Street date: October 2, 2026 · Announced July 29, 2026 · Apple Corps / UMe
The Rubber Soul Special Edition arrives in several very different packages, and the names don’t make it obvious which one you actually want. Here’s the honest breakdown — what each edition is, what you’re paying for, and who it’s for. We update this page as details are confirmed; anything we haven’t verified is marked TBC.
The editions, decoded
| Standard 1LP | Half-Speed / Zoetrope | 5LP + 7″ Super Deluxe Box | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | The new stereo mix on a single LP | Audiophile-leaning pressing with a zoetrope visual element | The full sessions treatment: new mix, outtakes, demos, plus a 7″ |
| Who it’s for | You want to play the record. The listener’s copy. | You care about pressing quality, or you want the shelf piece | Completists and Beatles historians — this is the archive, not just the album |
| Mastering | New mix (engineer credits TBC) | Half-speed cut (facility TBC) | Same new mix + session material |
| Price band | Typical new-1LP pricing | Premium single-disc pricing | Box-set pricing — expect a serious number |
| Risk of missing it | Low — standard editions restock | Medium — visual variants tend to be limited runs | Highest — deluxe boxes are pressed once and rarely repressed |
Two dates matter, not one
October 2 is the release date. The date your copy ships depends on distributor allocation, which is confirmed closer to street date. We don’t take money for records we haven’t been allocated — that’s why this is a waitlist, not a preorder button. When our allocation is confirmed in writing, everyone on the list gets first call, in order, before anything goes on the site.