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Northern Soul Question 2 - The Night by Frankie Valli

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Another burning question, :) 

If you picked up a Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons comp over the last 30 years it would probably have the version of The Night with the group singing the first verse "beware of his promise" etc in creepy unison. But who first spun the version with Frankie up front handling lead? Was it only popularised after his solo album Inside You was released or did somebody get hold of it before then?

Thanks in advance all, Dan (SJ)

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"The Night" comes from the "Chameleon " album on Mowest. The album version has the "creepy 

unison" start to the song and runs 3:22. If I'm not mistaken, the version that starts off with Frankie 

singing lead is from the U.K. single on Mowest #3024.

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"The Night" comes from the "Chameleon " album on Mowest. The album version has the "creepy 

unison" start to the song and runs 3:22. If I'm not mistaken, the version that starts off with Frankie 

singing lead is from the U.K. single on Mowest #3024.

Thanks TY - I wasn't sure whether the single/solo version was released after the song gained popularity on the northern soul scene first, which might have meant a DJ already had access to it. 

The standard "Group" version is as it appears on UK Mowest MW3002 in '72, a bit later on in '75 on MW3024, and much later on UK Tamla Motown MW3024. This version was also released in Australia in 1972 on Mowest and in many European countries in '75 but again, the group version.

All the above are the same version and are all credited to Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons

Apart from the album version (which I've never heard), the only single I know to of the "Solo" version with the group (almost) faded out and Frankie singing the opening lines is the Australian 1975 release, this time on Tamla Motown, and credited to Frankie Valli

The solo version may exist elsewhere (eg. a Cardboard record given away in a Cuban supermarket or some such), but I don't know of any.

Cheers
Mick

 

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