Album Essentials: Bruce Springsteen "Darkness On the Edge of Town" (1978)
By Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor
1978 was truly one hell of a year for rock and roll! With the rise of bands like The Clash, Sex Pistols, Ramones, The Cars, Blondie, Tom Petty, Cheap Trick, and countless more issuing landmark albums, to the stadiums filled by Fleetwood Mac, ELO, and The Rolling Stones, to the wayward souls like Warren Zevon and Tom Waits, it was a colorful landscape, all ripe for the taking.
Bruce Springsteen would enter that year riding high from a constant upward trajectory that started back at the start of 1973, with his classic debut, 'Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.,' one of the most engaging and significant first albums ever. Here was a new voice, ignoring the trends of the day, to deliver his own vision. After following that with 'The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle,' at the end of the year, it was obvious the man was on a roll, but no one could have predicted the leap he would make with in 1975 with 'Born To Run,' the album that would thrust him into mass consciousness. A number three charting LP, praised to high heavens by music critics, and worshiped by his ever growing fan base, 'Born To Run' firmly put him on the map, now where would he go?
Released in the summer of 1978, 'Darkness On The Edge Of Town' not only solidified Springsteen's status, but delivered what may be his most loved album by hardcore fans, and his greatest statement overall. The wide eyed optimism of 'Born To Run' had been replaced, in part, by a more mature and ragged awareness of his surroundings, and his approach to songwriting. From the opening kick of 'Badlands,' it's obvious he is taking no prisoners. The anthemic tone of this driving rock and roll drives home that he was there to stay. His blistering guitar solo within encapsulates all the fire, venom, and angst, in one 16 second burst. Everything about the song shows him to have put all his pieces together to create the 'Bruce Springsteen' we know and love. 'Adam Raised A Can' is a dark, raw piece of rock and roll that startles as it shines. The production throughout, by Bruce and Jon Landau, has the right amount of polish coating, and the perfect amount of a raw beast, he never quite captured on wax again.
One after another, the album delivers these perfect songs, drawing on influences from the past as well as the then present. 'Something In The Night' may be a ballad, but it's heart is bursting at every vessel while 'Candy's Room' begins as an unassuming rocker, that explodes about halfway through, shattering into pieces before setting the stage for the magnificent 'Racing In The Street,' that even upon first listen, sounded like some lost classic. The album reached number 5 on the Billboard charts, and continued to cement his status.
Need I go on? And that's only side one! 'Promised Land,' ‘Factory,' 'Prove It All Night,' 'Streets Of Fire,' and the title track are yet to come, all on fire and burning bright some 46 years later. I have always respected Springsteen, and been what you might call a casual fan, but something about this album always struck me deeply. You can argue into oblivion as to what any artist’s best album is, and while many will side with 'Born To Run,' or possibly 'The River' as his greatest moment, for my money, it's always belonged to 'Darkness On The Edge Of Town.' It is essential, and it is a masterpiece.