According to Decker, notwithstanding the band's advances in 1964, music critics generally view "Rubber Soul" as the Beatles' "'transitional' album … from successful pop act to unparalleled masters of the studio". It is frequently cited by commentators as the first of their "classic" albums. Greil Marcus described it as the best of all the band's LPs. In his 1979 essay on the Beatles in "The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll", Marcus wrote: ""Rubber Soul" was an album "made" as an album; with the exception of 'Michelle' (which, to be fair, paid the bills for years to come), every cut was an inspiration, something new and remarkable in and of itself."