Darkness on the Edge of Town

A mediocre selection of working-class mumbles periodically broken up by unimpressive guitar solos and unnecessary saxophone solos.

Save 4 years of college in Upstate New York, I’ve lived my entire life in New Jersey. Despite what the internet and television will have you believe, it’s an amazing place to live. Here in Central Jersey, I can be in New York City in an hour, Philadelphia in just a little over an hour. I can take a day trip to the beach on short notice or spend the afternoon hiking the Appalachian trail. The food here is amazing and diverse. Within a half an hour, I can eat great food from just about every continent on earth. Our pizzerias, delis and diners are easily among the best in the entire country, don’t listen to what New Yorkers say. I’ve travelled all over the country over the last decade for work: California, Chicago, Washington state, Texas, Colorado, the South, the Midwest, the Southwest…all over. I’ve yet to find a place that offers as much as New Jersey does, or, at least, one that offers as much within such a close proximity. Yes, it’s expensive to live in and the traffic sucks, but it’s home. Like a pork roll, egg and cheese on a hard roll (with salt, pepper, ketchup) or Zeppole’s on the boardwalk, Bruce Springsteen is ingrained in my cultural DNA. I remember being a small child, not more than 4 or 5, Born in the USA playing on the radio, singing it out on the back porch while my parents and their friends grilled up burgers and dogs for the 4th of July. This is life in NJ. Even if you don’t listen to Bruce, you fucking know Bruce. It’s inescapable. You go to Asbury Park for shows at the Stony Pony, you travel up and down routes 1 & 9…the places he performed at, the places and people he sings about: they are places and people you are all too familiar with. Honestly, I’ve never considered myself a Springsteen fan at all. In my 41 years, I don’t think I’ve ever sat down and put on a Springsteen record and I definitely don’t own any. Darkness on the Edge of Town, until today, was no exception. Sometimes we take our backgrounds for granted. Traditions have a way of becoming mechanical: you celebrate holidays a certain way because that’s just what your family has always done. You don’t dig into the reasons why you have a certain meal for Christmas Eve, because it’s second nature, it’s just what you do. That’s my relationship with Bruce Springsteen. He looms so large in the place I am from that he’s almost an omnipresence, so I never really looked into the “why”, I just accepted it and honestly didn’t think about it too much…The sky is blue, grass is green, New Jersey is Springsteen Country. (I had no intention in penning a love letter to my state when I put this record on today, but that’s where we’re at. Just roll with me on this one, thanks.) Digging into Darkness on the Edge of Town, I’m instantly comforted. This is like home cooking; comfort food for my disaffected working class soul. Believe me, typing that out is just as corny to me as it is to you, dear reader. I can’t help that it’s the truth. Springsteen is on a tear on this record: aggressive, urgent, introspective, blunt and often flat-out beautiful. I could listen to “Badlands”, “Something in the Night” or “Prove It All Night” a hundred more times today and probably not be sick of them. This record rocks hard. That Bruce is, in many ways, the face of New Jersey makes total sense to me. He is a fitting encapsulation of this state’s underdog spirit. I may not have wanted to admit that for many years, but Darkness on the Edge of Town is resonating with me on such a guttural level that I’m not sure I can accurately describe it in any other way. It just feels so right. Maybe it’s nostalgia, maybe it’s me finally embracing my place as a fully fledged New Jerseyan….I don’t know, but it’s a fucking great record and I should have become familiar with it a long time ago. My bad, Boss.

Whenever I get asked what is something most people love and you don’t I say Bruce Springsteen. I’m tired of having to say this, please randomly give us something else

They don’t call him the boss for nothing

If the music was accompanied by someone who can sing, the album would actually be really good.

Good music but I can really only handle Bruce's voice in small doses.

Where's the option for 7 stars?

Excellent, epic and emotional. Better than Born to Run for me and my first 5* review. There's just something about The Boss that just taps into the working man mindset. Melancholy at times, hopeful and uplifting at others, he just gets what it is to be alive.

A haiku: Have you heard this one Characters love cars and girls Always hate their town

I had some familiarity with this album already, but gave it a thorough listen (ok several) and really liked it. Darker than his previous albums, but so good. Adam Raised a Cain and Racing in the Streets are two that I hadn’t paid attention to that I especially liked in addition to the already known singles such as Prove it all Night, Badlands and Darkness. 5

The album picks up from where Born to Run left off with the rousing 'Badlands', but listen closer and you will notice that Bruce's lyrics crackle with biblical imagery and religious fervour, this is repeated throughout on the likes of 'Adam raised a Cain' , 'Promised Land' and 'Darkness on the Edge of Town' . Has the Boss found God? Where Dylan was just entering his Fire and Brimstone phase with Slow Train Coming, which acts as a rallying cry for pious action in the material world (and turned off a large proportion of his Liberal base), Springsteen's spiritual focus is an introspective and personal crusade for self actualisation; the song becomes the sacrament, and what magnificent songs. It was also around this time when Van Morrison accused Springsteen (amongst others) of ripping him off and you can certainly hear his influence in the slower piano led numbers like 'Racing in the Street' and 'Something in the Night' which are meditative, hypnotic and transcendent. I told you he had found God.

How many times have the Killers listened to this album weeping enviously

70s Springsteen is best Springsteen

Funny that as I get older I appreciate Bruce more. While the power of his passion cascades from song to song, his music just never seems to capture my imagination. It's good, but just not great to my ears.

It’s alright. Probably the most Springsteeny album to ever have Sprungsteen.

"Candy's Room" is fast-paced and fun, not super into the power ballads, but liked "Streets of Fire". Not the most exciting album.

Snorefest. I really don't get Springsteen.

Masculinity at its finest.

Raw and gritty. This album produced Bruce's best work, because he was locked in a legal battle for ownership of his work and he couldn't put out any new music until it was settled. This meant he worked. And worked…and worked. This album has my favorite Bruce song - Something in the Night, it's such a beautiful song. Add to it Candy's Room and Racing in the Street as some of the lesser known songs to the biggies like Badlands, The Promised Land, Prove it All Night and Darkness make this a full five-star album.

Controversial opinion. This is his best work. His best, angriest and most solid batch of songs put together in the perfect order. I don't think hes ever topped this. It’s darker than what came before it and a reminder that life will beat the shit out of you and leave you broken. A story as old as time and no one tells it better than Bruce. 5/5

Excellent album. Probably more of a 4.5 for me but I’ll round up in honor of all the Bruce heads in this group.

Classic and perfect.

Fucking hell this is awesome

Sometimes when I hear an album for the first time, I'll absolutely love it. Sometimes I'll absolutely hate it. But it's really rare that I'll feel "comfortable" with it from the word go. I think by about halfway into the first song here, it felt like I was catching up with an old mate. I've never heard this album before, I don't even think I've heard any of the songs from it. But it legit felt like I've heard it countless times. There's something really cool about that. Can't give it any less than full marks. 5/5.

15th June 2021 Have this on vinyl so cracked it out in the morning while working on civil service live. Nothing to say. 10 out of 5.

30 seconds in and I already loooove it!

This was better than I expected. Varied melodies and tempos plus good lyrics make it easy to listen. Some nice songs I hadn't heard before.

Il est absolument IMPOSSIBLE d'écouter cet album sans avoir un minimum de contexte en main. On est en 1978, soit quatre ans avant l'épisode de la guitare qui va bouleverser la vie de Springsteen. Il enregistre à cette époque Darkness on the Edge of Town dans le but d'expliquer comment il va s'y prendre pour construire son prochain album, Nebraska, qu'il compte sortir en 1982. La stratégie qu'il développe en chanson est la suivante : se faire pousser une coupe mulet pendant quatre ans pour être fin prêt lors des séances studio. Il ne sait pas encore que cette décision sera le point de départ d'un immense traumatisme. Une fois Darkness enregistré, il décide d'organiser une séance photo et fait venir un professionnel. Ce dernier lui demande de s'adosser au mur et d'ouvrir son blouson noir. Bruce est très aimable et courtois, mais vous allez voir que ça ne va pas durer bien longtemps. Le photographe lui annonce qu'il va bientôt appuyer sur le bouton de son appareil quand soudain, au moment de prendre le cliché, un « zwip » se fait entendre. « Qu'est-ce que c'est ? » demande alors le photographe avant d'apercevoir le sexe de Springsteen sortir de sa braguette. « Tu reconnais pas le petit Jésus, ma couillasse ? » répond le chanteur en agitant son bazar. Horrifié, son interlocuteur quittera la séance sans attendre. Bruce Springsteen sélectionnera tout de même la photo en question pour en faire la couverture de l'album mais son équipe et lui-même prendront soin de rendre invisible la partie de l'image située en dessous de la ceinture.

Je vais vous raconter dans ce review l'histoire saugrenue derrière la couverture de cet album. Tout d'abord, il est bon de replacer le contexte, et de rappeler que cet album a été enregistré AVANT l'épisode de la guitare. A cette époque, Bruce n'avait donc pas encore engagé sa tentative de reconversion, et jouissait d'une beaufitude des plus totales. Nous sommes le 12 mars 1978, quand Bruce a rendez-vous avec un photographe réputé, professionnel de la couverture d'album. Ce dernier demande à Bruce de poser devant une fenêtre, volets fermés, afin d'accentuer le noir de la veste portée par Bruce. Il conseille également à Bruce de prendre un regard sérieux, presque séducteur, afin d'ajouter à la gravitude du cliché. Au moment où le doigt du photographe rentre en contact avec la détente de l'appareil photo, l'impensable se produit: Bruce dégrafe son pentalon, laissant apparaître son appareil génital. "Mais qu'est ce que tu fais Bruce ?!" s'exclama le photographe, stupéfait. "Bah c'est mes boules, mes grosses couillasses" rétorqua Bruce, avant de partir dans un rire gras. Le photographe étant choqué, et le cliché malgré tout plutôt réussi, il fut décider de rogner la photo, afin de ne laisser apercevoir que le haut du corps de Bruce en guise de couverture d'album.

The only boss i really listen to. What a record. Still have no idea what he's singing about. But maybe that's the point?

Like a drunk uncle singing karaoke. Would not choose to listen to this again

I really like this album also I have a coaster of this album cover

Never really got Springsteen although my partner loves him. And then a couple of years ago I committed to listening to every one of his albums in order. And surprised myself how much I liked - hence I finished the project. And now we're both going to see him live next May. Obviously one of his best, I even enjoyed Adam Raised a Cain a little bit on this listening. Candy's Room and Badlands are obviously highly accessible standouts, but the real stars are the more low key stuff like Something in the Night and Racing in the Street (even though I cannot unhear the Big Breakfast theme within it - oh and Crocodile Rock at the end there).

It took me a long time to understand Bruce Springsteen. Once you do though...you know you're struggling...butnyou also know there's still life and fun and meaning in the struggle.

Have probably listened to this a few hundred times prior today. A great album from one of my favorite artists.

I tend to like Springsteen's slightly more soulful/ballady songs over the rockier stuff, so this album suited me down to the ground, great to listen to the whole way through

Hell yeah, I loved this! I would definitely come back to this again and am keeping it on my phone.

Springsteen in his prime is 5 stars or A+ for me.

Edgy.

Really great album with some hits and some really good non-hit songs. Realistically most Springsteen is going to be a 5 for me but this one definitely earned it.

top tier memory - dancing to "the promised land" with my dad at my wedding

May be a perfect album.

I believe this is the peak of masculinity

Really strong argument for Bruce’s best album. I think it is a really succinct encapsulation of Bruce’s whole thing. His politics are on full display and the songs are catchy and impassioned. I will always be a Nebraska lover first and foremost but as far as his rock albums go, it doesn’t get much better than this.

Bruce Springstein is one of my dad's favorite artists and thus I have a nostalgic appreciation for Bruce's sound. His voice, his straightforward rock instrumentals, and his knack for writing anthems and ballads make him easy to understand and relate to. This album is great. It's got an edge to it and it has a side to Springstein that isn't represented by the hits. I wasn't very familiar with any of these songs going in, and I think the best songs on here aren't hits. They are good tracks but they don't have the immediacy that Born to run or glory days has. My favorite tracks are Adam raised a Cain, Promised Land, Streets of Fire, and Prove it all night. On my quest to become my dad, I think having an appreciation for Springstein is essential. Even if I don't listen to it on a pandora station with ads.

I’m biased but bangers front to back

Some days this my favorite Bruce album, it touches all the aspects of his music without going over the top like he did on Born in the USA. Great stuff.

I’ve never thought of my self as a Bruce “fan” but I think I’m becoming one. The storytelling is rich and feels authentic and lived. The band energy is dynamic (more piano than I remember) and cohesive. This is just a fantastic record that holds up to close listening.

My favorite Springsteen album. I think Springsteen is a good (if repetitive) singer-songwriter who has trouble balancing that with his bombastic showman persona, but he strikes the balance as well as he ever does here. The performances are strong, the arrangements clean, and Bruce’s gravelly roar of a voice is at its most effective. Most critically, lots of great songs. Best song: Adam Raised a Cain

Geweldig album! Eén van z'n beste. Zonder al te veel synths, love it. Bruceke uit de 70s > Bruceke uit de 80s 4.7

La cronología de los primeros lanzamientos de Bruce Springsteen posicionan a este como el disco "más oscuro" de su trilogía original (antes de que decidiera grabar "Nebraska", por su puesto). Más crudo, con un sonido más agresivo y menos esperanzador, "Darkness in the Edge of Town" es el Yang del Yin que es "Born To Run". Con composiciones increíbles y letras simples, escritas como crónicas de la clase trabajadora americana, el "Boss" nos deja claro por qué es y seguirá siendo uno de los compositores más importantes de Norteamérica. Sumamente recomendable. Por favor, escuchelo.

4.75

What was this about then. Every song just slapped? How did mr Springsteen do this

Very good album, as usual, coming from "The Boss" ;-)

Deep touching real music

Really enjoyed. Excellent. New favourite.

Gets better with age

Необычный для меня рок. Смесь рок-музыки и блюза, но блюз где-то фоном играет, а вокал придаёт большой бодрости композициям.

Badlands

I used to not care for Bruce much. All I’d heard were the big hits and it always felt like it was too repetitive and droning, but two things changed my mind. First, I saw his Western Skies documentary and realized he was a thoughtful dude with a lot of soul and not the mindless patriotic wanker I thought he was. Second, I heard the song Racing in the Street from this album, which might be one of the most hauntingly beautiful songs I’ve ever heard. From then on, I’ve been appreciating Bruce more and more. And I’m loving everything about this album. The guitar solos, the keys, the harmonica, the saxophone, and especially the lyrics. These are lyrics I don’t think I would’ve appreciated much when I was younger, but as life goes on, those themes of love, loss, redemption, and regret start to hit a little differently. Like on Something in the Night - there’s just something about the idea of getting in a car and running the road out, chasing something in the night, that has a little more depth the older you get. I think this is the kind of album you need to listen to twice. Once on some big speakers so you can just rock out and enjoy what’s going at the musical level. Then again on a good pair of headphones so you can really catch the lyrics and appreciate the intimacy of some of the quieter and more poignant moments. Not a perfect album (there are some misses), but definitely 5 stars. 5/5 Highlights: Adam Raised a Cain Something in the Night Racing in the Street The Promised Land Darkness on the Edge of Town

Perfect record

I had Bruce all kinds of F’d up. My bad Mr. Boss, I wasn’t familiar with your game.

Instantly recognizable as William Orbit. Great listen!

not my fave springsteen, but it IS all hits

5/5

My favorite Springsteen album. This is when I really got into Bruce. Freshman in college and this came out. From the opening notes all the way to the end, just perfection

Absolute classic from the Boss Every song hits hard and manages to convey emotions which almost anyone can relate to in some way

The album that cemented my Bruce fanhood.

I really enjoyed that. My girlfriend will particularly enjoy it the next time we're at the cottage

Took almost 200 days but I finally got a Bruce album! Sorry everyone, Bruce is one of my guys and I’ll probably rate every album of his on this list 5 stars. But ya know what? He deserves it! This stretch of albums is legendary for a reason! They’re all spectacular!

I think the description of why this album was made helps to bring you to this place. The movie about the middle eastern kid that moves or is born in England only adds to this album. Much love

Absolutely perfect, 10 songs, under 45 minutes, ranges from moody personal stories to sweeping epics, and contains an amazing amount of Bruce live show staples like "Badlands", "Racing in the Street", "The Promised Land" and "Darkness on the Edge of Town". The Boss at his best, and, by this point, the classic E Street Band line up were just clicking

Great follow-up to born to run and it’s full of songs that I still love today.

Really good album

Hello old friend

Good album.

One of the great storytellers of Rock & Roll, and this album was his story. Still terrific.

Likely the best album of the 1001 and one of my favourite 5 albums of all time. Stark and stripped back compared to Born To Run. Vocals magnificent, musically beautiful. Fluid and cohesive to listen to as an album. All downhill from here

Springsteen was prevented from recording due to a lawsuit, so this album is a result of him writing hundreds of songs and then deciding on a theme. The theme he chose out of the songs he had written is the desperation he felt coming into maturity, so this is an album full of songs about the people with dreams from "Born to Run" seeing those dreams fall apart. Racing in the Street is a perfect example of this, as is Something in the Night. I bought this album as the second Springsteen album I would own after his greatest hits. I was going away to college soon after I bought it and I didn't receive a very good picture of life after chasing your dreams based on these lyrics. Regardless, not everyone likes Springsteen and I understand that because his voice is not for everyone. For me, his voice combined well with the desperation and sense of looming failures the characters in these songs felt. This is my favorite era of Springsteen from 1978-1982. I don't know if I would recommend this album to someone who hasn't heard other Springsteen albums and enjoyed them. He goes Full Springsteen here and if you haven't already enjoyed his other work then you may not enjoy this. I do though.

One of the most underappreciated Springsteen albums - maybe of any artist - of all time. Darkness on the Edge of Town is the middle act in a triptych of Springsteen albums that represent his best and most classic work. Whereas Born to Run is full of youthful enthusiasm as our working-class heroes try to find a way out of their gritty lives, Darkness on the Edge of Town shows them giving up hope. The world is crashing down on these characters, and they know there is no way out. Finally, we end the story with The River, whereby the world is crashing down and yet, some glimmer of light is showing through. Born in the USA is the epilogue, where our now aging characters are learning to live within the constraints of lesser life. Outside of the overall arc, the music - the SONGS - are Springsteen at his finest. Badlands, Candy's Room, The Promised Land, Prove It All Night, and the title track were all major hits in their day and have endured as staples of the rock lexicon. It is full of stories that you become engrossed in and characters you care about. It's over 45 years later and I still wonder what the hell the guy in Candy's Room is doing. Is she a prostitute? Probably but why does he think of Candy as his girl? What's wrong with this guy? I still think about it every time I hear the song. This is the power of this album. Do not overlook it unless you want to miss something extraordinary.

It is unbelievably hard to not day drink when this album is on. I want to buy a house in the suburbs just to blast this on cassette in my garage while I work my way through a 12 pack of Modelos

I am obviously biased here…

Bruuuuce

During the "Promise?", Bruce Springsteen explains, among other things ("stick"!) that this album was made in the context of Punk and Rock N Roll type management issues during an enforced hiatus. Jon Landau later interjects some bullshit that is NOT an apology for what he did the MC5 Back in the USA. It is a thing, the pressure to follow up Born to Run, and the management thing is definitely a thing in the music biz-ask the Stones and everybody else - but in this apparent Insta Pot pressure, back to the wall, death or glory scenario, is born his finest back to front album. Maybe it's Iovine's uncluttered, panavision mix, maybe Landau shut the fuck up (seriously, how did this hack ass talk his way into the job? Maybe civilization is a series of blowjobs?) or maybe, like all great rock n roll, the desperate circumstances really made them go for it. I dunno. The shit is powerful, providing a gut bucket theatricality to the Boss's grandly dramatic lyrics. Each is complete, sympathetic pathos; each is well wrought to resonate maximum human vibrations. I feel this is the simpatico of Little Steven's love of the ramalama garage band arrangements and production assists. And the thing to be understood about the E Street Band is that it needs to be pushed: thus, the live legends. And studios, if one is not careful, it will absolutely sterilize everything to the point where it can hardly be said to rock at all (see Bon Jovi), and certainly, when left to his own devices, Springsteen has been Bon Jovi. When Springsteen is fully in band mode, he becomes the legend. Legends that they are, this album contains the best Springsteen song ever: "Racing in the Streets". Despite Springsteen's assertion that the song is about keeping one's purpose against the banality of life, the song is hard times "Glory Days", people stuck with their young choices, finding the old youthful care-free turned to bitter resignation to the consequences of such hubris. The joke about "peaking in High School" ain't funny, turns out. The other stand-outs front this front to back classic "Prove it All Night" and "Streets of Fire" and the title track are anchors to other tracks integral to filling out this image that is joyous, triumphant, somber, bitter, grainy polaroid accounting of young americans in the mid to late 70s, radiating an existential truth that is technicolor and gray in finding honest ways to be. This is one way to be that I understand in my core. Just fabulous, really.

never thought i was a bruce springsteen girl but.... wow.

A stunning classic from a power house in the industry.

Day143 - this is so good and it’s not even in my top five favorite springsteen albums

A masterpiece. Watching him break the mold of the rockstar he created and strip it down to the core is brilliant. The characters, the sonic dimension this created in, the angst, the love its all within this album. The band is playing its fiercest, while saxophone solos are scarce here they drive the point home when they come in. This album is almost like a movie in my opinion and plays out with all the intensity of a man running from himself into god knows where. The turmoil is reflected in the music, the longing in the lyrics, its perfect album.

Listened to this at least 3 times over the course of the day, which is probably the most of any album so far. Had no idea what Springsteen sounded like previously. Enjoyed it a lot, and never felt like skipping a song. Made me want to wear a jeans jacket while driving a Chevy through American countryside and the sun sets. idk why but the promised land reminds me of arcade fire. Favourite songs: Candy's Room, Badlands

I really like this version of Bruce. Interesting backstory I just discovered about his management issues causing a delay in releasing this, and the anger that comes through in places. I like the story-telling (although tainted for me by how the American politicians seem to hijack his songs for their cheesy ads - does this annoy Bruce?) His vocals in places are just spot on, I prefer the less angry Bruce vocal like on Racing in the Street - the outro to this song is beautiful - the keyboards and the bass 👌 I also love the guitar solo on Adam Raised A Cain, and the quiet drum/vocal ‘duet’ on Something In the Night. There’s plenty of the trademark harmonica / saxophone/ keys / bridges on the album, but there’s so much more to it than that almost cliched Springsteen Americana. A 4 or a 5 star? Got all weekend to think about that one!

I am not what you might call a Bruce Springsteen fan, but everytime I listen to a record I am always bopping my head and singing along.

Great

Love it.

An all time classic. A lot of great songs in this album

I completely understand why this is usually peoples’ #1 or #2 Springsteen record. Totally stacked track list, almost every song here is out of this world good. I’ve never been a massive fan of “Something in the Night” or “Candy’s Room”, but everything else is top-notch. Bruce’s songwriting shifts on this record; he writes in a very particular way on his first two albums, tweaks it slightly on Born to Run, and then sort of settles into I guess what you’d call the modern Springsteen mold on this record. His storytelling isn’t any less complex, but his actual language is. He gets a bit more direct, but still very poetic and fantastic at painting a picture with his words. He’s also a total badass guitar player on this record, you hear it right off the bat in “Badlands”, an awesome upbeat pop-rocker that he adds some really gnarly guitar work on. And he kicks it up several notches in track two, “Adam Raised a Cain”, easily the most blistering, incendiary guitar playing in his catalog, and a killer song to boot. I could go on all day about some of these songs, “The Promised Land”, the title track, “Prove It All Night”...it’s a wonderful collection of songs. It’s only my #3 because I have that much love for Born to Run and The Wild, The Innocent…, but still an easy 4.5 stars and an easy 1,001 5 star bump. 4.5/5

Racing in the Street is a killer

Best Bruce album so far. Much more ‘real’ than the rest. Really proving why the boss is the boss. 4.5

Obviously five stars, I don’t have anything else to say about it.

Poetry + Passion = Perfection

My favorite Springsteen album. Moody and dark, you can almost feel the dirt under your fingernails and the sweat dripping. Pretty good imagery from a guy that self-admittedly never had a "real job". The E Street Band sounds great, as always. This band is way underrated.