy-go-lucky mop-tops.

“Nevertheless, discriminating ears from Los Angeles to the Canadian Laurentians immediately took notice …not the least of which to the very air of savvy sophistication – though some detected second-hand jazz-cigarette smoke as well – which permeated the entire proceedings, from Lennon’s provocatively fishy-eyed ‘I dare you to find anything wrong with this’ gaze on the front cover to the Strat ‘n’ sitar-soaked sounds within. Why, for starters as we all know, no less than a certain Beach Boy, upon first removing Rubber Soul from his turntable, immediately vowed to ‘answer’ it asap by himself making ‘the greatest album ever!’ And if, because of that challenge alone, the American Rubber Soul should be hailed, even a half-century later, as a resounding, unqualified utterly game-changing success.”

“Rubber Soul is the Beatles album that illuminates the simple fact that when you strip away some of the early Beatles raw electric energy and manic song power -- you simply find that more endless talent awaits you, to positively blow your mind in this new semi-acoustic setting,” stressed music and radio business veteran, Elliot Kendall.

“Focusing on the American version for now, Rubber Soul current personal favorites include the defiant Harrison track ‘Think for Yourself’ with its attitude-packed 6-string fuzz bass (furiously played by McCartney) and subversive funky rhythm section. Is it the Ghost of Motown's Funk Brothers (specifically bassist James Jamerson and rhythm section spirits) who pay a brief mystical visit to this musical space? Take a closer listen next time you spin.

“‘The Word’ is positively pulpit-pounding evangelist action. This track bears repeated listening for a multitude of reasons, a few listed here: Lennon's vocal is nothing less than a man let loose with the truth, with the driven need to share his newfound revelations with the world. So...how about a stack of those bad ones for our research, Winston O' Boogie?

“Lyrical intimacy rules the aura of this album. On ‘Girl’ Lennon is positively confessional. The Greek-inspired acoustic guitar work (evoking an old world bouzouki) only serves to underscore the emotion and reflective surrender of this piece.

“Romantic disillusionment haunts both McCartney-led tracks ‘You Won't See Me’ and ‘"I'm Looking Through You,’ both tracks said to be inspired by the state of his then-relationship with Jane Asher. Both are loaded with daring innovation and a new sophistication previously unheard in pop recordings, as with the entire album.

“Rubber Soul had no single released in the U.S., which is bewildering in hindsight,” admits Kendall. ‘“Drive My Car’ and ‘Nowhere Man’ (both included on the UK versions) were released as singles on both sides of the pond, but not included on the American LP pressings.”

“‘Day Tripper’ and ‘We Can Work It Out’ were already available as a two-sided singles,” reminisced writer Paul Body. “Help! had been out for the Summer of Yesterday. Now Rubber Soul to end the year on a quiet note. Of course, the import and domestic versions of Rubber Soul were different, but that was cool. You either bought the domestic version at Sears or bounced over to Lewin Record Paradise on Hollywood Blvd. to get the import.    

“It seemed like a perfect Winter album, all dark and moody. They had come a long way from ‘I Want to Hold Hand.’ It was cool to hear ‘Nowhere Man’ on the album before it was a single never will forget that when I saw them LIVE George Beatle played that cool lead break, and I remember you could hear that bell sound at the end, even in Chavez Ravine. The harmonies were stunning on ‘If I Needed Someone.’ The Hollies covered it, but the Beatles version was the ONE. ‘Michelle’ was great to listen to on a cold winter night, felt like Paris.

“Yeah, the Mop Tops had come a long way. The Country stomp of ‘I’m Looking Through You’ made you want to dance the European grimness of ‘Girl,’ sounded like something from a Truffaut movie, all black turtle neck and black beret chic. Francois Hardy. ‘In My Life’ was sad then and it’s sadder now. Yeah, Rubber Soul was pointing towards the future and what a future it turned out to be.”

Rubber Soul is a complex album musically. It’s unexpected chord sequences made it especially attractive to jazz musicians who dug the LP.

Alto and flute player Bud Shank had a MOR hit single with “Michelle;” the Paul Horn Quintet cut a rendition of “Norwegian Wood.” Flautist Horn was a practitioner of transcendental meditation and was with the Beatles on their India trip in 1968.

English jazz pianist Gordon Beck in 1967 released Experiments in Pop, with a version of “Norwegian Wood (The Bird Has Flown)” featuring guitarist John McLaughlin.

The Big Band Swing Face 1967 live album by Buddy Rich and his Big Band contained arranger Bill Holman chart of “Norwegian Wood.” Duke Ellington and his orchestra on the February 22, 1970 Ed Sullivan Show performed “Norwegian Wood” during a dazzling medley of Beatles’ tunes.

“We did Rubber Soul Jazz for Randy Wood who had Mirwood Records,” recalled keyboardist and arranger Don Randi.

“Wood was formerly with Vee-Jay Records. I loved the music from the start. If not the first fusion album one of the first to combine the feeling of jazz and rock together. Marshall Leib worked for Randy Wood at the Mirwood label, and he heard me playing these songs at Sherry’s Restaurant on the Sunset Strip and asked if I would like to do the album.

“Half the people on the Rubber Soul Jazz sessions were American Federation of Musicians Local 47 Hollywood union members. I arranged it. Marshall produced it. Dave Hassinger was the engineer. We could do the music instantly, and it made it easier for everybody else. We stayed constant so that they got used to dealing with a constant rhythm section.  A band that plays together and listens to each other. Because we had the ability to do that. We didn’t have to do 20 takes.” 

“In 1967 ‘...twenty years ago today’ represented a lifetime to a twenty-year-old listening for the first time to the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band lyrics,” pondered Michael Fremer, deejay, writer, editor of The Tracking Angle.

“Sixty years ago, was then an unimaginable dark expanse of time. Yet here we are, on the Sixtieth anniversary of Rubber Soul's release, still writing and talking about an album that today twenty year olds still listen to — some of us lucky enough to be able to pull from a shelf and play the very vinyl copy we bought in the fall of 1965 and hear it sounding as clean and fresh as it did that memorable first play (and sounding more life-like than any tinny digital reissue).

“Sixty years later it feels to me like yesterday (though my troubles don't seem so far away) that after counting down the days to its arrival there, I drove down the hill from Cornell to a hole-in-the-wall Ithaca, New York record store to buy that copy.

“Back then, you may have heard on an AM radio station about a record's release (we listened to ‘clear station’ WWKB 1520, in Buffalo, New York for all things Beatles) but you didn't get to see the 12x12 cover art until you confronted it in person.

“I can still see myself standing in front of the counter, gasping at the solemn faces of the even longer haired quartet, who last time I met them were like carefree kids. ‘Uh oh,’ I remember telling myself, ‘What's wrong? Did I miss something? What happened? Rubber Soul? They don't look so bouncy. Am I going to have to get somber now too?’

“I remember putting the record on my Dual 1009SK turntable and the Koss Pro 4A headphones on my head and lying in my frat-house bed for that first listen. ‘What? Is this a country and western album? Is that why George is wearing a cowboy outfit on the back cover?’ Then comes a sitar (not that I knew what it was) and ‘having a girl’ or her ‘having me.’ ‘She said it's time for bed?’ Not in my world! What's that weird fuzzy sound? ‘The word is good?’ Lyrics in French?

“And that was just side one!

“It's doubtful young streaming music listeners today will remember sixty years hence where they were when they first streamed music that a half-century later still holds meaning for them.  They pay nothing and sixty years from now they will have nothing.”

In his SiriusXM satellite radio duties, deejay and guitarist/musical director in Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, Steven Van Zandt programs Beatles’ recordings, devotes shows to them, and spins their catalog on vinyl and in mono on his Underground Garage channel.

“As far as the Beatles in mono, there was something physical as well that the analog medium communicated that digital never will,” emphasized Van Zandt.

“It doesn't really matter, of course, unless you’re listening to it on vinyl anyway and we know whatever they used will be a relief compared to the various, sometimes absurd, and usually terrible stereo versions.

“I had probably five lengthy conversations with [Apple Records’] Neil Aspinall over the last ten years of his life. In every one I begged him to put out the original configurations in the original mono. At first, he couldn’t quite understand why I was so passionate about it.

“By the third conversation he realized I was never going to stop bugging him about it and started seriously considering, not if, but when it could get done. He always had one distraction after the other, the Las Vegas thing [LOVE] took a lot of his time, but I'm sure he put it in motion before he left us. Anyway, I'm very glad it got done.” 

During 1974 as a music journalist, I attended a press conference in Beverly Hills at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel when George Harrison was announcing his first US solo tour. His remarks were published in the November 2, 1974, issue of Melody Maker.

On meeting the Beatles, Harrison said, “Biggest break in my career was getting into the Beatles. In retrospect, the biggest break since then was getting out of them.”

Was he amazed about how much the Beatles still mean to people?

“Not really. I mean, it’s nice. I realize the Beatles did fill a space in the Sixties. All the people the Beatles meant something to have grown up. It’s like anything you grow up with—you get attached to things.

“I understand the Beatles in many ways did nice things, and it’s appreciated that people still like them. They want to hold on to something. People are afraid of change. You can’t live in the past.”

I first met Sir George Martin at The Hollywood Bowl in 1996. He had sent me a note in the mail after hearing a recording I produced, praised my work, and invited me to the soundcheck at the legendary venue when he prepared a tribute event that showcased the repertoire of the Beatles. A true pleasure being on that stage with him.  

I spoke to Martin again in 2006 at Capitol Records Studio B. It was at a playback party for the Beatles’ LOVE.

George talked about a Frank Sinatra recording session he saw in this same room on his first visit to Hollywood in 1958.

The British EMI label sent him over the Atlantic after Martin was invited by Capitol label executive Voyle Gilmore to visit the American division. Martin described that ’58 booking when Frank Sinatra was backed by Billy May’s orchestra while actress Lauren Bacall was in attendance. The songs were eventually placed on Sinatra’s Come Fly With Me LP.

We chatted for a few minutes. I thanked Martin for discovering and signing the Beatles to their British record label deal. I complimented his persistent determination, along with Brian Epstein, in prodding Capitol Records to have faith in Martin’s groundbreaking Parlophone/EMI recordings with the boys in 1963.

One of Martin’s productions by the Beatles started playing in the studio.

Try hearing their sound over custom TAD monitors inside Capitol Records…George autographed an album, put his arm around me and smiled, “Pretty good stuff. Don’t you think?”

(Harvey Kubernik is the author of 20 books, including 2009’s Canyon Of Dreams: The Magic And The Music Of Laurel Canyon, 2014’s Turn Up The Radio! Rock, Pop and Roll In Los Angeles 1956-1972, 2015's Every Body Knows: Leonard Cohen, 2016's Heart of Gold Neil Young and 2017's 1967: A Complete Rock Music History of the Summer of Love. Sterling/Barnes and Noble in 2018 published Harvey and Kenneth Kubernik’s The Story Of The Band: From Big Pink To The Last Waltz. In 2021, the duo wrote Jimi Hendrix: Voodoo Child for Sterling/Barnes and Noble. 

Otherworld Cottage Industries in 2020 published Harvey’s Docs That Rock, Music That Matters. His Screen Gems: (Pop Music Documentaries and Rock ‘n’ Roll TV Scenes) is scheduled for December 2025 publication.     

Harvey wrote the liner notes to CD re-releases of Carole King’s Tapestry, The Essential Carole King, Allen Ginsberg’s Kaddish, Elvis Presley The ’68 Comeback Special, The Ramones’ End of the Century and Big Brother & the Holding Company Captured Live at The Monterey International Pop Festival.

During 2006, Kubernik appeared at the special hearings by The Library of Congress in Hollywood, California, discussing archiving practices and audiotape preservation. In 2017, he lectured at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, in their Distinguished Speakers Series. In 2023, Harvey spoke at The Grammy Museum in Los Angeles discussing director Martin Scorsese's The Last Waltz music documentary.)The post Expanded Special Edition and Remixed Beatles Rubber Soul Due October 2 first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Discover what’s next for AI, from the SaaS reckoning to the agent security gap, at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 At TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, the AI Stage is back to dig into the single hottest topic in the community for the past few years, presented by Google for Startups.

Scrap Pinball Parts Become Beautiful Wall Art[Hans Scharler] came into a neat find recently—the playfield from a 1970s Atari Superman game. It’s the sort of thing that’s too nice to throw away, but isn’t really enough to reassemble into a viable full machine without a great deal of effort. Thus, [Hans] went a different route—turning it into a beautiful piece of wall art. 
The first step of the build was to collect missing parts; in particular, all the plastic inserts for the playfield that had been lost at some point. Everything was cleaned up and mounted, along with some modified flippers to complete the look. Custom pop bumpers were 3D printed to act as LED-lit light guides rather than as functional pinball components. [Hans] then set about dotting the board with plenty of WS2811 addressable LEDs in a bullet form factor. Everything was placed under the command of a WLED controller, and it’s synced up to [Hans’s] CheerLights MQTT server to boot. More build details are available on the Pinside post for those eager for a deeper dive.
If you come into some old-school pinball hardware that you’d like to turn into decoration, this project is a great one to study. We’ve featured a few other great pinball builds over the years, too.

How to write a guitar solo: Music theory, genre-based tips, and techniques
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Stem Checker Free Online Stem Delivery CheckerFree Online Stem Delivery Checker is a browser-based utility for producers, mix engineers and anyone regularly receiving stems or multitrack deliveries. Simply drag your files into the browser and the tool automatically checks for common delivery issues, including: Clipping. Dual mono files. Missing audio. Possible duplicate files. Length mismatches. Sample rate mismatches. Bit depth mismatches. Once complete, you can generate a clear report, save it as a PDF or copy a summary to share with clients or collaborators. No installation required. Free to use. Read More

Origin Effects launch the EQDeluxe Based on the EQP-1A, the new EQDeluxe promises to deliver huge-sounding low end and “retro studio charm”, and as you might expect, has been optimised to work with guitar and bass signals. 

Nas to receive BMI Icon Award at the 2026 BMI R&B/Hip-Hop AwardsThe GRAMMY-winning rapper will be honored at the private ceremony in Los Angeles on August 26.
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Artist Manager on Viral Syncs and the State of Music MarketingThis week, Ari is joined by Laurie Lee Boutet of Wednesday Management to discuss the marketing behind The Beaches' breakout success.

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Nightcall DJ Kavinsky dead at 50Kavinsky – the French DJ perhaps best known for his megahit, Nightcall – has been found dead aged 50, reports say.
According to French news outlet Le Figaro [via NME], the musician was discovered by authorities at his home in Paris, France, after a concerned neighbour contacted emergency services to report that they hadn’t seen him in several days.
Le Figaro writes that Kavinsky – real name Vincent Belorgey – had complained to those close to him about suffering severe headaches lately, and that the cause of death is believed to have been a stroke.

READ MORE: Kavinsky’s Nightcall breaks record for the most Shazam’d song in a single day

Another French outlet, France24 has shared a statement issued by police surrounding the death of the DJ, saying an investigation had been opened, but that “no suspicious elements were discovered at the scene by the first responders”.
A synthwave icon and veteran of the French electronic music scene, Kavinsky’s big break came with the inclusion of his track Nightcall in the opening credits of the now-cult movie Drive, starring Ryan Gosling.
The song has hundreds of millions of plays across streaming platforms, no doubt bolstered heavily by Kavinsky’s performance of the track during the 2024 Olympics closing ceremony. Following the performance, Nightcall broke the record as the most Shazam’d song in a single day.

Nightcall placed Kavinsky on the map, leading to a collaboration with one of the world’s biggest stars the Weeknd on the track Odd Look.

Elsewhere, heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold have featured the song as the intro to their live shows for the past few years, and it no doubt influences some of the avant-garde vocal lines on their controversial new EP, STATICA.
Former French Secretary of State for European Affairs and Minister for Transport Clément Beaune has paid tribute to Belorgey, writing on X: “From Odd Look to Nightcall, and with so much emotion during the Games, Kavinsky made generations dance. And he will continue to make many more dance.”
Tributes have been flooding the internet following the announcement of Kavinsky’s sudden death:

Triste nouvelle, le DJ et producteur Kavinsky nous a quittés à l’âge de 50 ans.
Figure incontournable de la French Touch, il était notamment à l’origine du tube "Nightcall", emblématique générique du film "Drive". pic.twitter.com/FkUnQ3xO3l
— CANAL+ (@canalplus) July 29, 2026

rest in peace kavinskyyou were very kind and had a brilliant vision/story. i’m so heartbroken. pic.twitter.com/4f4OqLOZxS
— cris (@gesaffelsteyen) July 29, 2026

Kavinsky Forever. Nightcall Forever. French Touch Forever. pic.twitter.com/rVJScDHhHf
— Jack (@JackCanalPlus) July 29, 2026

 
 
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