Darkness on the Edge of Town Poll

"Racing In The Street" is gonna so own this.

Ooh, tough one but I gotta agree it's "Racing in the Street" by a nose from "The Promised Land".

I can't believe we haven't done this before. I'm voting for "The Promised Land," with the caveat that any live recording of that song is better than the one which appears here.

what i can't believe is that i don't actually own any springsteen albums??

also i think he's got a spot on my list of "ppl/bands that if u hate i probably dislike u intensely as a person"

see also: thin lizzy

"Candy's Room" over "Racing in the Street" over...ah fuck it, I will nerd out over this album anyday

1. "Candy's Room"
2. "Racing in the Street"
3. "Darkness on the Edge of Town"
4. "Badlands"
5. "Factory"
6. "Streets of Fire"
7. "Something in the Night"
8. "The Promised Land"
9. "Prove It All Night"
10. "Adam Raised a Cain"

I love this album so much. Live versions of "Factory" from 1978 are better than this one, with the massive drum beat that sounds like (duh) a factory machine, and Bruce's story about his dad gets me every time. But "Candy's Room": such an exciting song, with the pretty and aching opening part; and then Bruce's voice rising when he tells us about her sadness; and then the explosion of the blood rushing through his veins to a place further down; because after all Candy's room doesn't seem to mean *just* her room. And Candy's just a cipher for the narrator's desire anyway, his desire to be wild and to keep a woman safe and to make a woman want him. It's a depressing song because the narrator seems to understand that she's not his girl and probably never will be, but on the other hand Bruce plays it as an anthem (live 1978 versions amplify this). Unrequited desire is exhausting: the song ends suddenly and goes into "Racing in the Street", reorienting the rock momentum. I love this song so much.

The version of "Racing in the Street" on the Live 1975-85 box set, with its extended instrumental outro, is just epic.

Right. Time to put the 1979 bootleg collection on the mp3 player again. :-)

definitely my favorite Springsteen album, voted for "Candy's Room"

I kinda love 'Badlands' even though my wife says it sounds like Meatloaf.

Another vote here for 'Candy's Room', which amazingly isn't on that dbl Essential Springsteen CD

Just the other day I said to someone that Meat Loaf is the Broadway Boss

Virtually everything here is fantastic but I'm voting for The Promised Land.

I'm curious if anyone will vote for "Adam"

Worst song would be "Adam Raised a Cain."

Streets Of Fire is worse.

love "racing," "badlands," the title track, "promised land," but for me nothing touches the build-and-release of "candy's room."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oTFJhhWW8g

This is the first CD I ever bought. And the answer couldn't be any easier: The Promised Land. The best song he ever wrote, or will write.

The older I get, the more that song seems to mean to me.

'cause what (what) she (she) wants (wants) is ME

"definitely my favorite Springsteen album, voted for "Candy's Room""

exactly the same here!

The version of "Racing in the Street" on the Live 1975-85 box set, with its extended instrumental outro, is just epic.

^^^^^THIS!

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

"The Promised Land"

One of my favorite Sleater-Kinney shows had them covering "The Promised Land" (a live recording of which Springsteem himself later played over the PA on his last solo tour). After the song was finished, Carrie Brownstein rightfully pointed out that whenever they covered that, there were inevitably two or three dudes in the crowd who just totally lost their shit. Anyway. "Promised Land" has one of Bruce's best lines - "Take a knife and cut this pain from my heart" - and works almost as a sequel to "Born to Run," but "Racing in the Street" is just so gorgeous. Possibly Springsteen's best, saddest and most tragic invocation of the car as literal escape (along with "Stolen Car" and "State Trooper," or "Hungry Heart").

Have they remastered the Springsteen albums yet? I listened to them bunches when I was a kid but haven't heard them for years.

This album is probably about the most guitar centric of any of the classic Springsteen albums. Candy's Room has some great dynamics.

Have they remastered the Springsteen albums yet?

They were all reissued in 2000 or thereabouts, and I suppose remastered. At least the 70s ones sound much better than they did.

Anyway. "Promised Land" has one of Bruce's best lines - "Take a knife and cut this pain from my heart" -

Greil Marcus wrote at least 600 columns in which he mentioned that he attended several Springsteen concerts just to hear him sing that line.

Pretty sure Chuck Eddy would vote "Adam", though I don't want to put words in his mouth. I voted Racing.

album has like 100 of bruce's best lines!

also has his second best album cover (after Nebraska)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3wxBPcfs08

I <3 basically all of the darkness outtakes, but this is really one of his best songs

and the best name

xp

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxPxCqAlbGg

also inneresting

Thought that "Frankie" YouTube clip might be Springsteen covering "Frankie Teardrop" live or something. Oh well.

he's only done 'Dream Baby Dream' afaik

Promised Land, but is this his best album or what?!?

Promised Land, but is this his best album or what?!?

― iago g., Monday, November 30, 2009 3:11 AM

Wow, didn't check the album poll before saying that...Nebraska and Born in the USA in the top three? That's a stinker of a result

haha ilm polls can be horribly wrong ya know

I mean, those two are great, but they're the more casual fan picks.

yeah h8ed those poll results so much

Darkness was the last of the early Bruce records that I heard, and when I did hear it I was like shit, this is the one I was looking for all this time

According to the press via Jon Landau, Darkness is getting the special reissue treatment with a re-mastered copy of the album, live stuff and a doc on the making of the album sometime in 2010.

The older I get, the better this album gets. Could be any one, but today it's The Promised Land.

There's a dark cloud rising from the desert floor
I packed my bags and I'm heading straight into the storm
Gonna be a twister to blow everything down
That ain't got the faith to stand its ground
Blow away the dreams that tear you apart
Blow away the dreams that break your heart
Blow away the lies that leave you nothing but lost and brokenhearted

Was gonna vote for "Candy's Room," but it looks like my close second "Adam Raised A Cain" needs a boost some I'm going with that.

(dylan worthy imo xp)

Yeah, how awesome is that? So sure of faith he knows he can head into the storm and be left standing while the twister blows all the bad shit away.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

something of an upset, imo

Kinda surprising Badlands only got one vote. I never cared for that song either. Of all the Springsteen standards he plays at every show, that's my least favorite.

yeah I thought it was gonna be racing-badlands 1 and 2.

Ha, almost voted for "Streets Of Fire" instead of "Adam," aka the (slavish) Van Morrison copy instead of the (sort of) Creedence copy. This is his best album because it is all over the place but still cohesive. It's a transition album before he streamlined his sound, as has been discussed somewhere on this epic thread:"Born to Run" by Bruce Springsteen -- who really enjoys this overproduced crappy glop?

I am shocked by this result but there is no wrong answer.

Candy's Room has some great dynamics.

i'm pleasantly surprised that my pick won but man some really great songs got little or no votes

otm. Voting on these polls tends to be lumpy instead of spunky.

True, but it is kind of hard to imagine liking either "Factory" or "Streets" best on this album, which in no way means that they are bad songs. "Streets" is my least favorite though.

Candy's Room: Still a shocker.

This looks promising!

thanks for the heads up, this sounds essential.

IT'S OFFICIAL: DARKNESS FALLS, NOVEMBER 16
Six-disc box set tells The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story
The long-awaited Darkness on the Edge of Town reissue, originally expected for the 1978 album's 30th anniversary, has grown to enormous proportions for its release on November 16 as The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story. The 30th anniversary set for Born to Run comprised three discs, and it would have been reasonable to expect the same for Darkness; instead, this just-announced set doubles down, with six discs: three CDs, and three DVDs. (A 3-CD/3-BluRay edition will also be available.)

For this deluxe edition, the discs will be packaged with an 80-page notebook containing facsimiles from Springsteen's original notebooks from the recording sessions, which include alternate lyrics, song ideas, recording details, and personal notes in addition to a new essay by Springsteen and never-before-seen photographs.

So we're looking at more than six hours of film, and more than two hours of audio. Let's break it down...

CD1: Darkness on the Edge of Town Digitally remastered for the first time (and in our view, the album most in need of such treatment)

CD2 and CD3: The Promise Two discs (which will also be released separately as a 2-CD set and a 4-LP set) containing 21 previously unreleased tracks from the Darkness sessions — songs that, as Springsteen writes, "perhaps could have/should have been released after Born to Run and before the collection of songs that Darkness on the Edge of Town became." Of this material Bruce also writes, "Darkness was my 'samurai' record, stripped to the frame and ready to rumble… But the music that got left behind was substantial." All 21 songs have been mixed by Springsteen's long-time collaborator Bob Clearmountain. According to long-time manager/producer Jon Landau, "There isn't a weak card in this deck. The Promise is simply a great listening experience."

The Promise

Disc 1

Racing in the Street ('78 rock version)
Gotta Get That Feeling
Outside Looking In
Someday (We'll Be Together)
One Way Street
Because the Night (original studio recording)
Wrong Side of the Street
The Brokenhearted
Rendezvous (original studio recording)
Candy's Boy
The Promise

Disc 2

Save My Love
Ain't Good Enough For You
Fire (original studio recording)
Spanish Eyes
It's a Shame
Come On (Let's Go Tonight)
Talk to Me (given to Southside Johnny)
The Little Things (My Baby Does)
Breakaway
The Promise
City of Night

DVD1: The Promise: The Making of Darkness on the Edge of Town. The documentary directed by Grammy- and Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Thom Zimny. The 90-minute film combines never-before-seen footage of Springsteen and the E Street Band shot between 1976 and 1978—including home rehearsals and studio sessions—with new interviews with Springsteen, E Street Band members, manager Jon Landau, former-manager Mike Appel, and others closely involved in the making of the record. The documentary will first screen at the prestigious Toronto Film Festival on September 14 and will make its television debut on HBO on October 7.

DVD2: A mix of E Street new and old: first the modern-day E Street Band tackles the Darkness album from start to finish (remember back in December, when Bruce and the E Streeters were doing some closed-door filming at the Paramount Theater?), then a wealth of vintage clips from the Thrill Hill Vaults document the Darkness-era band, both in-studio and live.

Darkness on the Edge of Town (Paramount Theater, Asbury Park, NJ, 2009)
A performance of the album in its entirety, shot in HD without an audience and recreating the stark atmosphere of the original album.

Thrill Hill Vault, 1976-1978
From studio rehearsals to live performances, clips here include brand new cuts of the Phoenix footage, re-edited by Thom Zimny.

Save My Love (Holmdel, NJ 76)
Candy's Boy (Holmdel, NJ 76)
Something in the Night (Red Bank, NJ 76)
Don’t Look Back (NYC 78)
Ain't Good Enough For You (NYC 78)
The Promise (NYC 78)
Candy's Room Demo (NYC 78)
Badlands (Phoenix 78)
The Promised Land (Phoenix 78)
Prove It All Night (Phoenix 78)
Born To Run (Phoenix 78)
Rosalita (Come Out Tonight) (Phoenix 78)

DVD3: Houston '78 Bootleg: House Cut A holy grail of sorts, this is the complete show from December 8, 1978, at the Summit in Houston, TX toward the end of the tour for Darkness on the Edge of Town. They're calling this a "bootleg house cut," as it's the footage that appeared on-screen at the concert.

Badlands
Streets of Fire
It’s Hard to Be a Saint in the City
Darkness on The Edge of Town
Spirit in the Night
Independence Day
The Promised Land
Prove It All Night
Racing in the Street
Thunder Road
Jungleland
The Ties That Bind
Santa Claus is Coming to Town
The Fever
Fire
Candy's Room
Because the Night
Point Blank
She's the One
Backstreets
Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
Born to Run
Detroit Medley
Tenth Avenue Freeze-out
You Can't Sit Down
Quarter to Three

This looks great; I don't know this Houston '78 show, & it looks a little shorter than the shows I know best from 78 (namely Winterland & the Passaic Theater), but it's a solid set list. It's not clear to me whether those studio rehearsals on the second DVD have video from those rehearsals, but if so that's pretty cool! The 2009 show sounds ok, though Bruce's voice is shot now & his singing on the original album is crucial, leaping between tenderness & a scream. I'm not sure how much of The Promise songs I have already, probably a bunch, but they're a good listen & if this has more, that's great too. I hope the mixing doesn't slay them. Ditto for the remastering on the original album.

yeah, the promise stuff here looks great -- but is most of it on bootlegs or Tracks?

I'm not sure if the "Rendezvous" here (in its "original studio recording" form) is the same as the one on Tracks. If so, then as far as I can tell it's the only repeat with Tracks. I'm not sure about the bootleg repeats: I know the Lost Masters from that era pretty well, & so I know a few of these songs (like "One Way Street"), and "Fire" & "The Promise" are well known, but still, this may be pretty new stuff. & the sound on the boots from the era isn't great, so the mixing could help a bunch. Also, can we trust Bruce when he says the songs "perhaps could have/should have been released after Born to Run and before the collection of songs that Darkness on the Edge of Town became."? afaik not much from Born to Run until 1977 has been bootlegged, because of his contractual difficulties. But I could be wrong about that too.

yeah, i don't have many springsteen studio outtake bootlegs, so i'm not an expert with this stuff. what does the "rock" version of "racing in the street" sound like? seems ... wrong.

yeah, that's one I've not heard. I'm not much of an expert on this either, though I recently got a disk of Born To Run studio outtakes that I liked a lot.

The "rock" "Racing In the Street" is fantastic. Slightly different lyrics, really powerful vocals emphasizing the desperation rather than the sadness of the slower version. There's also another slow take of "Racing In the Street" that's worth seeking out. Overall, these outtakes are pretty obscure & don't overlap those on 'Tracks.' "Come On (Let's Go Tonight)" mutated into "Factory." And I gotta say - after all these years its great to see "The Promise" come out in its original form. I decided when I first heard it (c. 1980) that it was the best thing Springsteen had ever recorded & I still think so today. If Phil Spector had ever produced Townes Van Zandt, something similar to "The Promise" may have emerged. An absolute masterpiece. There are some superb live versions dating back to c. 1976 with sparse piano accompaniment too. Verily, it is to weep.

The Houston show seems like an odd one to pick based on my experience with '78 bootlegs, but I've been a bit out of the loop for some time. There's also a video "House Cut" from Largo, MD that is absolutely skullf*#kingly amazing. Hopefully this Houston one is equally great & in pristine quality. The Thrill Hill "Rosalita" is the one that's been around forever with the girl tackling him & sticking her tongue down his throat. Of the well-known soundboard/FM broadcast bootlegs from this era, I'd say Roxy Theater LA, Cleveland Agora, & Passaic are probably the best ones, but they all kick serious ass. For my money, nobody has ever done more consistently astounding shows than Bruce Springsteen in 1977 & 1978. Simply overwhelming.

promise is def the best thing he's ever recorded

Yes to the Cleveland Agora show. I must have listened to my cassette version of that 10,000 times.

But uh, is it wrong for me to say I prefer the 1999 Tracks re-recording of The Promise? The original is just too lumbering and overwrought. Love the stripped down new version, though.

OMG! Finally.

oooooh. now we just need that four hour River era new years eve show in pristine quality and all will be well with the world.

Nassau Night, you mean? The Crystal Cat version is already damn near perfect IMO. Great, great show though.

There's a Rattlesnake release of that show (Midnight in Nassau) that sounds somewhat better, imho, but it's incomplete and a lot of tracks fade out or are cut.

hmm, i think i have that nassau show, but the sound is far from perfect. will have to seek out either the crystal cat or rattlesnake version.

but yeah, the 78 bootlegs are out of this world. i think they actually ruined a lot of bruce's studio records for me!

There's also a video "House Cut" from Largo, MD that is absolutely skullf*#kingly amazing

High school age me saw Springsteen 2 times around 1978 or so at the Capital Centre in Largo. Great shows. Enjoyed him but not quite as much once in the early '80s there, but I was underwhelmed with him when I saw him in 2006 or 2007 in New Orleans at Jazzfest. Maybe it's me that's the problem (or maybe not).

He's nowhere near as dynamic now as he was on the Darkness & River tours. The band is incredibly tight, but the arrangements are much less spacious than 'back in the day,' making the live experience far less essential than it once was.

The bootlegs took the edge off of a lot of the studio records for me too. The live versions of "Prove It All Night," for instance, made the studio cut sound timid & lifeless by comparison, to say nothing of things he didn't even release like "Because the Night" (devastating!!)& "Fire" - and covers like "Summertime Blues," "Who'll Stop the Rain," "Raise Your Hand," "Run Through the Jungle," and "Rave On."

Dang! My olde Nassau Coliseum vinyl box set was a mediocre audience recording. I love to have a good recording of that show...

i have no doubt that his live act was even better in '78, but as someone who was regretfully not born in time to see that in person, i'm damned impressed with the shows he puts on these days. way more dynamic on stage than a lot of today's major-label rock bands, let alone most artists of his age.

I agree - I'll take Springsteen at sixty over most of the young bucks out there any day of the week.

Interesting piece here.

And this photo of Bruce looking over album cover proofs is by (wait for it) Doug Yule:
http://www.thelightindarkness.com/home/images/BruceSatprintersHiRes_ret.jpg

haha, what? the doug yule?

Yep! Apparently he was working at that printer's at the time, and happened to have a camera with him.

Still the only Springsteen album I go back to these days. Box set looks interesting.

will be interesting to know the price... right now his official site is only letting the 3 cd + 3 dvd set be bought
in a set with a poster and tshirt with an £80 price tag....

pretty cool though that The Promise set can be bought without having to buy Darkness again

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0040JHXTI/ref=s9_al_et_t?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=right-1&pf_rd_r=1ZW81YVJJAYTVVZS2085&pf_rd_t=4401&pf_rd_p=1273689702&pf_rd_i=B000AQ2ZLQ

oh okay, ouch. so i guess its gonna be about £60 even without the shirt and poster.

I always liked his primal take on Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away" circa 1978. The drums aren't as loud in this video as I remember them

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnUVfdpDXQ0

I always liked "Adam Raised a Cain"---it seemed like his most raw, kinda punk-inspired vocal.

Darkness on the Edge of Town [Columbia, 1978]
"Promised Land," "Badlands," and "Adam Raised a Cain" are models of how an unsophisticated genre can illuminate a mature, full-bodied philosophical insight. Lyrically and vocally, they move from casual to incantatory modes with breathtaking subtlety, jolting ordinary details into meaning. But many of the other songs remain local-color pieces, and at least two--"Something in the Night" and "Streets of Fire"--are overwrought, soggy, all but unlistenable. An important minor artist or a rather flawed and inconsistent major one. B+

Here's Christgau from his Consumer Guide at the time:

4. "Candy's Room" 16
7. "Factory" 0

This makes no sense. Don't get the love for "Candy's Room" at all, it's the only one I skip.

Assholes OTM.

a sadness all her own from which no man can keep candy safe

a friend was all excited to tell me yesterday that brooce is "playing the prove it all night 78 arrangement this year!!!!"

On my vacation in Spain a few months ago, we rented a car and spent some long stretches of highways and back roads flipping through Spanish radio stations. There was your standard assortment of pop, Euro and otherwise -- Adele was ubiquitous -- and a whole lot of '80s oldies. But at one point we found kind of a classic rock station, and the 2nd or 3rd song that came on was "Racing in the Street." It made me unexpectedly happy to be cruising down a Spanish highway with that song blasting.

"Prove It All Night" '78 arrangement is basically the only live showcase for the totally superfluous Little Steven these days.

is he the one playing lead on the intro to those versions? i always assumed it was bruce.