If the energy of albums like Born to Run or Born in the USA (or god forbid the weirdness of The Rising) hook you on the idea of an absurd sense of patriotism, Darkness on the Edge of town feels more like a gritty reminder of what that ‘dream’ really entails. In a way an album feels more comforting, I feel as though instead of opting towards the ‘eat your vitamins and say your prayers like a good hulkamaniac’ this comes from a much more understanding mindset of knowing that the road ahead in life will be tough but worthwhile in the end. While I can agree Springsteens most enjoyable songs come from his more poppier albums, I wouldn’t have minded if he had a few more albums that were congruent with this one.