2nd June - Bruce Springsteen's Darkness on the Edge of Town

Artist – Album: Bruce Springsteen – Darkness On the Edge of Town

Released:  2^nd June 1978

Sounds Like: A working class hero is something to be

Last time, on Bruce Springsteen’s album – Huge, wall-of-sound music partially hid the Bosses’ disdain for the working class hero that he had previously celebrated.

On Darkness on the Edge of Town, his characters are still losers, and they can only really find solace in driving and working like they love it. Despite the, as ever, euphoric anthems the boss manufactured there is a terribly disillusioned sentiment to his songs on this set; possibly his most depressing aside from the notorious Nebraska.

The adult rock of ‘Adam Raised a Cain’ is quite good, but the rest of the first half is much more interesting – ‘Badlands’ is a full-on Born to Run-esque sing-a-long ; ‘Something in the Night’ and ‘Candy’s Room’ are wistful indie rockers. ‘Racing in the Street’ is the obligatory, end-of-side slow burner, replete with bittersweet lyrics. The second half of the album begins with the excellent ‘The Promised Land’ and continues in a similarly impressive fashion.

Anthemic but disenfranchised, Darkness on the Edge of Town fulfils both of the typical Springsteen themes. It’s a full on classic, and definitely worth a listen if you’re interested.

To be continued...

Albumaday... rating: 8/10

1.       Badlands – 4:01

2.       Adam Raised a Cain – 4:32

3.       Something in the Night – 5:11

4.       Candy’s Room – 2:51

5.       Racing in the Street – 6:53

6.       The Promised Land – 4:33

7.       Factory – 2:17

8.       Streets of Fire – 4:09

9.       Prove It All Night – 3:56

10.   Darkness on the Edge of Town – 4:30

Listen to ‘Badlands’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TF1jH6Cv0tk

Also released on the 2^nd June:

2003: British Sea Power – The Decline of British Sea Power