The Beatles: Rubber Soul Special Edition (4CD Super Deluxe)

What's in the Box: The Official Contents, Format by Format

Rubber Soul Special Edition is due from Apple Records on October 2, 2026, in seven standard physical formats: a single CD, a 2CD set, a single LP, a 2LP set, a 4CD box, a 5LP box with a 7-inch single, and a standalone Blu-ray. Two limited vinyl pressings sit alongside them, a half-speed mastered zoetrope picture disc sold as a direct-to-consumer exclusive through the official stores and an orange vinyl edition of the single LP. Everything is built around a new stereo mix by Giles Martin and Sam Okell, made from the original four-track master tapes using the de-mixing technology developed by Peter Jackson's WingNut Films team for The Beatles: Get Back.

The two big boxes carry the same 68 tracks. Disc one of the 4CD set is the new stereo mix of the 14-song UK album. Disc two holds 28 tracks: new stereo mixes of 'Day Tripper' and 'We Can Work It Out', the double A-side released on the same day as the album, followed by 26 outtakes and rarities. Disc three restores the original 1965 mono mix, and disc four is the 12-track Capitol US album, the version most American fans grew up with, which opens with 'I've Just Seen a Face' and drops 'Drive My Car', 'Nowhere Man', 'What Goes On' and 'If I Needed Someone'.

The 5LP box splits the same material across LP1 (new stereo), LP2 and LP3 (sessions and demos), LP4 (mono) and LP5 (Capitol US), and adds a 7-inch of 'Day Tripper' backed with 'We Can Work It Out'. Both boxes come in 12 by 12 inch slipcases with an 88-page hardbound book featuring a new introduction by Paul McCartney, a foreword compiled from John Lennon's own words, rare photographs and track notes.

The Unreleased Material: What Collectors Actually Get

According to the official announcement, the boxes include 24 early session recordings, of which 20 are previously unreleased takes, plus three previously unreleased home demos. The headline item is a John Lennon song outline called 'Little Girl', described by Apple as never before released or even rumoured. For a band whose tape archive has been picked over for fifty years, including by the 1995 to 1996 Anthology project, that is a genuine surprise.

The other two demos are early versions of 'Day Tripper' and 'We Can Work It Out'. The second matters to McCartney fans in particular: it was Paul's song at the start, with John generally credited for the contrasting middle eight, so an early sketch should show how far it had come before the pair finished it together. Three tracks have been issued ahead of release: 'Michelle' (take 1) on July 29, 2026, the 'Day Tripper' songwriting work tape on August 26, and 'Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)' (second version, take 2) on September 14.

Beyond those headline items, the sessions material comes from the October and November 1965 recording dates at EMI's studios on Abbey Road, when the group made almost the whole album between October 12 and November 11 to meet a Christmas deadline. The one exception is 'Wait', a leftover from the Help! sessions of June 17, 1965, which was finished with overdubs on November 11. On paper it looks like at least as deep a dig as the Revolver set's sessions discs, but we will reserve judgment until the full disc is out.

Sound and Mixing: Why This Remix Matters More Than Most

Rubber Soul has always had an awkward stereo history. The 1965 stereo mix put vocals on one side and much of the instrumentation on the other, a common approach at the time that sounds odd on headphones. George Martin remixed the album for its first CD release in 1987, and those mixes were the basis of the 2009 stereo remaster. Many listeners have long preferred the mono mix for that reason, which is why its return in the boxes is welcome.

The new Giles Martin and Sam Okell mix follows the approach they used on Revolver in 2022: de-mix the four-track tapes so that instruments recorded together can be separated, then build a stereo image with the vocals placed in the centre. On Revolver the result divided some purists but won over most critics, with a perfect 100 on Metacritic. For a fuller account of how that worked out, read our Revolver Special Edition review.

The album remix itself has not been released yet, so we are not going to describe how it sounds, and anyone claiming a full listening verdict before October 2 is guessing. The three preview tracks are outtakes rather than the new album mix, so they tell you about the archive, not about the remix. The Blu-ray adds a Dolby Atmos mix and high-resolution stereo, which will interest anyone with a surround setup. We will add impressions of the stereo and Atmos mixes after release day.

Packaging and Extras: The Book, the Blu-ray and the Limited LPs

The 88-page book is a little shorter than the 100-page book in the Revolver super deluxe, but the announced contents look strong: Paul's new introduction, the Lennon foreword assembled from his own words, rare photographs and track notes. The 12 by 12 inch slipcase format means the CD and vinyl boxes will sit on a shelf with Sgt. Pepper, the White Album, Abbey Road, Let It Be and Revolver.

The standalone Blu-ray is new territory. Earlier Beatles special editions bundled Blu-ray discs inside the super deluxe boxes (Revolver had none at all), and this is the first time the group has issued a Blu-ray audio disc on its own. It carries the Dolby Atmos mix, hi-res stereo and promotional films, which makes it a sensible buy for fans who want the album in surround without paying for a full box. The obvious candidates for the promo films are the clips for 'Day Tripper' and 'We Can Work It Out' filmed at Twickenham in November 1965, though the announcement does not list them individually.

Of the two limited vinyl pressings, the zoetrope picture disc is the one collectors are watching, because it is a direct-to-consumer exclusive sold only through the official stores. The orange vinyl is a single-disc pressing of the new stereo mix. Neither adds any extra audio, so if sound is your priority a standard black pressing is the safer choice, since picture discs in particular tend to have a higher noise floor than black vinyl.

Which Format Should You Buy?

At the official US store, prices are $149.98 for the 4CD box, $229.98 for the 5LP box, $24.98 for the 2CD set, $39.98 for the 2LP, $29.99 for the single LP and $18.98 for the single CD, with the Blu-ray and the zoetrope LP at $35.98 each; other retailers may discount pre-orders. In the UK the boxes were listed at about £146 for the 4CD and £190 for the 5LP. Prices move after release, and the CD boxes of earlier Beatles special editions have often been discounted in the months that followed.

For most readers the 4CD box is the strongest value on paper: every track, the book, and discs you can rip for portable listening. The 5LP set makes sense if vinyl is your main format and you want the 7-inch and the larger artwork, but at $80 more than the CD box it is a luxury purchase. The 2CD and 2LP sets pair the new mix with a selection of the session material, which covers the key unreleased items for a fraction of the cost.

If you listen mostly on a surround system or headphones with spatial audio, the Blu-ray is the one to get. And if you simply want the album in its new form on your turntable, the single LP is the quiet winner. Whatever you choose, check our guide to the best turntables for Beatles fans if your deck is due an upgrade before October.

Who It's For, and Who Can Wait

This set is for fans who have wanted a Rubber Soul expansion since Revolver came out in October 2022, and for anyone who never warmed to the 1987 stereo mix. It is also a strong prospect for McCartney fans: 'Drive My Car', 'You Won't See Me', 'I'm Looking Through You' and 'Michelle' are all Paul's, and the 'We Can Work It Out' demo puts his growth as a writer in 1965 in sharp focus.

Casual listeners who already stream the album can wait for the streaming release, which will carry the new mix, and decide afterwards whether the physical formats are worth it. Collectors who bought the 2009 mono box and the 2014 US Albums box should weigh how much of the box they already own, although the 28-track sessions disc is new to everyone.

We will revise this page after October 2 with notes on the full stereo and Atmos mixes, the pressing quality of the LPs, and final scores. Until then, treat the ratings above as a provisional view built only on the official contents, the prices and the three preview tracks. For how this box stacks up against the rest of the catalogue, see our roundup of the best Beatles box sets.