Rubber Soul deluxe box set adds new mix and unheard John Lennon demo
UMG and Apple Corps will release expanded Rubber Soul editions Oct. 2, with 68 tracks in the Super Deluxe set and a Lennon demo.
By Bianca Rossi · Entertainment Editor
3 min read
The Beatles’ “Rubber Soul” deluxe box set is officially headed for turntables and shelves on Oct. 2, with UMG and Apple Corps preparing a full 1965 time capsule: a new stereo remix, session material, the U.K. and U.S. album versions, and a previously unheard John Lennon piece called “Little Girl.”
The top-end release, titled “Rubber Soul: Special Edition Super Deluxe,” runs to 68 tracks and will be sold as either a five-LP vinyl box or a four-CD set, according to the announced edition details. The package follows the expanded “Revolver” release from 2022 and puts the spotlight on the album that came just before it in the Beatles’ mid-1960s run.
Producer Giles Martin and engineer Sam Okell created the new stereo mixes for the original album tracks. They also prepared a new Dolby Atmos mix, though Apple Corps’ release plan puts that version on a separate Blu-ray edition rather than inside the CD box.
What is in the Rubber Soul deluxe box set?
The Super Deluxe edition includes the newly mixed 14-track U.K. album, 24 session outtakes, demos and related recordings from the period, the original mono master, the original Capitol U.S. album, and period single tracks “Day Tripper” and “We Can Work It Out.” The vinyl box adds a 7-inch single for those two songs, while both the LP and CD Super Deluxe sets include an 88-page hardback book.
The previously unheard Lennon item is listed in promotional materials as “Little Girl,” described there as a “song outline” and presented on the track list as “John’s demo.” For fans who want an early preview of the vault material, “Michelle (Take 1)” was released alongside the announcement on July 29.
The package also reflects a messy bit of Beatles release history. Up through “Revolver,” U.S. and U.K. listeners often received different album lineups, and the new Super Deluxe edition includes both the British running order and the original Capitol U.S. version of “Rubber Soul.”
Which Rubber Soul editions are being released?
“Rubber Soul: Special Edition Super Deluxe” comes as a five-LP box on 180-gram vinyl with a 7-inch single, or as a four-CD box. Both include the 88-page book.
The “Special Edition Deluxe” version comes as a two-LP or two-CD set with the new stereo mix and a 16-track disc of single tracks, demos and session highlights.
The standard edition offers the 14-track new stereo mix on one LP, one orange-colored LP variant, or one CD with a 20-page booklet.
The Blu-ray edition includes the new stereo mix in hi-res 96kHz/24-bit audio, the Dolby Atmos mix, and four videos: “Day Tripper,” an alternate “Day Tripper,” “We Can Work It Out” and an alternate “We Can Work It Out.”
Dolby Atmos is an immersive audio format designed to place sounds around the listener rather than only in left and right stereo channels. In this case, the Atmos version is being issued physically on Blu-ray, a point likely to please collectors who wanted more than a streaming-only surround mix.
Direct-to-consumer versions of the five-LP and four-CD Super Deluxe boxes will also be sold through the official Beatles Store with an exclusive poster and art cards, according to the release details. A limited-edition Zoetrope picture disc is also part of the rollout.
This story draws on original reporting from Variety.