011 Nothing is Real: Strawberry Fields Forever, take 26
Listen now
Description
Recording Strawberry Fields Forever was a complicated, layered process, famously requiring the cutting together of two different takes in two different keys and tempos. Today we put our magnifying glass on the second of those takes, take 26, with special attention given to George Martin’s dramatic score for three cellos and four trumpets. We go into the recording studio with seven musicians to re-record Martin’s complete score, and cellist Karen Ray returns to help us deconstruct the arrangement and understand what Martin was doing with this composition.
More Episodes
Beatle author Ken Womack and Ranking the Beatles host Jonathan Pretus join me to discuss the tech that made the Beatles’ new single “Now and Then” possible. And from John's haunting vocal to Giles Martin's stirring string arrangement, we peel back the layers of the production and consider Paul's...
Published 01/14/24
A little extra mini-episode examining George Martin’s orchestration for “Live and Let Die,” with a recreation of part of the arrangement.
Published 01/14/24
In our penultimate Season 1 bonus episode, we examine another solo recording, this time Paul McCartney’s thrilling theme song for the 1973 James Bond film, Live and Let Die. I’m joined by Allan Kozinn, co-author of The McCartney Legacy Volume 1, who takes us through all the details of the writing...
Published 01/14/24