hand me down Tuesday (Wednesday Edition): The Boss vs. Those Other Fellas

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Hey everyone.  Sorry it’s been so long since the last hand me down!  My computer went under the knife and is finally back to normal and ready for action.  Glad to be back.

This week’s song is one that I’m willing to bet that everyone has heard.  But….I am not willing to bet that everyone has heard the original or even knows of it’s existence.  Hell, you may have.  Now I am not saying that the readers of this site aren’t intelligent music lovers that know more than I do, it’s just that I have had this conversation way too many times…

ME: (Usually after a few beers) “Man, I could really go for some ‘Blinded by the Light.’

MANY OTHERS: “Right, Right.  Manfred Mann. I love that song. (singing loudly) ‘Wrapped up like a dou…’”

ME: “No. Not that version. I like it but…..The original.”

M.O. (laughing) “What? That is the original dork. Gosh. I thought you knew evvvvverrrything about music. Eeeeeh! WRONG.”

ME: “Whatever.  (pulling out Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ.  Power on, needle down, track one side one, ….’Madman, drummers bummers and Indians in the summer….’) Sorry.

MP3:Bruce Springsteen-Blinded By the Light

Mp3: Manfred Mann’s Earth Band-Blinded By the Light

While I feel that both versions are great, there is just something about Springsteen’s that makes listening to other a guilty affair for me. It works better for me.  Why?  I think it’s because of the swagger, the swing, and the POMP that is given breath at the drop of the the guitar and Clarence’s saxophone in the opening seconds.  Bruce’s vocals come in to stoke the fire even more with his signature lazy phrasing and conversational vocals  that invoke a dirty  and callous handed, beer drinking, laborer that is out to do nothing short of having a good time.  I also like the fact that he strings together words that on paper  don’t look like they’d be good neighbors but when they come out of his mouth… For instance- (my favorite) “And some kidnapped handicap was complainin’ that he caught the clap from some mousetrap he bought last night, Well I unsnapped his skull cap and between his ears  I saw a gap but figured he’d be alright.”  I suppose sometimes (more often than not) what is being said in a song really doesn’t matter, it’s how the song makes you feel.  This one makes me feel happy, incredible, and for some reason, invincible.  And then….

While Manfred Mann‘s well known and more commercially popular version from 1977, with its glammed out organ and squiggly/lazer beam guitar lines, doesn’t lose the feel good vibe of the original, it fails to capture the toughness that makes me like Bruce’s.  It has some very high highs.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s incredibly fun and sing along-y. Possibly catchier.   I actually really like this version too, but it will forever be a notch lower in my mind because I heart Springsteen and also because of the “wrapped up like a douche” lyrical mix up.  That’s a pretty tough hill to climb.  Happy Wednesday!!