Album: Darkness On The Edge Of Town
Artist: Bruce Springsteen
Born: Long Branch, New Jersey
Released: June 1978
Genre: Rock, Americana
Influenced: U2, Counting Crows, The Hold Steady, Arcade Fire, The War On Drugs
Springsteen's inspired run of albums in the mid-to-late 70s was pretty remarkable given the woeful state of American rock music at the time. In truth, Born To Run's huge US success in 1975 was partly down to his ability to tap into the country's wounded pride after Vietnam and transport people back to a Happy Days version of 50s America, full of references to classic movies (Thunder Road) and cars. Compared to Born To Run's mega-watt production (inspired by Phil Spector's Wall of Sound), Darkness On The Edge Of Town is more sparse and cinematic. Like Dylan, Springsteen withdrew from the limelight at the peak of his fame to live on a rural homestead, giving him the time to explore more personal themes, like the struggles and strains his parents had endured to make ends meet. This focus on the American heartlands and its blue-collar workers connects Springsteen with Woody Guthrie, early Dylan and other progressive left-wing singer-songwriters. Springsteen was just as prolific as Dylan in the 3-year hiatus between albums from 1975 to 1978, using this time to fill his notebook with lyrics, a resource that provided endless inspiration during the Darkness sessions, in which he wrote around 70 songs (one of those left out was Because The Night, which he gave to Patti Smith). The discipline and willpower involved in whittling down this huge songbook to just 10 songs, all based around connected themes of small-town longing, must have been a huge effort (as this documentary shows) and the results are astounding.
Darkness is my favourite Boss album because of this well-honed quality, and the lack of overdubs gives its a leaner and more honest sound than his more bombastic output. I also love its relentless drive from one song to the next, the tone veering between ominous and hopeful but the cinematic feel maintained throughout. That brilliant E Street sound is there as soon as the needle drops on Badlands, Springsteen singing of "trouble in the heartlands" and Clarence Clemons' sax injecting a more positive note, its rare appearances on this record used to forceful effect. As well as themes of parenting (Adam Raised A Cain) and working-class struggle (Factory, Promised Land), Springsteen also explores matters of the heart on Something In The Night and Racing In The Street, two of the record's highlights. What Springsteen excels at, especially live, is building an atmosphere that is totally absorbing and Racing In The Street is his defining moment. Of course, being a Springsteen song there are the usual references to cars and girls, but what the lyrics really explore is the danger of investing too much in our youthful dreams; it's about growing up and seeing that the bubblegum pop vision of the world (note the Martha & the Vandellas reference) is just an illusion, but a necessary one. The closing, title track works as an extension of Racing In The Street, with Springsteen singing powerfully and emotionally about the transition from young rebel (see his James Dean pose on the front cover) to bruised but unbroken adult, from romantic to realist.
Springsteen's inspired run of albums in the mid-to-late 70s was pretty remarkable given the woeful state of American rock music at the time. In truth, Born To Run's huge US success in 1975 was partly down to his ability to tap into the country's wounded pride after Vietnam and transport people back to a Happy Days version of 50s America, full of references to classic movies (Thunder Road) and cars. Compared to Born To Run's mega-watt production (inspired by Phil Spector's Wall of Sound), Darkness On The Edge Of Town is more sparse and cinematic. Like Dylan, Springsteen withdrew from the limelight at the peak of his fame to live on a rural homestead, giving him the time to explore more personal themes, like the struggles and strains his parents had endured to make ends meet. This focus on the American heartlands and its blue-collar workers connects Springsteen with Woody Guthrie, early Dylan and other progressive left-wing singer-songwriters. Springsteen was just as prolific as Dylan in the 3-year hiatus between albums from 1975 to 1978, using this time to fill his notebook with lyrics, a resource that provided endless inspiration during the Darkness sessions, in which he wrote around 70 songs (one of those left out was Because The Night, which he gave to Patti Smith). The discipline and willpower involved in whittling down this huge songbook to just 10 songs, all based around connected themes of small-town longing, must have been a huge effort (as this documentary shows) and the results are astounding.
Darkness is my favourite Boss album because of this well-honed quality, and the lack of overdubs gives its a leaner and more honest sound than his more bombastic output. I also love its relentless drive from one song to the next, the tone veering between ominous and hopeful but the cinematic feel maintained throughout. That brilliant E Street sound is there as soon as the needle drops on Badlands, Springsteen singing of "trouble in the heartlands" and Clarence Clemons' sax injecting a more positive note, its rare appearances on this record used to forceful effect. As well as themes of parenting (Adam Raised A Cain) and working-class struggle (Factory, Promised Land), Springsteen also explores matters of the heart on Something In The Night and Racing In The Street, two of the record's highlights. What Springsteen excels at, especially live, is building an atmosphere that is totally absorbing and Racing In The Street is his defining moment. Of course, being a Springsteen song there are the usual references to cars and girls, but what the lyrics really explore is the danger of investing too much in our youthful dreams; it's about growing up and seeing that the bubblegum pop vision of the world (note the Martha & the Vandellas reference) is just an illusion, but a necessary one. The closing, title track works as an extension of Racing In The Street, with Springsteen singing powerfully and emotionally about the transition from young rebel (see his James Dean pose on the front cover) to bruised but unbroken adult, from romantic to realist.
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