Editing Rubber Soul (section)

===Contemporary reviews===
Critical response to ''Rubber Soul'' was highly favourable.{{sfn|Zolten|2009|p=47}} Allen Evans of the ''[[NME]]'' wrote that the band were "still finding different ways to make us enjoy listening to them" and described the LP as "a fine piece of recording artistry and adventure in group sound".<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Beatles Tops |first=Allen|last=Evans |magazine=[[NME]]|date=3 December 1965|page=8|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/New-Musical-Express/1965/New-Musical-Express-1965-12-03-OCR.pdf|access-date=7 March 2023|via=worldradiohistory.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|editor-last=Sutherland |editor-first=Steve |title=[[NME Originals]]: Lennon|year=2003|publisher=IPC Ignite!|location=London|page=34}}</ref> While outlining to American readers the differences in the UK-format release, ''[[KRLA Beat]]'' said ''Rubber Soul'' was an "unbelievably sensational" work on which the Beatles were "once again&nbsp;... setting trends in this world of pop".<ref>{{cite magazine|title=The Lowdown on the British ''Rubber Soul''|url=http://krlabeat.sakionline.net/issue/1jan66.pdf|author=Eden|magazine=[[KRLA Beat]]|date=1 January 1966|page=15|access-date=7 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120203022809/http://krlabeat.sakionline.net/issue/1jan66.pdf|archive-date=3 February 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[Newsweek]]'' lauded the Beatles as "the Bards of Pop",{{sfn|Spitz|2005|p=595}} saying that the album's combination of "gospel, country, baroque counterpoint and even French popular ballads" lent the band a unique style in which their songs were "as brilliantly original as any written today".{{sfn|Leonard|2014|p=102}} Like ''Newsweek'', ''[[The New York Times]]'' had belittled the group when they first performed in America in February 1964, but following the release of ''Rubber Soul'', entertainment critic [[Jack Gould]] wrote an effusive tribute in the newspaper's Sunday magazine.{{sfn|Spitz|2005|pp=473, 595}} In ''[[Stereo Review|HiFi/Stereo Review]]'', Morgan Ames wrote that, like other supportive professional musicians, he recognised the devices the band employed as "they tromp on the art of music", and while he viewed their formal musicality as limited, he expressed joy at its effectiveness. Having opened the review by saying, "The Beatles sound more and more like music", he concluded of the album: "Their blend is excellent, their performance smooth, and their charm, wit and excitement run high."<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Morgan|last=Ames|title=Entertainment (Beatles: ''Rubber Soul'')|magazine=[[Stereo Review|HiFi/Stereo Review]]|date=April 1966|page=95}}</ref>

The writers of ''[[Record Mirror]]''{{'}}s initial review found the LP lacking some of the variety of the group's previous releases but also said: "one marvels and wonders at the constant stream of melodic ingenuity stemming from the boys, both as performers and composers. Keeping up their pace of creativeness is quite fantastic."<ref>{{cite magazine|title=It's Rubber Soul Time{{nbsp}}...|author=RM Disc Jury|magazine=[[Record Mirror]]|date=4 December 1965|page=7|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Record-Mirror/60s/65/Record-Mirror-1965-12-04-S-OCR.pdf|access-date=7 March 2023|via=worldradiohistory.com}}</ref> By contrast, Richard Green wrote in the same magazine that most of the album "if recorded by anyone {{em|but}} the Beatles, would not be worthy of release", with many of the tracks devoid of "the old Beatles excitement and compulsiveness". Green acknowledged that his was an unpopular opinion, before stating: "Judging LPs strictly on their merits, recent albums from [[Manfred Mann]], the Beach Boys and [[Jerry Lee Lewis]] rank high above ''Rubber Soul''."<ref>{{cite magazine|title=The Beatles: ''Rubber Soul'' (Parlophone) |first=Richard|last=Green |magazine=[[Record Mirror]]|date=11 December 1965}} Available at [http://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/the-beatles-irubber-souli-parlophone Rock's Backpages] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313052215/http://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/the-beatles-irubber-souli-parlophone |date=13 March 2016 }} (subscription required).</ref>

In another review that [[Richard Williams (journalist)|Richard Williams]] later cited as an example of the British pop press not being "quite ready" for the album, ''Melody Maker'' found the Beatles' new sound "a little subdued" and said that tracks such as "You Won't See Me" and "Nowhere Man" "almost get monotonous – an un-Beatle-like feature if ever there was one".<ref>Williams, Richard. "''Rubber Soul'': Stretching the Boundaries". In: {{harvnb|''Mojo Special Limited Edition: The Psychedelic Beatles''|2002|p=40}}.</ref> Author [[Steve Turner (writer)|Steve Turner]] also highlights the comments made by the ''Melody Maker'' and ''Record Mirror'' reviewers, who were typically aged over 30, as indicative of how UK pop journalists lacked "the critical vocabulary" and "the broad musical perspective" to recognise or engage with progressive music.{{sfn|Turner|2016|pp=22–24}} Turner adds that ''Rubber Soul'' "may have perplexed the old guard of entertainment correspondents, but it was a beacon for fledgling rock critics (as they would soon be called)".{{sfn|Turner|2016|p=68}} Among the few newspaper columnists seriously reviewing rock music was [[Ralph J. Gleason]], jazz critic for the ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'',{{sfn|Gould|2007|pp=419–420}} who credited ''Rubber Soul'' with "experimenting far past the style of outright imitations of Negro rhythm and blues artists" which had often characterised the Beatles' earlier work.<ref name="Gleason 65">{{cite newspaper|last=Gleason|first=Ralph J.|author-link=Ralph J. Gleason|title=Rhythm: Beatle Love Songs – Other Popular LPs|newspaper=[[The San Francisco Examiner|The San Francisco Examiner & Chronicle]]|date=12 December 1965|page=37|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-san-francisco-examiner-rhythm-beatl/161064502/|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> In a February{{nbsp}}1966 article, he contended it was "one of the most universally appealing albums ever issued", extending the band's reach beyond teenagers to "[a]ll ages, all colors, all sexes, [and] all social and economic levels".<ref name="Gleason 66">{{cite news|last=Gleason|first=Ralph J.|author-link=Ralph J. Gleason|title=Notes on the Soul of the Beatles|newspaper=[[The San Francisco Examiner|The San Francisco Examiner & Chronicle]]|date=6 February 1966|page=23|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-san-francisco-examiner-lively-arts/161066241/|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>

In a September 1966 review of ''Revolver'', ''KRLA Beat'' said that the title of ''Rubber Soul'' had "become a standard phrase used to describe a creation of exceptional excellence in the field of music", such that several highly regarded releases had since earned the description "a {{'}}''Rubber Soul'' in its field{{'"}}.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=The Beatles: ''Revolver'' (Capitol)|author=Uncredited writer|url=http://krlabeat.sakionline.net/issue/10sept66.pdf|magazine=[[KRLA Beat]]|date=10 September 1966|pages=2–3|access-date=7 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204021504/http://krlabeat.sakionline.net/issue/10sept66.pdf|archive-date=4 February 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>{{refn|group=nb|[[KRLA]]'s radio documentary series ''[[Pop Chronicles]]'', which aired from 1969, dubbed this "renaissance" in music "the Rubberization of Soul".<ref>{{cite web|last=Gilliland|first=John|year=1969|url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc19794/m1/|title=The Rubberization of Soul: The great pop music renaissance (show 35)|work=[[Pop Chronicles]]|publisher=Digital.library.unt.edu|access-date=28 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120403171732/http://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc19794/m1/|archive-date=3 April 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>}} Writing in ''[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]'' in 1967, [[Robert Christgau]] called it "an album that for innovation, tightness, and lyrical intelligence was about twice as good as anything they or anyone else (except maybe the Stones) had done previously".<ref>{{cite web|last=Christgau|first=Robert|date=December 1967|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/bk-aow/column2.php|title=Columns: December 1967 (''Esquire'')|publisher=[[Robert Christgau|robertchristgau.com]]|access-date=24 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304032316/http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/bk-aow/column2.php|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>