Rubber Soul: Special Edition

Rubber Soul: Special Edition
Compilation album by
the Beatles
Released2 October 2026
Recorded12 October – 11 November 1965 (except 17 June 1965 for "Wait")
StudiosEMI, London
LabelApple
Producers
The Beatles chronology
Anthology Collection
(2025)		 Rubber Soul: Special Edition
(2026)
Singles from Rubber Soul: Special Edition
  1. "Michelle (take 1)"
    Released: 29 July 2026
  2. "Day Tripper (songwriting work tape)"
    Released: 26 August 2026

Rubber Soul: Special Edition is an upcoming expanded reissue of the 1965 album Rubber Soul by the English rock band the Beatles. It is scheduled for release on 2 October 2026 by Apple Records.[1][2][3][4]

Background and release

On 28 July 2026, a cryptic countdown appeared on the Beatles' official website with the caption "Good things come to those who Wait", referencing a Rubber Soul track.[5][6] The countdown ended at 2PM BST,[7] with the announcement being Rubber Soul: Special Edition. The box set was leaked by Amazon France, who put the set up on their website for pre-order before the timer ended.[6][8] The release will contain a partially complete unreleased demo recorded by John Lennon titled "Little Girl".[9][10][11][12] It will also contain the 2023 remixes of the group's non-album single released around that time, "Day Tripper" and "We Can Work It Out".[13][14] The first take of "Michelle" was released as the first single from the set.[15] The songwriting work tape of "Day Tripper" was released as the second single from the set.[16]

Contents

Newly mixed by producer Giles Martin and engineer Sam Okell, the definitive version of the album will be packaged in a 4CD/5LP edition featuring new stereo and Dolby Atmos mixes along with the original mono mix and the original Capitol US album version.[17]

The CD set will contain four discs:

  • the first disc being new stereo mixes of the international (except North America) Rubber Soul's tracks,
  • the second disc being the demos and session takes and backing tracks, as well as the 2023 remix of the non-album double A-side single "Day Tripper"/"We Can Work It Out", recorded during the Rubber Soul sessions from the 2023 remix of the 1962–1966 Beatles compilation album,
  • the third disc being the original mono mix of the release of Rubber Soul in everywhere except North America, and
  • the fourth disc being a reassembly of the US release by Capitol Records.[1][11]

The 88-page booklet will contain an introduction from Paul McCartney, and a foreword compiled from Lennon's own words.[18]

The album's new stereo remixes were sourced from the original four-track master tapes,[19] and was created with the help of the "de-mixing" technology developed by the team at director Peter Jackson's WingNut Films for his 2021 The Beatles: Get Back documentary series.[17]

Track listing

According to the Beatles' official store:[20]

All tracks are written by Lennon–McCartney, except where noted.

Disc one: New stereo mix of all markets except United States
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Drive My Car" 2:25
2."Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" 2:05
3."You Won't See Me" 3:18
4."Nowhere Man" 2:40
5."Think for Yourself"George Harrison2:16
6."The Word" 2:41
7."Michelle" 2:40
8."What Goes On"
2:47
9."Girl" 2:30
10."I'm Looking Through You" 2:23
11."In My Life" 2:24
12."Wait" 2:12
13."If I Needed Someone"Harrison2:20
14."Run for Your Life" 2:18
Total length:34:59
Disc two: Sessions, Demos and The Single
No.TitleLength
1."Wait" (take 3 – instrumental backing track) 
2."Run For Your Life" (takes 1-5 – instrumental backing track) 
3."Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" (first version – take 1, originally released on Anthology 2 (1996))2:00
4."Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" (second version – take 2) 
5."Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" (third version – take 3) 
6."Drive My Car" (takes 1 and 2 – instrumental backing track) 
7."Day Tripper" (songwriting work tape)2:20
8."Day Tripper" (take 1 – instrumental backing track) 
9."Day Tripper" (takes 2 and 3 – instrumental backing track) 
10."If I Needed Someone" (take 1 – instrumental backing track) 
11."In My Life" (take 1, originally released on Anthology 4 (2025))2:41
12."In My Life" (extract with unused organ solo) 
13."We Can Work It Out" (Paul's demo) 
14."We Can Work It Out" (take 1 – instrumental backing track) 
15."Nowhere Man" (first version – take 2, originally released on Anthology 4)2:27
16."Nowhere Man" (second version – take 5 – instrumental backing track) 
17."I'm Looking Through You" (first version – take 1, originally released on Anthology 2)2:54
18."I'm Looking Through You" (second version – take 2) 
19."I'm Looking Through You" (second version – take 3) 
20."Michelle" (guitar rehearsal) 
21."Michelle" (take 1)3:17
22."What Goes On" (take 1 – instrumental backing track) 
23."The Word" (takes 1 and 2 – instrumental backing track) 
24."Girl" (take 2 – instrumental backing track) 
25."Beatle Talk" (Think For Yourself vocal overdubs) 
26."Little Girl" (John's demo) 
27."Day Tripper" (2023 mix, originally released on 1962–1966 (2023 edition))2:50
28."We Can Work It Out" (2023 mix, originally released on 1962–1966 (2023 edition))2:17

All tracks are written by Lennon–McCartney, except where noted.

Disc three: Original mono mix of all markets except United States
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Drive My Car" 2:25
2."Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" 2:05
3."You Won't See Me" 3:18
4."Nowhere Man" 2:40
5."Think for Yourself"Harrison2:16
6."The Word" 2:41
7."Michelle" 2:40
8."What Goes On"
  • Lennon
  • McCartney
  • Starkey
2:47
9."Girl" 2:30
10."I'm Looking Through You" 2:23
11."In My Life" 2:24
12."Wait" 2:12
13."If I Needed Someone"Harrison2:20
14."Run for Your Life" 2:18
Total length:34:59

All tracks are written by Lennon–McCartney except where noted.

Disc four: Capitol US album
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."I've Just Seen a Face" 2:04
2."Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" 2:05
3."You Won't See Me" 3:19
4."Think for Yourself"Harrison2:19
5."The Word" 2:42
6."Michelle" 2:42
7."It's Only Love" 1:53
8."Girl" 2:33
9."I'm Looking Through You" 2:24
10."In My Life" 2:24
11."Wait" 2:15
12."Run for Your Life" 2:15
Total length:30:38

Reissue personnel

According to the following sources:[21][22][23]

References

  1. 1 2 Rapp, Allison (29 July 2026). "The Beatles to Release Sprawling 'Rubber Soul' Box Set". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
  2. ↑ Sheffield, Rob (29 July 2026). "Inside the Special Edition of the Beatles' 'Rubber Soul'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 29 July 2026. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
  3. ↑ Suskind, Alex (29 July 2026). "The Beatles Announce Rubber Soul Reissue". Pitchfork. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
  4. ↑ Gawley, Paige (29 July 2026). "This Classic Beatles 1965 Album Gets New Life With a Never-Before-Heard John Lennon Song". American Songwriter. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
  5. ↑ Lances, Jill (28 July 2026). "The Beatles counting down to news 'coming soon'". ABC Audio. Retrieved 29 July 2026 – via Yahoo! News.
  6. 1 2 Cashmere, Paul (28 July 2026). "The Beatles Tease Rubber Soul Box Set With Cryptic Countdown". Noise11 Music News. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
  7. ↑ "Beatles Countdown Signals Possible Rubber Soul Super-Deluxe Edition Release". ArtistDirect. 28 July 2026. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
  8. ↑ Cashmere, Paul (29 July 2026). "The Beatles Rubber Soul Super Deluxe Edition Tracklisting Leaks Ahead of Official Reveal". Noise11 Music News. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
  9. ↑ "Never-before-heard Beatles song discovered!". Mojo. 29 July 2026. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
  10. ↑ Pearis, Bill (29 July 2026). "Previously unheard Beatles song "Little Girl" unearthed for new 'Rubber Soul' special edition". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
  11. 1 2 Willman, Chris (29 July 2026). "The Beatles' 'Rubber Soul' Due for Super Deluxe Treatment: Boxed Set Includes Stereo Remix, Session Outtakes and a Previously Unheard John Lennon Song". Variety. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
  12. ↑ Morales, Isabela (29 July 2026). "The Beatles announce release of Rubber Soul Special Edition". Hot Press. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
  13. ↑ Breihan, Tom (29 July 2026). "Beatles Announce Deluxe 'Rubber Soul' With More Unreleased Music". Stereogum. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
  14. ↑ Marchese, Joe (29 July 2026). "The Word: The Beatles' "Rubber Soul" Is Remixed, Expanded For New Box Set - The Second Disc". The Second Disc. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
  15. ↑ Merwin, Charles (29 July 2026). "The Beatles Announce Expanded 'Rubber Soul' Special Edition". uDiscover Music. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
  16. ↑ Blisten, Jon (26 August 2026). "Paul McCartney and John Lennon Crack Each Other Up in Rare 'Day Tripper' Demo". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
  17. 1 2 Kaufman, Gil (29 July 2026). "The Beatles Releasing Super Deluxe 'Rubber Soul' With New Stereo & Dolby Atmos Mixes, Previously Unreleased Recordings, Home Demos". Billboard. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
  18. ↑ Coplan, Chris (29 July 2026). "The Beatles' Rubber Soul Gets Expanded Reissue with New Mixes and Unreleased Demos". Consequence. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
  19. ↑ Willix, Pierra (29 July 2026). "The Beatles to release special edition of 'pivotal' album". The Independent. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
  20. ↑ "Rubber Soul - Special Edition Super Deluxe: 4CD Box Set". The Beatles Official Store. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
  21. ↑ Bonner, Michael (29 July 2026). "The Beatles announce expanded Rubber Soul reissue featuring unreleased John Lennon demo". Uncut. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
  22. ↑ "The Beatles / Rubber Soul reissue". SuperDeluxeEdition. 29 July 2026. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
  23. ↑ Dunworth, Liberty (29 July 2026). "The Beatles announce expanded reissue of 'Rubber Soul' featuring previously unreleased John Lennon demo". NME. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
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