Strawberry Fields Forever / Penny Lane
Single by The Beatles • 17 February 1967 • Parlophone R 5570
Magical Mystery Tour (late 1967) — Kaleidoscope coach trip and walrus dreams.
About this release
Strawberry Fields Forever / Penny Lane is a UK single on Parlophone (catalogue R 5570), released 17 February 1967. Often called the greatest double A-side ever; controversially failed to reach UK No.1 (held off by Engelbert Humperdinck).
The recording context is the band's Magical Mystery Tour (late 1967) period, produced by George Martin with Geoff Emerick engineering. The track(s) were committed at EMI Studios + Olympic Sound Studios (Barnes) for some MMT/All You Need Is Love work on Synced J37 four-tracks; first Beatles use of 8-track Studer A80 imminent via the REDD.51 + Helios at Olympic.
What's distinctive
2 tracks; average length 3:35. Lennon dominates the lead vocals (1/2). Lead writing credit: McCartney (1 of 2). 1 marquee song(s) on this release have hand-crafted extended essays.Tracklist
Side A
Side B
Pattern analysis
Lennon 1
McCartney 1
Era technical context
| Microphones | U47/U48, AKG C12, ribbon mics (4038) |
|---|---|
| Outboard | EMI RS124, EMT 140, Fairchild 660, ADT, tape phasing, Leslie cabinet |
| Guitars | Epiphone Casino, Fender Stratocaster (Harrison — psychedelic 'Rocky' Strat), Mellotron, clavioline |
| Amplifiers | Vox AC100, Vox UL730, Fender Showman, Fender Bassman |
References & external databases
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