| "That's Not Me" | |||||||||||||
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| Song by The Beach Boys from the album Pet Sounds | |||||||||||||
| Released | May 16, 1966 | ||||||||||||
| Recorded | February 15, 1966 | ||||||||||||
| Genre | Psychedelic rock,[1] art rock | ||||||||||||
| Length | 2:28 | ||||||||||||
| Label | Capitol | ||||||||||||
| Composer | Wilson/Asher | ||||||||||||
| Producer | Brian Wilson | ||||||||||||
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"That's Not Me" is a song by the American rock band The Beach Boys, taken from their 1966 album Pet Sounds. It is the third track on the album. The song was composed and produced by Brian Wilson with the lyrics by Tony Asher.
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"That's Not Me" is a conventional rocker influenced by psychedelic drugs that inspired Brian Wilson to turn his attention inward and probe his deep-seated self-doubts.[2] The lead vocal was sung by Mike Love with Brian Wilson on top of a dramatic, percussive track that uses the echo chambers at Western Studios to their fullest effect.[3] Brian stated "This showcased Mike Love's voice. Listen for the twelve-string guitar right after the lyric "I'm a little bit scared 'cause I haven't been home in a long time". There is a strong organ presence throughout the song, especially at the start. The minimalist arrangements and harmonic structures are in contrast with the rest of the album, but is equally revolutionary.[4]The song is almost an avant-garde piece of popular music, given the structures are very subversive[5]
Unlike all of the other songs on Pet Sounds, this track actually featured the Beach Boys playing the instruments; Brian had been using session musicians since Today!. Brian Wilson plays organ, Carl Wilson plays guitar, and Dennis Wilson plays drums. Alan Jardine has also been credited as playing tambourine, while Mike Love sings the lead vocal with the whole band singing background vocals. The whole band is featured on this one track as the liner notes imply:
The AFM contract for this date lists Brian, Carl, Dennis, Alan and Bruce as having played on this track. However, on the surviving session tape, only Brian, Carl and Dennis are clearly audible on the basic track, which includes just drums, organ, one guitar, and tambourine. As Brian was on the studio floor. Bruce was in the control booth, helping Chuck Britz direct the session. The tambourine apparently was played by Alan Jardine or an uncredited Terry Melcher; Brian has named the latter on at least one occasion.
Even though Dennis Wilson has been stated as playing the drums, some sources suggest that Hal Blaine plays them.[6] In 1976, Brian stated "I think That's Not Me reveals a lot about myself, just the idea that you're going to look at yourself and say, 'Hey, now look, that's not me, kind of square off with yourself and say, This is me, that's not me."[7] Tony Asher has expressed dissatisfaction with the lyrics for the song, describing them as "labored". Labored or not, the lyrics have surprising depth and message: big city dreams and independence is meaningless without love. Although it is unclear who is playing the tambourine, highlights from the session imply that it could be Alan Jardine who is playing the tambourine with them. An overdub session came later with three instrumental parts.