As much as any album, The Beatles 1965 LP Rubber Soul creates debate among audiophiles (and ordinary listeners like me) about which pressing is the best. The album itself is one of my first musical memories. The cover art is the first that I can remember seeing amongst my dad’s record collection. The distorted image offered a glimpse of an alternative way of seeing things. The copy we grew up with was a Spanish Mono original on Odeon. It still sounds great. But as I learnt more about the different pressings available, I became more confused about which pressing I should be listening to - Mono or Stereo? Loud cut or -4/-4? Modern remasters or originals?
UK Stereo originals (denoted by -2, -2 matrix numbers) are fun but the mix isn't everyone’s cup of tea. Most of the stereo mixes of the tracks recorded during the Rubber Soul sessions feature vocals in the right channel, while instruments are primarily heard in the left channel. In some instances, the right channel contains minimal or no instrumental accompaniment. According to Bruce Spizer in “Beatles for Sale in Parlophone Records” this led to speculation that the Rubber Soul stereo mixes were rushed. But in a 1987 interview George Martin explained this was not the case “attempts on Rubber Soul were to find a mono result from a Stereo record…if you put something in the centre it comes up four dB louder in mono than it does in stereo”. So, Martin tried to balance things between the two channels knowing that with most home stereo record players the speakers were about three feet apart and the stereo effect was very near mono anyway.
Stereo accounted for about 10% of the market at the time so fewer Stereo records were pressed. Despite the issues with the stereo mix, original UK Stereo pressings are rarer and still command quite a price (we recently sold a nice copy for £150).
I decided to focus on the Mono pressings. My first port of call was Steve Hoffman’s music forum. There were various threads and the opinion were split between the UK original Mono pressings (-1/-1 Loud cut) and the 2014 Mono Remaster from the original analogue tapes. Useful pointers but there was a lot of debate about top ends, bottoms and middles (and even upper middles!) which didn’t really help. I decided to ask a few other dealers. Most threw up their hands “Who cares?”, “You can’t beat an original”, “I haven’t got time for all that!”. As dealers we tend to focus on rarity value and whenever you get into Beatles originals the focus is on label variations and matrix numbers rather than the sound quality. However, my friend Steve at Rollin’ Records came up with a new one – the later -5/-5 Mono Pressing that a discerning Japanese customer had come into his shop looking for.
In the UK, during 1965-1966, "Rubber Soul" had four primary Mono pressings. The initial pressing, referred to as the "loud cut press," was cut by Harry Moss. This pressing employed matrices (-1, -1). However, shortly into the production run, EMI decided that Moss had cut the album too loud and ceased production. New metal parts were made, and production started again on19th November with these later pressings using (-2, -2) matrices. These too were rejected as they resulted in a less harsh but occasionally muddled sound, and my understanding is they were not released. The studio enlisted the help of Hazel Yarwood to recut the Mono record. She first produced the (-4, -4) cut but continued to refine it. The variant that emerged was the definitive mono pressing incorporating (-5, -5) matrices. Hazel Yarwood worked at Abbey Road studios from 1947 to 1985. She was a technical and sonic pioneer and was the first engineer to make a diamond cutting stylus work on lacquer discs. Despite being considered the best sounding pressings, the (-5, -5) pressings are challenging to find and expensive in good condition.
Ok, so I was now looking for a “Loud Cut” (-1, -1), a Hazel Yarwood (-5, -5), and a 2014 Remaster. Fortunately, we had a Loud Cut original in stock and we were able to source a 2014 Remaster quite easily (but expensively) from Discogs. There were no (-5, -5)’s available for sale on Discogs so it seemed we would have to wait to put the three versions to the test. Three weeks ago, however, we received a call about a private record collection that was for sale locally. The collection comprised six hundred classic rock and blues LPs. They had been unplayed for 20 years and, mostly, were in great condition. Stored alphabetically I was able to visually scan immediately to find a section of white flipback sleeves midway through the second section of the shelving unit where you would expect the B’s to be. A copy of “Please, Please Me” (Black & Gold) surprised me and I immediately told the owner what it could be worth. Fortunately, we were able to agree a price that we were both happy with and we purchased the entire collection. It wasn't until we got them back to the warehouse that we found that the copy of Rubber Soul was a (-5, -5) Hazel Yarwood pressing. We were in business.
We decided to take the three copies to a group of record collectors and friends for a listening evening. One a Jazz musician, the other an audiophile engineer with £20,000 worth of hi-fi listening equipment and a “listening room”. I played the records in a “blind” taste test; Loud cut first, Remaster second and the Hazel last. We listened to the first two tracks on Side 1 on each version; “Drive My Car” and “Norwegian Wood”; both classic tracks in contrasting styles. The 2014 Remaster was noticeably flatter, as if it had been turned down not just on the volume, but on the detail too. It was immediately dismissed. I thought briefly about the £125 we had spent on it and moved on. The (-5,-5) pressing came last. It had the same punchy impact of the loud cut but with a bit more nuance and detail especially around the vocal. My listening friends did not agree – they enjoyed the first one the most. They had had an almost visceral reaction to the loud cut and with the high-quality equipment you definitely felt you could be in the same room as the band. This was especially the case with a track like “Drive My Car”. But what about “Michelle” – I knew this track could be problematic with reported sibilance on some pressings. The loud cut was great still but did have a little fuzz or reverb around the vocal. But not much. On this track, the Hazel performed better with those issues largely gone and a clearer vocal. So, both the loud cut and the Hazel Yarwood were great with the loud cut slightly better on the hard-hitting tracks and the Hazel clearer on the ballads.
The evening progressed and we listened to a bunch more music, mainly Jazz, and drank a little wine and too much whiskey. By about 1 am we decided to call it a night and I ordered a taxi to take me and my three copies of Rubber Soul home. I think I fell asleep in the taxi briefly but got home happy with the evening. We had a busy morning with a lunch planned and family arriving. Shortly before midday I decided I should unpack the records from the heavy-duty travel case I use on such occasions. To my horror, the case was not to be found! I replayed the final part of the evening, cinematically seeing myself leave the taxi and open the front door. I was not carrying the record case. I called the taxi app company and the taxi driver to see if the records were found in the cab. No response from either, and the taxi app very unhelpfully put me through an neverending loop of questions that led nowhere. Slightly traumatised and feeling extremely stupid, I focussed on my family commitments and tried to battle the intrusive thoughts about losing, not just one but three, superb copies of Rubber Soul.
That evening, with the kids in bed and with no news of the lost records, I put on the Spanish edition of Rubber Soul given to me by my father. It sounded great; punchy, clear and full of soul. I decided that this copy of Rubber Soul was the most enjoyable and was definitely not for sale.
****The three copies of Rubber Soul were returned three days later by a very honest taxi driver and are available now for sale here****