With Me Tonight

"With Me Tonight" is a song written by Brian Wilson for the American rock band The Beach Boys. It was released on their 1967 album Smiley Smile. The piece has been characterized as "psychedelic doo wop"[1] and the similar descriptor "do it yourself acid casualty doo-wop".[2]

"With Me Tonight"
Song by The Beach Boys
from the album Smiley Smile
ReleasedSeptember 18, 1967 (1967-09-18)
RecordedJune 30, 1967 (1967-06-30)
StudioBrian Wilson's home studio, Los Angeles
GenrePsychedelic, doo wop
Length2:17
LabelCapitol
Songwriter(s)Brian Wilson
Producer(s)The Beach Boys
Audio sample
"With Me Tonight"
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"You're With Me Tonight"
Song by The Beach Boys
from the album Hawthorne, CA
ReleasedMay 22, 2001 (2001-05-22)
RecordedJune 5–7, 1967
StudioBrian Wilson's home studio, Los Angeles
Length0:49
LabelCapitol
Songwriter(s)Brian Wilson

AllMusic called the track "one of the better (or, more accurately, refined) songs on the Smiley Smile album" and said that "the melody envelopes the listener in a graceful way, and, in this sense, makes it quite different from many of the other songs on the album."[3] In the liner notes of the Smiley Smile/Wild Honey set, the song is described as "probably the best of the non-official Smile tunes on the LP."[2]

Recording

"With Me Tonight" originated during the Smile sessions as "You're With Me Tonight". The intro was recorded as a vocal chant; later, it was expanded into a song for Smiley Smile and the "you're" in its title was omitted.[2]

One of Brian's vocal instructions to the group was to sing the song while smiling.[1]

At approximately 0:26, one can hear a voice say "good." This was thought to be an accident when Arnie Geller, a friend of Brian Wilson's, who said it during the vocal take. The group liked it so much that they left it in the final take.[4]

Variations

Early versions of the song entitled "You're With Me Tonight" appear on the compilations Hawthorne, CA (2001) and The Smile Sessions (2011).

Personnel
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Cover version
  • Sandy Salisbury (under the title "On and On She Goes")[2]

References
  1. Carlin, Peter Ames (2006). Catch a wave : the rise, fall & redemption of the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson. Emmaus, Pa.: Rodale. p. 128. ISBN 9781594867491.
  2. "Smiley Smile/Wild Honey liner notes". albumlinernotes.com.
  3. Greenwald, Matthew. "With Me Tonight". allmusic.com.
  4. Brian Wilson Interview on YouTube
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