Yesterday’s boo boo by Amazon France gave us much of the detail of what the new 2026 re-issue of Rubber Soul contained – but not everything.

Now that it is officially announced more is known – especially about the rarities and outtakes, which comprise 24 early session recordings, including 20 previously unreleased takes and three previously unreleased home demos – among them early versions of Day Tripper and We Can Work It Out, plus (and this is really special) Little Girl, a previously unheard John Lennon song outline never before released or even rumoured. It was discovered by the Lennon Estate when they did a thorough trawl through their archives and passed on for consideration as part of this box set by Sean Ono Lennon. It is only available in the 5LP box or the 4CD box.

Some great alternative photos are now on the web as part of the promotion too, including a shot of the US version of Rubber Soul showing it is indeed the stereo edition. We just don’t know for sure which mix is being used, although the official press release says “the original Capitol US Album version“, so that implies it’s from 1965:

There’s also a nice close-up of the 45rpm single:

There are also alternate packshots of the 88-page hard-cover book, and glimpses of the album sleeves that show the US version will have the traditional Capitol Records look:

And while super-deluxe Beatle releases in the past have just about always had a picture disc (think Sgt Pepper, Abbey Road, Revolver and Let It Be), we didn’t know yesterday that this time it will come in the form of a Zoetrope disc:

And that there’ll also be “exclusive” orange coloured vinyl from key retailers, like Target in the US:

And HMV in the UK, JB HiFi in Australia and fnac in France:

Wouldn’t be surprised if this extends to other places, like jpc in Germany for example. Its also just popped up on Platekompaniet in Norway. And these days who knows if there’ll be even more coloured vinyl variants, though in the past Apple haven’t really gone in for such multiple variations.

Lastly, on the official Beatle site is the first example of the music rarities and outtakes, ‘Michelle (Take 1)’. It’s an early studio recording demonstrating the song’s development, and showcases the band’s performance before the final master was completed. From the website: “Recorded during a nine-hour session on 3 November 1965, Take 1 was the only complete performance to survive on the original four-track tape. Presented here without the later overdubs heard on the finished master, it reveals the song in its earliest recorded form. The tape also preserves tantalising fragments of earlier takes that had been recorded over, offering a rare glimpse into the band’s creative process”:

The Beatles – ‘Michelle (Take 1)’

The countdown is on for the official announcement of The Beatles Rubber Soul in full super deluxe edition mode.

As the official Beatles website says, “Good things come to those who Wait”, with an official countdown to a full announcement tomorrow, July 30.

Only thing is, they forgot to tell the French Amazon site not to publish the details ahead of time……

Looks like we’re getting your choice of a 5LP plus 1×7″ single box set and book, or a 4CD box set and book.

LP 1 in the 5LP set is a new stereo remix of the original album. LPs 2 and 3 are 26 tracks of sessions and out takes (including 3 versions of ‘Norwegian Wood’; 3 versions of ‘Day Tripper’; 2 versions of ‘We Can Work It Out’; and 3 versions of ‘I’m Looking Through You’). LP 4 is a the original mono mix of the album, and LP 5 is the US version of the LP which has a completely different running order. It is 12 songs instead of the 14 on the UK version, plus it loses ‘If I Needed Someone’, ‘What Goes On’, ‘Nowhere Man’ and ‘Drive My Car’ and adds ‘I’ve Just Seen a Face’ and ‘It’s Only Love’. That really changes the whole feel of the album, so much so it has sometimes been called the first folk-rock record. Brian Wilson once said “[The American version of] Rubber Soul was like a folk album by the Beatles that somehow went together like no album ever made before, and I was very impressed.“

The 7″ single in the vinyl box is two additional songs from the time, ‘Day Tripper’ b/w ‘We Can Work It Out’.

CD 1 in the 4CD set is the new stereo remix of the original album. CD 2 is the 26 tracks of sessions and out takes, plus the two songs from the single, ‘Day Tripper’ and ‘We Can Work It Out’. CD 3 is the mono mix of the original, and CD 4 is the US version of the album.

There will also be 2LP and 2CD editions. These comprise a disc of the new stereo remix, plus a second disc that is a unique, 16-track truncated version of the sessions and out takes from the box set.

And perhaps the biggest surprise is a stand-alone Blu-ray comprised of a hi-res stereo re-mix of the original album (plus ‘Day Tripper’/’We Can Work It Out’), a Dolby Atmos mix of those tracks, and 4 videos.

Fans will either be celebrating or lamenting the Blu-ray because once upon a time these were included as a matter of course in Beatle SDE box sets. They disappeared completely after the Let It Be re-mix CD set in 2021. Now Blu-ray is back for those who want such things, but you’ll have to buy it separately….

Much more detail to come tomorrow.