说到翻唱歌曲,国语歌后蔡琴,曾经有过这麼一段很精闢的说法,她说:”翻唱歌曲比原唱还难。“我打一个简单的比方，你很会做排骨，他很会做鸡汤。这两个怎麼比呢？但如果大家全部比赛蛋炒饭，功力如何就很明显。”

确实,同样一首歌,不同音域,不同编曲,不同伴奏甚至不同的录音技巧都会有不同的效果.是不是决胜在”功力”?自然难以论断,不过,一位好的歌手,选择到一首适合自己音域发挥,注入自己特质,加上其他条件赋予新的生命,结果是不是与原唱一样好,甚至超越原唱,并不挺重要,因為,不论任何理由,引起感动的詮释演绎就是音乐的价值.但是,翻唱歌曲要能超越既有印象,甚至获得”真功夫”考验的商业上成就.就不容易了.

摇滚乐史上,却有数不完的翻唱歌曲比起原唱更為人知.商业成绩更好,甚至,让人完全忽略了原唱,成了翻唱者的招牌代表作.这样的故事是屡见不鲜的.不过,能够像祖籍南非的乐手Manfred Mann这样由60年代至80年中,屡屡靠著翻唱歌曲大红的故事,却属少见.

首先是1964年6月,Manfred Mann 以翻唱 the Exciters 的一首”Do Wah Diddy Diddy”在英美两地都拿到排行的冠军,接著是1971年成立的Manfred Mann’s Earth Band 在1977年又以翻唱Bruce Springsteen的作品” Blinded By the Light”，再嚐排行冠军的佳绩,

Manfred Mann’s Earth Band 组於1971 年，是由 Manfred Mann 最初的伴奏乐队改组而成。他们改变了最早车库摇滚的风格，取而代之的是卫摇滚路线，更纳入了些许古典的题材。然而，他们却不是非常多產的乐团，所以常常翻唱其他乐团或艺人的歌曲。

由於Manfred Mann经常翻唱Bob Dylan 的歌曲( 曾翻唱Dylan的”The Mighty Quinn” 并得到了排行榜前十名的佳绩)，当年成了被音乐杂誌和媒体誉為” 新Bob Dylan”的歌手之一。

Manfred Mann’s Earth Band在” Blinded By the Light”的翻唱版本中，不仅仅带来歌曲原来就具有的随和氛围，更加上了长篇的吉他独奏以及Moog合成器的类比音色。主唱此曲的乐团成员Chris Thompson跳过了一些乐句片段， 并改写了部分歌词。Springsteen在接受访问时，表示此举正是该翻唱版本比1973年的原唱版本成功的最大原因。

Manfred Mann’s Earth Band 翻唱的” Blinded By the Light”是Bruce Springsteen唯一登上排行榜冠军的作品。成绩仅次於” Blinded By the Light”的是单曲” Dancing in the Dark”，在1984的夏天得到了排行榜第二名。Manfred Mann’s Earth Band的这首” Blinded By the Light” 成為Ultimate Classic Rock 网站所选”百大经典摇滚曲目排行第74名.

~Andrew Lin


歌手： Manfred Mann's Earth Band
所属专辑：《'70S Gold》
歌词：

BLINDED BY THE LIGHT
Bruce Springsteen

Madman drummers bummers and Indians in the summer with a teenage diplomat
In the dumps with the mumps as the adolescent pumps his way into his hat
With a boulder on my shoulder, feelin' kinda older, I tripped the merry-go-round
With this very unpleasing sneezing and wheezing, the calliope crashed to the ground
Some all-hot half-shot was headin' for the hot spot, snappin' his fingers, clappin' his hands
And some fleshpot mascot was tied into a lover's knot with a whatnot in her hand
And now young Scott with a slingshot finally found a tender spot and throws his lover in the sand
And some bloodshot forget-me-not whispers, "Daddy's within earshot, save the buckshot, turn up the band"

And she was blinded by the light
Cut loose like a deuce, another runner in the night
Blinded by the light
She got down but she never got tight, but she'll make it alright

Some brimstone baritone anti-cyclone rolling stone preacher from the East
He says, "Dethrone the dictaphone, hit it in its funny bone, that's where they expect it least"
And some new-mown chaperone was standin' in the corner all alone, watchin' the young girls dance
And some fresh-sown moonstone was messin' with his frozen zone to remind him of the feeling of romance

Yeah, he was blinded by the light
Cut loose like a deuce, another runner in the night
Blinded by the light
He got down but he never got tight, but he's gonna make it tonight

Some silicone sister with her manager's mister told me I got what it takes
She said, "I'll turn you on, sonny, to something strong if you play that song with the funky break"
And Go-Cart Mozart was checkin' out the weather chart to see if it was safe to go outside
And little Early-Pearly came by in her curly-wurly and asked me if I needed a ride
Oh, some hazard from Harvard was skunked on beer, playin' backyard bombardier
Yes, and Scotland Yard was trying hard, they sent some dude with a calling card, he said, "Do what you like, but don't do it here"
Well, I jumped up, turned around, spit in the air, fell on the ground and asked him which was the way back home
He said, "Take a right at the light, keep goin' straight until night, and then, boy, you're on your own"
And now in Zanzibar, a shootin' star was ridin' in a side car, hummin' a lunar tune
Yes, and the avatar said, "Blow the bar but first remove the cookie jar, we're gonna teach those boys to laugh too soon"
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 all right

He was just blinded by the light
Cut loose like a deuce, another runner in the night
Blinded by the light
Mama always told me not to look into the sights of the sun
Oh, but Mama, that's where the fun is