This article is as much about a recording as it is about a truly great popular song. I know a lot about Strawberry Fields Forever because I wrote a dissertation comparing the psychology of this song with Penny Lane as a part of my Bachelor of Arts degree and did lots of research on the subject.
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| Strawberry Field, Liverpool, England |
First, some background details. In 1966 the Beatles manager, Brian Epstein, was pressing George
Martin for a new single release.
They had just begun work on a new ‘concept’ album that became Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
The idea behind the album was initially that they would create a retrospective
biographical look back to their home city of Liverpool. The first contributions were John Lennon’s Strawberry Fields and Paul McCartney’s Penny Lane. It was decided to
release the songs as a double A-sided single and they never appeared on the final
album. George Martin later claimed that "it was the biggest mistake of my
Lyrically the song is an emblem of Lennon’s indecision and
uncertainty at the timer of writing it:
“Always, no sometimes,
think it’s me,
But you know I know when it’s
a dream.
I think er no, but I mean
er yes but it’s all wrong.
That is I think I disagree.”
Further remarkable
evidence of indecision is shown by a really innovative event in the recording
studio. Many versions of the song were recorded over several months. After Take
7 on 29th November 1966, everyone thought that Strawberry Fields Forever was
finished. Except John Lennon. After Take 26 on 21st December 1966, everyone
thought that Strawberry Fields Forever was finished. Except John Lennon. John told George
Martin “I like both versions. Why don’t we join them together?” However, there
were two MAJOR problems; the two versions were in different keys and in very
different tempos. These days that would be no problem but in the sixties the digital technology that could achieve this was decades away.
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| John Lennon. 1940-1980 |
The first version was in B-flat Major at 90 beats per minute and the second, a whole tone above, in C-major and at 108 beats per minutes. In those days 'splicing' literally meant using a pair of scissors and splicing tape! What to do?
John Lennon, never a
realist and not technically minded, left the problem to George Martin and recording
engineer Geoff Emerick.
I don’t believe in
miracles but what happened next was, well I would say, sensational. They had
variable speed tape-recorders at the Abbey Road studios and they found that by speeding-up
one recording and slowing down the other one they could get an exact match.
They had very fine control over the speed (and therefore the pitch) but by the
most amazing luck and ingenuity they achieved Lennon’s wish. It turned out that the differences in pitch were exactly compensated for by slowing one and speeding up the other.
When you listen to the recording
(click here) you can hear the change, just about, after 59 seconds. Listening
to the drumbeat is the easiest way to pick it out. The purpose of an edit, of course, is that it shouldn't be heard and a marvellous job had been done.
A by-product of this work
was that it gave Lennon’s voice a smokey, other-worldly sound which really
suits the song. It also left the recording in an in-between pitch not exactly in any recognised key. Although Lennon had composed it in C using a guitar the published version is written as being in B-flat. The song has an unusual structure in that it starts with a chorus followed by alternate verses and choruses and ending with a chorus which gives it a musically palindromic structure.
FOOTNOTE: It turned out that Strawberry Field wasn't forever. The Salvation Army closed the children's home in 2005 and it was demolished in 2007. Lennon Hall now stands in it's place.
14 comments:
Hello Bazza, Interesting how technologies change. I used to collect the early 78's, which were recorded through an acoustic horn (i.e., no microphone), and were all recorded direct to disc. That is, there was no "post-processing" possible at all. If a record was not perfect either it was re-recorded from start to finish, not published, or sometimes oddly, published with flaws intact.
--Jim
Jim: They can even make out-of-tune singers become in key now with new technologies. It's a pity the music is such rubbish! I think this post illustrates that creativity is more important than technology.
I think I have seen a wax cylinder recording device actually working in the the Science Museum in London.
Hi Bazza - what a great post ... and I'll be back to read - excellent and what a fun dissertation to decide to write ... sorry I can't do it more justice ... there's a lot going on here - cheers I'll be back to read properly though - Hilary
Hi bazza,
Interesting post once again. I recently saw a Howard Goodall documentary on the making of Sgt. Pepper's and it was similarly revealing. I understand that The Beatles became very much a studio, rather than a live, band after realising that their live sets were often drowned out by the cacophonous screaming of the fans, and both your post and the documentary show just how important George Martin was in making the studio work. The fifth Beatle indeed!
Best Wishes,
David.
Hilary: Thanks, I look forward to hearing your considered comments.
David: I think I saw that when it was recently repeated. That's the kind of thing that often sows a seed for new post but this time it's part of a series of course. The Beatles had just announced their withdrawal from touring before concentrating on recording so we are the lucky beneficiaries of that choice!
I loved 1966, The Beatles (especially John Lennon), Epstein, Strawberry Fields, my gap year abroad, Labour Politics and pubs. It was just a wee bit too early for anti-Vietnam protest marches.
Hels: I loved the whole of the sixties! I started off as a spotty schoolboy and ended up as a married man.
Hi Bazza - it will be a while ... and perhaps may vanish in the mists of time ... but I'll try and remember to get back sometime ... cheers Hilary
Hilary, it's always nice that you have visited. Don't feel obligated!
I didn't know Strawberry Fields was a children's home. Interesting bit of history!
Hi Sherry. Although the song was ostensibly about his Liverpool childhood and memories of going to play at Strawberry Field, it wasn't really about that. It was more of an introspective look at at his own state of mind. To me it really is one of the great popular songs.
What a terrific post! It's safe to assume that a lot of work and trial-and-error went into creating some of the music we enjoy, but it's interesting to get some of the background on just how MUCH went into this song. Thank you, dear sir!
Susan: Thank you too! It is a subject that really interests me; this song has an especially complex history. Possibly only Good Vibrations and Bohemian Rhapsody are similar in that way.
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