Spirit in the Night

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Spirit in the Night is a song written and composed by Bruce Springsteen that was released on his 1973 debut album, Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ . It was the album's second single release. A cover version of Manfred Mann's Earth Band under the title Spirits in the Night (plural!) Was released on their album Nightingales & Bombers and was a top 40 hit in the United States.

Original version

The original version of Spirit in the Night was released on Springsteen's debut album Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ . It was one of the last songs written and recorded for the album. Springsteen already had ten songs for the album, but Clive Davis , president of the record company that released the album, was concerned that the tracks recorded so far did not promise enough commercial success. For this reason, Springsteen wrote two more songs at short notice: Blinded by the Light and Spirit in the Night . Because they came so late, some members of the band didn't have time to record these pieces. For this reason, the composition of the participants was limited to Vini Lopez on drums, Clarence Clemons on saxophone and Springsteen on all other instruments. Although Spirit in the Night was almost the last on this album, this song was a development from an earlier version that he played live before signing the record deal.

Most of the songs on Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ were so overwhelmed with lyrics that they sometimes drowned out the musical arrangement, however Spirit in the Night is considered to be the song on the album where lyrics and music fit together perfectly. Clemon's saxophone playing and Lopez's drums meet the freedom and exuberance described in the text. The text itself is about a group of teenagers (Wild Billy, Hazy Davy, Crazy Janey, Killer Joe, G-Man and Mission Man who tells the story) who set off for a meeting point called "Greasy Lake" near "Route 88" to enjoy freedom, sex and alcohol for one night. But although their escape to the freedom of Greasy Lake is short-lived, the emphasis is on being with friends.

The lyrics of the song are reminiscent of the poems about Crazy Jane by the Irish poet William Butler Yeats .

The follow-up album The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle includes a song entitled Wild Billy's Circus Story .

Live version

Although the song's release as a single in the US was unsuccessful, Spirit in the Night remained a live favorite at Springsteen concerts. Live versions of the song are on the Live CD Live 1975-85 and on both the CD and video versions of Hammersmith Odeon, London '75 . A version in which Springsteen plays the song solo on the piano can be found on the DVD Live in Barcelona . This version is noteworthy as Springsteen has to start the third verse again after playing the wrong chords on the piano. The studio version of the song was released on the compilation album The Essential Bruce Springsteen .

With 514 live performances (as of May 2013), Spirit in the Night is by far the most frequently played song by Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ. The live song includes an important audience participation, with the audience saying the line "all night" during sings throughout the chorus as Springsteen walks very close to the front rows and sometimes mingles with the audience.

occupation

Original version

Manfred Mann's Earth Band version

Manfred Mann's Earth Band covered Spirit in the Night for their album Nightingales & Bombers , with the title Spirits in the Night on the European album and singles releases, but Spirit in the Night on the American and Canadian albums and singles. The Manfred Mann version differs from the Springsteen version mainly in its arrangement, it is strongly influenced by the keyboards and uses different harmonies in the chorus. The album version with Mick Rogers on vocals reached number 97 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1976 . The following year Manfred Mann's Earth Band released the song again as a single with the titles Spirit in the Night (USA and Australia) and Spirits in the Night (other markets), this time with vocals by Chris Thompson . Now it has reached the Billboard Top 40 at number 40. This version was released as a bonus track on the 2004 CD The Roaring Silence , but was also released on the "blue" The Roaring Silence LP in the 1970s. Spirit in the Night was the first of three songs from the album Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ that Manfred Mann covered - the others were her number 1 hits Blinded by the Light and For You .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Bruce Base Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ . Retrieved September 5, 2008.
  2. ^ Sawyers, J .: Tougher Than the Rest 2006, ISBN 978-0-8256-3470-3 , pp. 3–5.
  3. ^ Rob Kirkpatrick: The Words and Music of Bruce Springsteen 2007, ISBN 0-275-98938-0 , p. 11.
  4. ↑ a b Marsh, D .: Born to Run 1981, ISBN 0-440-10694-X , pp. 66-74.
  5. ^ A b Rob Kirkpatrick: The Words and Music of Bruce Springsteen 2007, ISBN 0-275-98938-0 , pp. 17-18.
  6. ^ Sawyers, J .: Tougher Than the Rest 2006, ISBN 978-0-8256-3470-3 , pp. 9-10.
  7. ^ Yeats - Crazy Jane poems (1933) | taste to waste . December 22, 2011. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  8. ↑ a b Humphries, P .: The Complete Guide to the Music of Bruce Springsteen 1996, ISBN 0-7119-5304-X , p. 6.
  9. ^ The Billboard Hot 100 Spirit in the Night June 18, 1977 . Archived from the original on May 27, 2013. Retrieved September 5, 2008.
  10. ^ Humphries, P .: The Complete Guide to the Music of Bruce Springsteen 1996, ISBN 0-7119-5304-X , pp. 4-6.