Released: December 3, 1965
Appears on: Rubber Soul
Lead vocal: George
"Think For Yourself" is truly a song that only George could write. The song is filled with witty lines ("Although your mind's opaque, try thinking more if just for your own sake!") and considering how poorly it treats the girl, you automatically know that this isn't something Paul wrote. Maybe John could have done it, but this song is nastier than anything he ever wrote ("I left you far behind - the ruins of the life that you had in mind!").
I really like the song and I think it proves that George was finally getting on his own tracks. His songs on HELP! really felt like he was trying hard to copy his peers, but his two songs on Rubber Soul proves that he finally gave up doing that.
On the technical side, the song is noteworthy for Paul's use of a fuzzbox on his bass. Since this cool, unique sound dominates the song, there is literally no lead guitar part. George's guitar acts more or less like a rhythm part and John only plays a piano. The song's basic track was recorded with Paul using a standard electric bass and then the fuzzbox bass sound was overdubbed on top of it. This is not the last time that Paul would wind up dominating a George Harrison tune, though.
Like "You Won't See Me", "Think For Yourself" is a rather obscure tune. Capitol did not take it off its version of Rubber Soul, so the song feels a little out of place because it draws on no obvious folk influence. It also never appeared on a compilation, although it definitely would have been home on Rock 'n' Roll Music. Despite the fact that the song is not fully heard in Yellow Submarine (The Beatles sing a short sequence to wake up the Lord Mayor of Pepperland), it was included on the Yellow Submarine Songtrack.
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