Review: “The Promise,” Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band

Bruce Springsteen wrote more than 70 songs during a period in his career when a lawsuit with his former manager, Mike Appel, prohibited him from recording. He and the rest of the E Street Band spent the down time at his farm in Holmdel, NJ, rehearsing incessantly and going into debt. When they were able to finally get back in the studio, the 70 tracks were whittled down to ten and those ten made up the classic, Darkness on the Edge of Town. The other 60 were either given to other artists (“Because the Night” to Patti Smith and “Fire” to Robert Gordon and later the Pointer Sisters) or tucked away for another day. Well, more than 30 years later, the other day has finally arrived in the form of The Promise.

Many of the 21 songs (22 if you’re lucky) were unfinished. Some were lacking lyrics, while others needed more instrumentation and vocal work. It’s not hard to tell which songs were recorded back in 1977 and which ones were recorded recently, but who cares? New/old Springsteen, it’s all good.

Getting ready for the “Darkness” box: “Fire,” Houston 1978

Bruce Springsteen’s massive and long-awaited Darkness on the Edge of Town box set comes out in less than a month on Nov. 16. Here is the audio of “Fire” that will be included on the live DVD shot at  The Summit (now Lakewood Church) in Houston on Dec. 8, 1978. Our own, Denny Angelle, attended that show and will tell us all about in the coming weeks.

Bruce Springsteen official website

Backstreets magazine

Review: “The Promise: The Making of Darkness On the Edge of Town”

In The Promise: The Making of Darkness On the Edge of Town, Bruce Springsteen says “my career was not about money or fame. I wanted to be great.” However, there was a time after the release of Born To Run when he thought that “great” career he was striving for might be over. He was embroiled in a lawsuit with his former manager Mike Appel that prohibited him from recording the follow up to the album that made him a sensation, landing him on the covers of Time and Newsweek simultaneously. During the dark period, he wrote more than 70 songs and rehearsed incessantly with the E Street Band at his rented farm house in Holmdel, NJ (you get to see Bruce with what he calls his “Italian” fro and no shirt).  When the lawsuit was resolved in the summer of 1977, they finally went to work on what would become, Darkness On the Edge of Town.