Rubber Soul turns 60 with a Super Deluxe box: new stereo mix, sessions and demos

Rubber Soul is the record where The Beatles stopped being a pop group that wrote hits and became a band that made albums. Sixty years on from its release in December 1965, the Super Deluxe edition arrived on 2 October 2026.

What is in the box

According to the official Beatles store listing, the CD edition is four discs and costs £119.99 in the UK. A five-LP vinyl version also exists.

• Disc 1: the album in a new stereo mix, 14 tracks.
• Disc 2: 28 tracks of sessions, demos and singles. This is the disc for anyone who wants to hear the songs being built, with instrumental backing tracks, early takes and rehearsals.
• Disc 3: the original mono album.
• Disc 4: the American Capitol version of the record, which had a different running order from the UK release.

The set also includes 2023 remixes of the double A-side single "Day Tripper" and "We Can Work It Out", and an 88-page hardback book with a foreword by John Lennon, an introduction by Paul McCartney, photographs, background on the album and track notes, all in a 12-inch slipcase.

Why the mono and US discs matter

For many listeners the real draw is the packaging of different versions side by side. In 1965 the UK and US editions of a Beatles album were not the same record: Capitol rearranged tracks and trimmed songs to suit the American market. Having the US edition on its own disc, next to the original mono mix, makes the difference easy to hear.

Why it still matters

"Norwegian Wood" brought the sitar into a pop song. "In My Life" and "Nowhere Man" showed Lennon writing about himself, and "Michelle" and "I'm Looking Through You" showed how far McCartney's range had stretched. It is also the bridge to Revolver in 1966.

If you have only ever heard the album in one mix, this box is the chance to hear it in four. Explore more on the Beatles artist page, Lennon and McCartney.