Monday, June 10, 2013

Rubber Soul: The Concept Album



If you re-arrange The Beatles brilliant Rubber Soul album you can actually create a narrative and turn this album into one of the first concept albums ever written. This album is a dark comedy that explores the relationship between Michelle and Maxwell that eventually degenerate into domestic violence and murder.

This is my prefer tracklist
1. Drive My Car – Michelle meets Maxwell and starts a flirtatious relationship and there is implied sexual relationship

2. If I Needed Someone -  Although Maxwell is happy with the flirty sexual relationship in the first song is having doubts about commitment to the relationship and falling in love because of previous relationship failure “But you see now I'm too much in love” (Ideally If I Fell from Hard Day’s Night would have been a better fit instead of this song)

3. Michelle - Maxwell changes his mind and actually falls in love with Michelle and commits to the relationship. The song establish that the female character is called Michelle.

4. The Word - The couple fall in love and the relationship is all "sunshine" and the character feels liberated by love

5. In My Life – This song shows that Maxwell is putting the love in such a high pedestal that he is willing to elevate Michelle to be more important than anyone else in the world that she is even more important than his friends and family.

6. You Won't See Me - First cracks in the relationship as Michelle stop spending time with Maxwell.

7. Girl - The deterioration of the relationship where Michelle makes Maxwell feels like a fool and puts him down in front of his friends. The whole breathing in “sigh” in the chorus represent that this relationship is bearing him down.

8. What Goes On – Maxwell feels like he doesn’t know Michelle anymore.

9. I'm Looking Through You - This song actually rejects the message of “In My Life”. In the past, Maxwell elevates Michelle above everyone else in his life but now he knows the person more closely and the illusion of her superior status is gone "you were above me, but not today".

Being serious for a moment, I do sincerely wish they swap the order of In My Life and I'm Looking Through You in the track listing because that song is a good counterpoint for “In My Life”.

10. Wait – This is a last ditch attempt by Maxwell to salvage the relationship with Michelle.'

11. Think For Yourself - The breakup in the relationship with Michelle starts in this song and he tells her to "think for yourself cause I won't be there with you"

12. Nowhere Man - Remember the liberating sensation of love as depicted in "The Word" and also how disillusion he was with love back in “If I Needed Someone” before giving love a final chance. Well now the person has become an aimless person with no goal or points of view as a result of his complete disillusionment of love.

13. Norwegian Wood – Maxwell burns down the house of Michelle under the guise of meeting up with her to repair the relationship.

14. Run For Your Life - Yep the album concludes with the protagonist attempting to murder Michelle out of jealous rage concluding this album.

Coda – Maxwell Silver Hammer – The Beatles resolve this story in Abbey Road with Maxwell broken heart caused by Michelle turned him into a serial killer.

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