While the Beatles still largely stuck to love songs on Rubber Soul, the lyrics represented a quantum leap in terms of thoughtfulness, maturity, and complex ambiguities. Musically, too, it was a substantial leap forward, with intricate folk-rock arrangements that reflected the increasing influence of Dylan and the Byrds. The group and George Martin were also beginning to expand the conventional instrumental parameters of the rock group, using a sitar on "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)," Greek-like guitar lines on "Michelle" and "Girl," fuzz bass on "Think for Yourself," and a piano made to sound like a harpsichord on the instrumental break of "In My Life." While John and Paul were beginning to carve separate songwriting identities at this point, the album is full of great tunes, from "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" and "Michelle" to "Girl," "I'm Looking Through You," "You Won't See Me," "Drive My Car," and "Nowhere Man" (the last of which was the first Beatle song to move beyond romantic themes entirely). George Harrison was also developing into a fine songwriter with his two contributions, "Think for Yourself" and the Byrds-ish "If I Needed Someone."
Disc 1 - Stereo [PC-116]
01 - We Can Work It Out (RS2 Take 2)
02 - Day Tripper (RS2 Take 3)
03 - Drive My Car (RS1 Take 4)
04 - Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (RS1 Take 4)
05 - You Won't See Me (RS1 Take 2)
06 - Nowhere Man (RS1 Take 3)
07 - Think For Yourself (RS1 Take 1)
08 - The Word (RS1 Take 3)
09 - Michelle (RS1 Take 2)
10 - What Goes On (RS1 Take 1)
11 - Girl (RS1 Take 2)
12 - I'm Looking Through You (RS1 Take 4)
13 - In My Life (RS1 Take 3)
14 - Wait (RS1 Take 4)
15 - If I Needed Someone (RS1 Take 1)
16 - Run For Your Life (RS1 Take 5)
17 - 12 Bar Original (RS95 Take 2)
18 - We Can Work It Out (RS1)
19 - Day Tripper (RS1)
20 - The Word (RS2)
21 - I'm Looking Through You (Unedited RS2)
22 - Nowhere Man (YSS)
23 - Think For Yourself (YSS)
24 - In My Life (Anthology DVD)
25 - We Can Work It Out (Anthology DVD)
26 - Day Tripper (Anthology DVD)
27 - Anthology Medley: The Word/Drive My Car/Nowhere Man
Disc 2 - Mono [PC-117]
01 - We Can Work It Out (RM3 Take 2)
02 - Day Tripper (RM3 Take 3)
03 - Drive My Car (RM1 Take 4)
04 - Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (RM1 Take 4)
05 - You Won't See Me (RM1 Take 1)
06 - Nowhere Man (RM1 Take 3)
07 - Think For Yourself (RM1 Take 1)
08 - The Word (RM1 Take 3)
09 - Michelle (RM1 Take 2)
10 - What Goes On (RM1 Take 1)
11 - Girl (RM1 Take 2)
12 - I'm Looking Through You (RM1 Take 4)
13 - In My Life (RM1 Take 3)
14 - Wait (RM2 Take 4)
15 - If I Needed Someone (RM1 Take 1)
16 - Run For Your Life (RM1 Take 5)
17 - 12 Bar Original (RM1 Take 2)
18 - Michelle (RM2)
19 - We Can Work It Out (RM1)
20 - Day Tripper (RM1)
Disc 3 - Sessions [PC-118]
01 - Run For Your Life (Take 1 - Studio Chat)
02 - Run For Your Life (Take 5 - Partial)
03 - This Bird Has Flown (Norwegian Wood) (Take 1 - Complete)
04 - Day Tripper (Take 1 - Breakdown)
05 - Day Tripper (Take 2 - False Start)
06 - Day Tripper (Take 3 - Complete)
07 - In My Life (Take 3 Organ Overdub - Partial)
08 - We Can Work It Out (Take 1 - Breakdown)
09 - We Can Work It Out (Take 2 - Complete)
10 - This Bird Has Flown (Norwegian Wood) (Take 2 - Complete)
