THE BEATLES — RUBBER SOUL, AGAIN

Struggling beat-combo the Beatles (with an A) return, again, this time for another session on the nation's collective record player.

Anyroad, the main thing we're struck by here is just how bloody fast the moptops could pull a tune out of the sky, talk bollocks amongst themselves, write a killer chorus for it while the tape ops were winding things back, and just smash it down. You can almost hear the confidence growing from song to song, alongside the slight astonishment of four young blokes who are beginning to realise they can do practically anything with a melody.

Rubber Soul, according to producer George Martin, was where the band really started to think differently about albums. It's their still-innocent Dylan/speed/Motown phase. It's also nobody's favourite Beatles album, which is patently unfair, because there are six or seven really good 'uns in a row here and not much in the way of breathing space.

There's very little meandering — that would arrive a few months later when sessions for Revolver began in earnest, and Paul got hold of several thousand yards of magnetic tape. Here, songs simply arrive, do something dazzling and leave. It's immediate, bright and timeless pop music. What a ridiculous group of people.

This week's Fab Four-related score: two Jane Ashers and a Linda.

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