Rubber Soul

Front Cover

The Distortion In a stark contrast to the whiteness that the Help cover had, Rubber Soul is literally a much darker picture of the group. But why is the image distorted like it is? Well, the usual answer that people give when asked why they have manipulated or distorted an image is because they were trying to make it look like something else. Could this have been incorporated in regards to Paul?.

The Title Rubber masks are used to disguise the features so therefore could a rubber soul be used to disguise the person? Could the Paul shown be the 'rubber soul' within the group?

The Hidden Heart If the cover is turned upside down the title 'Rubber Soul' looks a lot like the stereotypical heart shape. The title is portraying an upside-down heart. An upside down heart is commonly associated with a lost love and is also the same shape as the 'Spade' symbol on a deck of cards. The ace of Spade is known as the 'dead mans card'.

Rubber? It's a little unusual that the title be called 'Rubber Soul'. After all, aren't car tyres made out of rubber?

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Back Cover

The Cigarette On the back cover of the album Paul is the only Beatle shown smoking a cigarette. Back in the 60's cigarettes were commonly known as 'coffin nails'. Could this be seen as another nail in McCartney's coffin?

The Black Background Paul is the only Beatle to have a photo that is - bar his face - completely black. Again, we have to ask ourselves why this was done.

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