Editing George Martin (section)

===="Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Penny Lane"====
By the time the Beatles resumed recording on 24 November 1966, they had decided to discontinue touring and focus their creative energies on the recording studio. Martin reflected, "the time had come for experiment. The Beatles knew it, and I knew it."{{sfn|Womack|2018|p=145}} They began working on a [[John Lennon]] composition, "[[Strawberry Fields Forever]]", which began as a simple arrangement of guitar, drums, and [[Mellotron]].{{sfn|Lewisohn|1990|p=87}} They remade the song the next week in a new key and [[tempo]] and with added instrumentation, including piano and bass guitar. Between 6–15 December, they attempted yet another arrangement, this time with cellos and a brass section scored by Martin, a large percussion section, [[swarmandal]], and overdubbed backwards cymbals.{{sfn|Womack|2018|p=154–155}} Lennon asked Martin to combine takes 7 and 26 of the song, even though they were recorded at different tempos and in different keys. Martin, [[Ken Townsend]], and [[Geoff Emerick]] accomplished Lennon's unusual request by carefully speeding up take 7 and slowing down take 26 so they were nearly equal in key and tempo.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1990|p=91}}{{sfn|Womack|2018|p=159}} Martin mixed the track to include a [[false ending]].{{sfn|Womack|2018|p=160}}

Soon after, the band began work on [[Paul McCartney]]'s "[[Penny Lane]]", which featured a [[piccolo trumpet]] solo that was requested by McCartney after hearing the instrument on a BBC broadcast. McCartney hummed the melody that he wanted, and Martin notated it for [[David Mason (trumpet player)|David Mason]], the classically trained trumpeter.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1990|p=93}} Martin also orchestrated a larger brass and woodwind score with trumpets, piccolo, flutes, oboe, and [[flugelhorn]].{{sfn|Womack|2018|p=171–172}}

By January 1967, EMI and Capitol Records executives were restless for a new Beatles single.{{sfn|Womack|2018|p=168}} In mid-February, the group responded by issuing "Strawberry Fields Forever"/"Penny Lane" as a double A-side. The single drew critical praise for its musical and recording inventiveness, with "Penny Lane" reaching no. 1 in the US. However, both sides of the single reached no. 2 in the UK, becoming the first British Beatles single in four years not to top the charts. (The sides competed for radio airplay, hurting each side's chart performance.){{sfn|Womack|2018|p=175}} Though the Beatles were not bothered by their failure to reach no. 1, Martin blamed himself for the incident and called it "the biggest mistake of my professional life".{{sfn|Womack|2018|p=177}}