Level 1 — Absolute Beginner
The Beatles made an album called Rubber Soul in 1965. Now it has a new sound.
Giles Martin and Sam Okell made the new mix. They used the first tapes from 1965.
The album came out on Friday in five different forms. Fans can listen in new ways.
Many people say Rubber Soul is a very important album.
- album
- a group of songs sold together
- tape
- a thin band used to record sound
- mix
- to put the sounds of a song together
- fan
- a person who loves a band
- form
- a kind or type
- sound
- what you hear
- original
- the first one
- important
- very special or needed
Level 2 — Elementary
The Beatles album Rubber Soul came out in 1965. This week a new remix was released.
Giles Martin and Sam Okell made the new version. They went back to the original four track tapes and rebuilt the sound.
The release arrived on Friday in five formats. Fans can choose the one they like best.
Other albums came out the same day, including music from Johnny Marr and Victoria Monet.
- remix
- a new version of a song made from the old recording
- release
- to make available to the public
- format
- the way something is shared, like vinyl or digital
- rebuild
- to make again
- master
- the first and best recording
- version
- one form of something
- channel
- one path for sound on a tape
- catalog
- the full list of a band's music
Level 3 — Intermediate
The Beatles' 1965 album Rubber Soul has been remixed from its original four track masters, with the new edition arriving on Friday in five formats.
The work was done by Giles Martin and Sam Okell, who have been revisiting the band's catalog for years. Working from four track tapes is a challenge, because the instruments and voices were recorded together on very few channels.
Friday was a busy day for new music. Albums also arrived from Johnny Marr, Victoria Monet, Tinashe and Meshell Ndegeocello, and a 50th anniversary reissue of Tom Waits' Small Change.
For many listeners the project is a reminder that classic records can still be heard in a new light.
- remix
- to create a new version of a recording
- edition
- a particular version of a release
- revisit
- to return to something
- catalog
- a collection of recordings
- channel
- a separate track of recorded sound
- reissue
- a new release of an older work
- anniversary
- the date a past event is remembered
- listener
- a person who hears music
Level 4 — Advanced
Rubber Soul, the 1965 album that marked the Beatles' turn toward richer, more reflective songwriting, has been remixed once more, this time from the original four track masters, and was released on Friday in five formats.
Producer Giles Martin and engineer Sam Okell rebuilt the mixes from the source tapes. It is delicate work: with so few tracks available, voices, guitars and percussion often share a single channel, so isolating them without damaging the performance takes real finesse.
The release landed in a crowded week. Johnny Marr, Victoria Monet, Tinashe and Meshell Ndegeocello all issued albums, while Tom Waits' Small Change got a 50th anniversary reissue and Amyl and The Sniffers put out a live record.
The appetite for such projects speaks to a broader trend: labels increasingly treat the great catalogs of the 1960s as living material, to be refreshed for new listeners and new playback technology.
- reflective
- thoughtful and serious
- source tapes
- the original recordings used for a project
- delicate
- requiring careful handling
- isolate
- to separate from the rest
- finesse
- skill and subtlety
- appetite
- a strong desire or demand
- catalog
- an artist's body of recorded work
- living material
- content kept fresh and relevant
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