Bruce Springsteen – Darkness on the Edge of Town

Taken from my book – Tracks of our Years on Amazon for Kindle/Unlimited & Paper/Hardback

I came to Bruce Springsteen quite late in my musical development. I can pinpoint it exactly to the day in fact – Saturday 23rd February 1985 when I was at Ewood Park Blackburn waiting for the football home game with Oxford United to begin. Back in those days the only entertainment for the faithful crowd would be a selection of the latest tunes played over a sound system of variable quality prior to kick off. ‘Dancing in the Dark’ came on, it seemed to fit my happy mood of the day and I just thought – ‘That’s good.’ So, I check out Bruce finally. Of course, my first vinyl purchase was ‘Born in the USA.’ It was one of my last vinyl purchases also as we were close to the era of CD with the release of the ubiquitous Dire Straits sound quality checker ‘Brothers in Arms.’

Actually, it is not strictly true that I discovered Bruce Springsteen in 1985. It was really ten years earlier around the time he was being touted as the new Bob Dylan and any other label that could be appended to him. The main label at that time was ‘Bruce Springsteen – the future of rock and roll’ as penned by Jon Landau. It was with that logo as an advertisement that his concerts at the Hammersmith Odeon in 1975 were announced to an expectant public. Now my friend Chris and I had never come across him prior to him dominating the music press and advert pages in the autumn of that year. As innocent children we sort of fell for the intensity of the hype pressure, seriously discussing as to whether we should go. We had travelled to London from the north for concerts before, so it seemed an exciting thing to do. But it was cold and dark with winter setting in, so we decided against it. One of those moments you let pass but in retrospect you cannot believe that you missed out. We did though, and Springsteen’s music passed off my radar for another ten years. It is fair to say that I have made up for the error of my ways in the years to follow, seeing him live many times, either with the E-Street band at Wembley amongst other venues or even surpassing those magic nights with solo performances at the Royal Albert Hall and in Dublin. He has been a major contributor to my musical pleasure on record, but especially live – the finest live performer on the planet? You decide.

‘Born in the USA’ is not my most beloved album by him. It is a fine album with some classic Springsteen tracks, but it is a blatant shot at superstardom in the mainstream which is entirely successful to say the least. Having said that, it is what first drew me to him musically. I soon started to prefer work by him that was more intense, rawer. ‘Nebraska’ I love, as I do ‘Ghost of Tom Joad.’ But it is this classic, definitive collaboration with the E-Street Band that is my number one go-to album by him. It is pre the superstardom he was to have. The process of making great art is pressed into these tracks on ‘Darkness.’ Coming out of the dark time of a three-year legal battle with management just to be able to record and produce music again, this album screams real anger, genuine relief, and a light at the end of the tunnel optimism. You feel that he has poured every ounce of pent up feeling and creative juices into this album. It is a magnificent work, and I can never tire of listening.

The sound on here is full, rich, searing into your bones. Every instrument is powered to the max but remains crystal clear. What strikes you as different is the reliance on keyboards here, a sound that will be associated with the E-Street band over the coming years. Danny Federici really gets full license on here to express himself, producing a towering performance on this album. Springsteen’s searing guitar seems to scream his relief that he is finally able to strap it on to some purpose. Justifiably with this performance he can lay a claim to be up there with his peers, a world class guitarist with a recognisable style. The band become with this album one of the finest rock bands, following their ‘Boss’ to perfection. The instrument that dominates though is Springsteen voice. It is tender, it is angry, it is raw, it screams, it howls without words, it has total conviction. It expresses his anger at having lost those years but shows his resilience and confidence in his future. No longer the future of rock and roll but the present face of rock and roll, up front and centre.

Max Weinberg is also given his moments centre stage introducing the immediate sound of this album. He is first up on the starting track as his drums sets the pace on ‘Badlands.’ He sets the scene of defiance on Springsteen’s part as he puts his frustrating battles with the music business behind him. Time to move on but do not think it is going to be easy – the characters know there is hard work to be done to turn this around – so does Springsteen.

‘Adam Raised a Cain’ is just a remarkable musical ride. The studio walls must have taken some pounding as this very live track is committed to tape. The song has an autobiographical feel, Springsteen’s complicated relationship with his father he has well documented. Springsteen certainly turned out better than a Cain, but he expresses powerfully the difficulties a father and son can face in speaking frankly to each other. The music drives this on to making it an inevitable concert favourite, stretching Springsteen vocal cords night after night. His guitar does much of the talking.

‘Something in the Night’ finds Springsteen wrapping his vocal cords around a tortured sound before going into lyrics that finds the protagonist taking chances to find happiness, temporary or otherwise. The outlook is not good as he again breaks into a howl without words. Can we find something in the night or is the cycle just one of fleeting happiness but mainly struggle and disillusionment? The chances seem slim, but he longs for more substance and stability. An affecting song.

Springsteen has a way with using girl’s names in titles and featuring their lives as subjects for many of his songs. The Candy in ‘Candy’s Room’ is not one of those fun girls from the boardwalk or the characters that find life lets them down as in ‘Glory Days,’ ‘The River’, or as we shall see on this album with ‘Racing in the Streets.’ Uniquely different as a subject she is clearly not a long-term prospect for a relationship although the guy feels otherwise, though clearly delusional.

Next up is the track that for me is the highlight of this superb album and possibly my favourite Springsteen song. ‘Racing in the Streets’ has a mature sensitivity in the composition, a deep insight into human feelings. A Jackson Browne influence may be here on this, but Springsteen takes it to another level with showing how a band can cope with and add to what is a poignant look at life. Keeping this as purely an acoustic track must have been tempting but the band bring extra emotional depth to the lyrics and a vocal full of feeling. The story of a man trapped in his dull, dead-end life. Finding escape on the street with his car and friend he knows is just temporary pleasure. But like using a drug he cannot stop. Not even when he sees his actions are killing his relationship with his hard won ‘baby.’ They are both trapped in their dreary existence but only he gets the way out with his racing – she suffers alone at home. Springsteen conveys her fear that he will come to harm, inevitably the couple are dying inside anyway, in such beautiful prose. ‘Baby did you make it all right?’ tears at the heartstrings – one of his finest lines. Even then he finds there may be optimism that they can make it all right. A cinematic song that you can write your own conclusion to. Musically this is one of the E-Street Band’s finest moments. Clear instrumentation that underpins and then draws out the lyric. Gorgeous piano work from Roy Bittan that is worth a Grammy on its own. An anomaly is that Clarence doesn’t get a look in, but he will have his day. Wait to the end and listen as Weinberg and Bittan take the song to a conclusion with an unsurpassable interplay of talent. Truly breathtaking.

As some have pointed out Bruce gets his facts wrong as regards some of the technicalities of the car engine set up. I doubt he cared; it all fits the narrative. You would have to be a severely obsessed petrol head to let a couple of facts get in the way of this masterpiece. Plus, it rhymes better!

First up on side two – you remember when we had to listen to two sides? – ‘Promised Land’ – a staple of his shows that he would rarely leave out. Just as a rock and roll track alone it works so well in concert, especially in an arena setting. You can take it just as that. It is an exceptional performance by the band and a powerful vocal from Springsteen. It almost sounds hopeful – a Promised Land. It is not though. In fact, if you listen to the lyrics, it is dark. This is darkness in the centre of town. This man has no way out, he is trapped as someone he doesn’t want to be. He hopes, just hopes, that there is a promised land, even if just for a temporary visit. More than any other songwriter Springsteen can convey the lives of the blue-collar worker with an authenticity that no one else gets close to. Now, we know he has not been down the mines or worked the steel press but somehow he finds a way into describing how people feel and indeed just exist rather than live. He gets away with this because he has worked, worked incredibly hard and suffered day to day trying to make his way. If you read his autobiography, you can see the blood, sweat and tears staining the pages. He knows how it feels even if he has not specifically followed the same path as others. He perfectly follows ‘Promised Land’ with ‘Factory,’ another sensitive look at working life – I see my father in this perfectly observed piece. Beautiful but reflective.

Finishing side two is another Springsteen favourite, the album’s title track. Again, you could read this as Bruce powering on after the frustrations of his management issues. Listening to the lyrics though there is not the same optimism on here as may be seen in other songs. The protagonist seems unrepentant, trapped certainly, but not willing to change his ways, a stubborn man. His wife is gone, but that he sees as her loss, not his. He sees others get what they want, better lives than him, but he seems resigned that nothing can be done so he will stick to his course – it is darkness but so be it. You can read some optimism into it, great writing always allows other interpretations, but I see this one as lacking that possible brighter outlet for this guy. Anyone who has seen this performed live will just have appreciated the sheer exuberance of this track, but like ‘Born in the USA’ it is a joyous anthem that has a darker lyric.

I have not referenced all the tracks but for me this is one of those perfect albums in the sense that there are no weak links. No feeling that you just must get up and skip a track. Although it clearly was an album that was a stepping stone to superstardom it should not be views as such. I feel this is his finest album despite all that was to come. Musically the band comes of age, they are now totally in tune with Springsteen’s vision, delivering to perfection. Vocally he is never better. Most great albums have some deep emotion or trauma behind their gestation – think ‘Blood on the Tracks.’ This is Springsteen coming out of a traumatic time and it inspires some great writing and performances.

I hope you are not still late to discovering Springsteen but if so, start with this one.

Taken from my book – Tracks of our Years on Amazon for Kindle/Unlimited & Paper/Hardback