Product Description

Track listing 1. Badlands 2. Adam Raised A Cain 3. Something In The Night 4. Candy's Room 5. Racing In The Street 6. Promised Land 7. Factory 8. Streets Of Fire 9. Prove It All Night 10. Darkness On The Edge Of Town

Track Listing

1. Badlands
2. Adam Raised A Cain
3. Something In The Night
4. Candy's Room
5. Racing In The Street
6. Promised Land
7. Factory
8. Streets Of Fire
9. Prove It All Night
10. Darkness On The Edge Of Town

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3466 in Music
• Released on: 2003-05-05
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
The Roy Orbison drama, the Wall of Sound and the soul energy of Born to Run are still present here but there's a darkness now, too, and it's more than around the edges. The stories have more at risk, for one thing, a definite sense of the pain that can accompany the hardest choices. These real-world consequences are felt most strikingly in Bruce Springsteen's newly prominent guitar--his solos are ugly and twisted but he sounds all the stronger for it. Recorded for everyone who has "a notion ... it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive", Darkness on the Edge of Town might just be Springsteen's greatest achievement. --David Cantwell

CD Description
This was the album after the famous Jon Landau statement came to pass, and although there are still many references to cars and girls it is a blistering album. It has a similar energy that was later to be found on The River. He states in 'Something In The Night', 'soon as you've got something they send someone to try and take it away'. He repeated the themes again and again, and we loved it; maybe his fall from grace is because we ultimately can get by with just one song about cars and girls.

Customer Reviews

Bruce’s Masterpiece
This is the Springsteen album everyone forgets. This is perhaps understandable, sandwiched as it is between the twin commercial peaks (the world conquering ‘Born In The USA’ aside) of ‘Born To Run’ and ‘The River’. But ‘Darkness on the Edge of Town’ is a criminally neglected masterpiece: arguably Springsteen’s finest album. Musically, the Boss was at his peak in the mid 70s to the early 80s, and this is slap bang in the middle of that period. But what makes it stand out is the fact it has everything – newfound maturity, variety and deft blending of stark ballads with up-tempo rockers.
From the very start, we know this is Springsteen at his voice-of-a-generation best. Just witness these killer opening lines from ‘Badlands’: ‘Lights out tonight/Trouble in the Heartlands/Got a head on collision/Smashin’ in my guts man’. The romanticism of ‘Born To Run’ is but a distant memory – it’s time to confront life’s harsher realities. And the tortured, jackknifing angst of ‘Adam Raised A Cain’ keeps the proverbial boot placed firmly on the throat.
Songs like ‘Badlands’, ‘The Promised Land’ (the most optimistic song here) and ‘Prove It All Night’ are cut from the stadium rock cloth, but each is infused with furiously articulate spirit and passion. And they mingle effortlessly with the brooding slower numbers like ‘Something In The Night’ and ‘Factory’. It is the piano-led ballad ‘Racing In The Street’ that is arguably the finest song on an album overloaded with gems. It’s a shattering take on the sort of topic Springsteen reputedly glamourises: drag racing. The promised land waiting down the end of ‘Thunder Road’ is a distant memory now: guys race just to avoid ‘dying little by little, piece by piece’. And the narrator’s girlfriend? ‘…all her pretty dreams are torn/She stares off alone in the night/With eyes of one who hates for just being born.’
‘Darkness…’ remains the definitive Boss statement: a brilliant evocation of our everyday hopes, fears and dreams. He may not be musically innovative or groundbreaking. But when it comes to addressing and giving voice to the everyman’s psyche, he’s in a league of his own.

The Real Springsteen.
Like many, I was introduced to Springsteen by Born in the USA. I would never attempt to talk negative about that album, but in my own opinion, it is probably the least Springsteen record he ever released.

If you want to get to the Heart of what Springsteen has been about, over the last 30 years, Darkness is the Album. It has the Rock part down perfectly, but like the album says, the Darkness is never far away.

It has the best of both worlds, the short, sharp rock of songs like Adam raised a Cain, and the melodic anthems, like Racing in the Street, without doubt one of my top 5 Springsteen songs of all time.

There is not a track that I would rate below 4 out of 5, but the standouts for me, this from an album that I already love start to finish anyway, are Adam Raised a Cain, Racing in the Street, Prove it all night, and the title track.

Its not going to tell you the world is a great place to live, but if an album about fighting to break away from small town problems, like family and redundancy, can uplift you, this is the one.

Challenging and magestical
It's hard to pick a favourite Springsteen album, but after much reflection, Darkness comes out top. It's tough and dark, it lurks in the shadows, and it gets right under your skin.

From beginning to end, it's an album stuffed with songs that just seem to get better, right up to the awesome title track (if I was condemned to be able to listen to only one song for the rest of my life, I'd choose Darkness On The Edge Of Town).

After marvelling at one of the best opening tracks of all time, stop along the way to savour Something In The Night, where Bruce's anguish seeps into you and the lyrics come back in flashes for days.

Move on to Racing In The Street and you'll soon be aching for the freedom of the road and the simple melody will haunt you. And then Promised Land, where your dreams will be crushed by the cold reality of life.

And I haven't even spoken of Candy's Room or Streets of Fire.

Just buy it, drop it into the CD tray, close your eyes ... and you'll know.