Manfred Mann's Earth Band "Spirits In The Night" & "Blinded By The Light", how many different ones?

"Spirit in the Night" has at least four, including versions with two different lead singers - the original, with Mick Rogers singing lead, and a second version, using the same backing track, with Chris Thompson singing lead.

The original version was first issued on the LP Nightingales & Bombers with a time of 6:26. The master number is TAA 6869 S. It is also on promo copies of Warner Bros. WBS 8176. The U.K. copies of the LP and 45 have the incorrect title "Spirits in the Night," but in the U.S., the LPs and 45s always carried the title "Spirit in the Night" except as mentioned below.

The first edit, master number TAA 6869 VIS, was issued on Warner Bros. WBS 8152 with a listed time of 2:56. This was the first U.S. single release. Promo copies have the same version in mono and stereo.

The second edited version, master number TAA 6869 VIIS, is 3:13. This is on Warner Bros. WBS 8176. If the record label is to be believed, this version also ended up on one side of the "Back to Back Hits" edition with "Blinded by the Light" (Warner Bros. GWB 0350), probably in error.

The third edit and the biggest U.S. hit version, with master number TAA 6869 VIIIS RE1, is on Warner Bros. WBS 8355. This is the Chris Thompson vocal version. Curiously, this edition was originally issued with the title of "Spirit"; it was corrected to read "Spirit in the Night" on second editions. The listed time for this one is 3:20. This version was added to the album The Roaring Silence in 1977 when Warner Bros. released it as the follow-up single to "Blinded by the Light." I am not aware of a full-length version with Chris Thompson on vocal.

As for "Blinded by the Light," I only know of two - the 7:07 album version (UAA 7187 S) and the 3:48 edited single version (UAA 7187 VIS). A mono/stereo promo of the edit version was also issued.

 

Some impressing knowledge here...... Hope Steve's curiuosity is connected to some future Hi-Rez issues.

 

To my knowledge there are four different versions of "Spirit In The Night," although they all use the same basic track. The original 1975 version has Mick Rogers on vocals, the other three replaced his lead vocals with Chris Thompson's and were augmented with guitar overdubs and pretty heavy remixing and/or editing.

There are only two versions of "Blinded By The Light" I know of, the album and (edited/remixed) single versions.

What makes it tough is knowing where the masters might be located as, IIRC, some of the edits and remixes were commissioned by Warner Bros. Records in the U. S. (Manfred Mann preferred to work at his Workhouse Studio in the U.K., which later burned down, I believe. I don't know if any tapes were lost in the fire.)

Good luck.

 

I've always been curious about the Chris Thompson version and until now did not realize the blue cover Roaring Silence w/ this track added was released in 1977. I always thought it was added in the 80s after the other WB albums, including Nightingales & Bombers, went out of print.

Was "Questions" released as a follow-up to the #1 "Blinded by The Light", yet fail to crack the Hot 100?
Did WB feel they needed another Springsteen song to release, but knowing the first attempt to release "Spirit" barely cracked the Hot 100 decided they needed the same singer from "Blinded"?
Was the original MMEB "Spirit" a decent FM hit? If so, was it ever played after the Chris Thompson version was released?

 

Sligthly off topic but they also did a great cover of Dylan's "Please Mrs. Henry"

 

Not really, I never heard it. Manfred was pretty much ignored by FM radio until "Blinded" took off.

 

B-side
http://www.45cat.com/record/wbs8355

 

'Spirit In The Night' ... is that not one of the greatest guitar solos ever

 

I was young at the time, but their version of "For You" stuck in my head much more than Spirit in the Night.

 

It's not just the number of versions. The 2-CD "Complete Greatest Hits of Manfred Mann" (MM 60s on disc 1/MMEB on disc 2) is supposed to have the single version (according to the timing in the booklet) but actually includes the album cut.
(Not a very good comp if you ask me btw.)

 

It's great, but nothing compared to "Father of Day, Father of Night".

Mick Rogers is one hell of a guitarist.

 

Chance is such a great album. I love this one, as well.

 

Besides this one and "For You" there isn't much I like about "Chance"...