Re: Manfred Mann's Earth Band
Manfred Mann always had a good ear for a song and seemed to prefer covers to his own material, despite it being very good. He had already covered a number of Bob Dylan songs, when Springsteen appeared as the next Bob Dylan. Springsteen's exotic lyrics seemed to work with the Earth Band's melodic combination of soloing guitar and keyboards. But, whereas Springsteen gave Blinded by the Light a folk-y style, Manfred Mann turned it into progressive heavy rock.
The Earth Band were a progressive rock band which experimented with vocal and instrumental passages and as such represented a move away from Manfred's past of popular hit singles. They were never really pop. Just listen to the full length album version of Blinded by the Light with the two lead vocal parts being sung at the same time or the instrumental 'Waiter,There's a Yawn in My Ear'.