Darkness on the Edge of Town

Darkness on the Edge of Town is the fourth album by Bruce Springsteen, released in 1978 (see 1978 in music). Recovering from legal troubles and the stress of the breakthrough success of Born to Run, Springsteen released a somewhat less commercial album, Darkness on the Edge of Town. In terms of the original LP's sequencing, Springsteen continued his "four corners" approach from Born to Run, as the songs beginning each side ("Badlands" and "The Pr... more

Darkness on the Edge of Town is the fourth album by Bruce Springsteen, released in 1978 (see 1978 in music). Recovering from legal troubles and the stress of the breakthrough success of Born to Run, Springsteen released a somewhat less commercial album, Darkness on the Edge of Town. In terms of the original LP's sequencing, Springsteen continued his "four corners" approach from Born to Run, as the songs beginning each side ("Badlands" and "The Promised Land") were martial rallying cries to overcome circumstances, while the songs ending each side ("Racing in the Street", "Darkness on the Edge of Town") were sad dirges of circumstances overcoming all hope. Unlike Born to Run, the songs were recorded by the full band all at once, frequently soon after Springsteen had written them. When Springsteen sings: "Summer's here and the time is right for racing in the street," on the track "Racing in the Street," he is taking-off Martha & the Vandellas' Dancing in the Street. Steven Van Zandt... less