Darkness on the Edge of Town

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For other uses, see Darkness on the Edge of Town (disambiguation).
Darkness on the Edge of Town
BruceSpringsteenDarknessontheEdgeofTown.jpg
Studio album by Bruce Springsteen
Released June 2, 1978
Recorded October 12, 1977 – March 19, 1978
Record Plant Studios
(New York)
Genre Hard rock, rock and roll
Length 42:55
Label Columbia
Producer Bruce Springsteen, Jon Landau, (Assistance:) Steven Van Zandt
Bruce Springsteen chronology
Born to Run
(1975)Born to Run1975		 Darkness on the Edge of Town
(1978)		 The River
(1980)The River1980
Singles from Darkness on the Edge of Town
  1. "Prove It All Night"
    Released: May 23, 1978
  2. "Badlands"
    Released: August 1978
  3. "The Promised Land"
    Released: October 1978

Darkness on the Edge of Town is the fourth studio album by Bruce Springsteen, released in the late spring of 1978. The album marked the end of a three-year gap between albums brought on by contractual obligations and legal battling with former manager Mike Appel.[1] Although the album did not produce high-charting singles it nevertheless remained on the charts for 97 weeks.[1] A steady seller in Springsteen's catalogue, it has been certified triple-platinum by the RIAA.[2]

Although slightly less enthusiastic than those for Springsteen's previous album Born to Run, reviews for Darkness on the Edge of Town were unanimously positive. Critics notably praised the maturity of the album's themes and lyrics.[3][4] It remains one of Springsteen's most highly regarded records by both fans and critics and several of its songs have become staples of the singer's live performances.[5][6]

In September 2010 a documentary film chronicling the making of Darkness was first shown at the Toronto International Film Festival. Quoting Springsteen as saying “More than rich, more than famous, more than happy – I wanted to be great”, reviewer Stephen Whitty of the Newark Star-Ledger commented: "For many fans, that long journey pulled onto the Turnpike here."[7] In 2003, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked it at 151 on their list of the greatest albums of all time.

Background

Recovering from legal troubles and the stress of the breakthrough success of Born to Run, Springsteen released a somewhat less commercial album in Darkness on the Edge of Town.[8] In terms of the original LP's sequencing, Springsteen continued his "four corners" approach from Born to Run, as the songs beginning each side ("Badlands" and "The Promised Land") were martial rallying cries to overcome circumstances, while the songs ending each side ("Racing in the Street", "Darkness on the Edge of Town") were sad dirges of circumstances overcoming all hope.[8] Unlike Born to Run, the songs were recorded by the full band at once, frequently soon after Springsteen had written them.[8] Steven Van Zandt received a credit for production assistance for helping Springsteen tighten the arrangements from Born to Run's epic sound.[8]

Though the album failed to generate any substantial hit singles ("Prove It All Night" made it into the Top 40 in the U.S. at number 33, and follow-up "Badlands" just missed, peaking at number 42), Darkness was critically well-received and claimed the number one slot on NME album of the year.[9] In 2003, the album was ranked number 151 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[10] The cover shot and inner sleeve photo were taken by photographer Frank Stefanko inside Stefanko's Haddonfield, New Jersey, home.[11] Springsteen says, "When I saw the picture I said, 'That's the guy in the songs.' I wanted the part of me that's still that guy to be on the cover. Frank stripped away all your celebrity and left you with your essence. That's what that record was about." [12]

A reissue box set was released in November 2010.[13][14][15] This had initially been planned for 2008, to mark the 30th anniversary of the original album's release, but was delayed, presumably due to Springsteen's numerous other 2008 projects.[16] By January 2009, Springsteen's manager, Jon Landau, was saying the project was still in the works: "When we can find six weeks to sit down and finish it I'm sure we will."[17] A documentary entitled "The Promise: The Making of Darkness on the Edge of Town" was produced for the box set. The documentary premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in the fall of 2010 and aired on HBO on October 7, 2010.[18]

During the Darkness sessions, Springsteen wrote or recorded many songs that he ended up not using on the album. This was to keep the album's thematic feel intact, even at the expense of not having hits on it.[19] According to Jimmy Iovine, Springsteen wrote at least 70 songs during the sessions and 52 of those songs were recorded with some not fully completed.[20]

Some of the unused material became hits for other artists, such as "Because the Night" for Patti Smith, "Fire" for Robert Gordon and The Pointer Sisters, "Rendezvous" for Greg Kihn, "This Little Girl" for Gary U.S. Bonds, and several tracks for Southside Johnny (including three songs for the Asbury Jukes' Hearts of Stone album).[21] Other songs such as "Independence Day", "Point Blank", "The Ties That Bind", and "Sherry Darling" would turn up on Springsteen's next album, The River, while still others became bootleg classics until surfacing on Springsteen's compilations Tracks, 18 Tracks and The Promise.[21]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Retrospective reviews
Review scores
Source Rating
AbsolutePunk 5/5 stars[22]
AllMusic 4.5/5 stars[23]
Chicago Tribune 4/4 stars[24]
Christgau's Record Guide B+[25]
Pitchfork Media 9.5/10[26]
Q 4/5 stars[27]
Rolling Stone 5/5 stars[28]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide 5/5 stars[29]

In a contemporary review for Rolling Stone, Dave Marsh viewed Darkness on the Edge of Town as a landmark record in rock and roll because of the clarity of its production, Springsteen's unique guitar playing, and the programming, which he said connects the characters and themes in a subtle, but cohesive manner. Marsh remarked that the subject matter of the songs fulfills the hype that previously surrounded him: "What they've always said was that someday Bruce Springsteen would make rock & roll that would shake men's souls and make them question the direction of their lives. That would do, in short, all the marvelous things rock had always promised to do."[30] Robert Christgau gave the album an "A–" in a less enthusiastic review for The Village Voice and wrote that Springsteen's versatile narratives and remarkable characters on "Badlands", "Adam Raised a Cain", and "Promised Land" showcase "how a limited genre can illuminate a mature, full-bodied philosophical insight". However, he felt that more impressionistic, overblown songs such as "Streets of Fire" and "Something in the Night" reveal Springsteen to be "an important minor artist or a very flawed and inconsistent major one".[31]

In a retrospective review for AllMusic, William Ruhlmann said that Springsteen began to fully realize his characters as working class on Darkness on the Edge of Town, whose "hard truths in hard rock settings" made for a less accessible work than Born to Run.[23] Rolling Stone later wrote that the album was the E Street Band's best performance and reflected the unrefined sound popular at the time.[28]

Track listing

All songs written by Bruce Springsteen.

Side one
No. Title Length
1. "Badlands"   4:03
2. "Adam Raised a Cain"   4:32
3. "Something in the Night"   5:11
4. "Candy's Room"   2:51
5. "Racing in the Street"   6:53
Side two
No. Title Length
1. "The Promised Land"   4:33
2. "Factory"   2:17
3. "Streets of Fire"   4:09
4. "Prove It All Night"   3:56
5. "Darkness on the Edge of Town"   4:30

The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story

A box set reissue, entitled The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story, was released on November 16, 2010.[32] The six-disc set includes three CDs and three DVD or Blu-ray discs. This contains a remastered version of the Darkness on the Edge of Town album, a new two-CD album, The Promise containing 21 previously unreleased outtakes from the Darkness sessions, a documentary titled The Promise: The Making of Darkness on the Edge of Town and 2 DVDs of live performances.[33][34] The deluxe box set contains an 80-page spiral-bound reproduction of Springsteen’s original notebooks documenting the recording sessions for the album, containing alternate lyrics, song ideas, recording details and personal notes.[35]

The box set was in production for several years, and was originally expected to be released for the 30th anniversary in 2008.[35] On August 4, 2010 it was announced that Springsteen was putting the finishing touches to the box set. The documentary received its première on September 14, 2010 at the Toronto International Film Festival.[36][37] The box set was nominated for, and won, a 2012 Grammy Award for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package.[38]

The Promise additional track listing

All songs written by Bruce Springsteen unless otherwise noted

Disc one
No. Title Length
1. "Racing in the Street" (Alternate lyrics) 6:50
2. "Gotta Get That Feeling"   3:19
3. "Outside Looking In"   2:18
4. "Someday (We'll Be Together)"   5:38
5. "One Way Street"   4:20
6. "Because the Night" (written by Patti Smith and Bruce Springsteen) 3:25
7. "Wrong Side of the Street"   3:36
8. "The Brokenhearted"   5:19
9. "Rendezvous"   2:39
10. "Candy's Boy"   4:39
Disc two
No. Title Length
1. "Save My Love"   2:38
2. "Ain't Good Enough for You"   4:03
3. "Fire"   4:09
4. "Spanish Eyes"   3:50
5. "It's a Shame"   3:16
6. "Come On (Let's Go Tonight)" (Early version of "Factory") 2:20
7. "Talk to Me"   4:21
8. "The Little Things (My Baby Does)"   3:18
9. "Breakaway"   5:32
10. "The Promise"   5:54
11. "City of Night"   7:07

Unreleased outtakes

Springsteen wrote and recorded over 40 songs during the Darkness sessions. "Don't Look Back", "Hearts of Stone", "Iceman" and "Give the Girl a Kiss" would eventually see their release on the Tracks box set while 21 other outtakes would be released on The Promise album. Some of the songs recorded during these sessions would end up on his next The River however there still remains at least 16 songs that are still locked in the vaults, many of which have never even been released through the many circulating bootlegs.[39]

  • "Preacher's Daughter"
  • "I'm Goin' Back"
  • "Break Out"
  • Crazy Rocker"
  • "Down by the River"
  • "Don't Say No"
  • "The Fast Song"
  • "Castaway"
  • "Our Love Will Last Forever"
  • "Cheap Thrills"
  • "Triangle Song"
  • "I Got My Eye on You"
  • "After Dinner"
  • "King's Big Chance"
  • "Blue Moon"
  • "(I Love) Everything About You"

Personnel

The E Street Band

Production

Chart positions

Album

Year Chart Position
1978 U.S. Billboard Pop Albums 5
1985 U.S. Billboard 200 167
2010 U.S. Billboard 200 16

Singles

Year Single Chart Position
1978 "Prove It All Night" U.S. Billboard Pop Singles 33
1978 "Badlands" U.S. Billboard Pop Singles 42

References

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  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Ruhlmann, William. Darkness on the Edge of Town at AllMusic. Retrieved 8 July 2004.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Pitchfork Media review
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Portions posted at Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ brucespringsteen.net Darkness Box News
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. ↑ http://brucebase.wikispaces.com/Darkness+On+The+Edge+Of+Town+-+Studio+Sessions

External links

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