Six-disc box set tells The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story
The long-awaited Darkness on the Edge of Town reissue, originally expected for the 1978 album's 30th anniversary, has grown to enormous proportions for its release on November 16 as The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story. The 30th anniversary set for Born to Run comprised three discs, and it would have been reasonable to expect the same for Darkness; instead, this just-announced set doubles down, with six discs: three CDs, and three DVDs. (A 3-CD/3-BluRay edition will also be available.)
For this deluxe edition, the discs will be packaged with an 80-page notebook containing facsimiles from Springsteen's original notebooks from the recording sessions, which include alternate lyrics, song ideas, recording details, and personal notes in addition to a new essay by Springsteen and never-before-seen photographs.
So we're looking at more than six hours of film, and more than two hours of audio. Let's break it down...
CD1: Darkness on the Edge of Town Digitally remastered for the first time (and in our view, the album most in need of such treatment)
CD2 and CD3: The Promise Two discs (which will also be released separately as a 2-CD set and a 4-LP set) containing 21 previously unreleased tracks from the Darkness sessions — songs that, as Springsteen writes, "perhaps could have/should have been released after Born to Run and before the collection of songs that Darkness on the Edge of Town became." Of this material Bruce also writes, "Darkness was my 'samurai' record, stripped to the frame and ready to rumble… But the music that got left behind was substantial." All 21 songs have been mixed by Springsteen's long-time collaborator Bob Clearmountain. According to long-time manager/producer Jon Landau, "There isn't a weak card in this deck. The Promise is simply a great listening experience."
The Promise Disc 1
- Racing in the Street ('78 rock version)
- Gotta Get That Feeling
- Outside Looking In
- Someday (We'll Be Together)
- One Way Street
- Because the Night (original studio recording)
- Wrong Side of the Street
- The Brokenhearted
- Rendezvous (original studio recording)
- Candy's Boy
The Promise Disc 2
- Save My Love (Listen now at Brucespringsteen.net)
- Ain't Good Enough For You
- Fire (original studio recording)
- Spanish Eyes
- It's a Shame
- Come On (Let's Go Tonight)
- Talk to Me (given to Southside Johnny)
- The Little Things (My Baby Does)
- Breakaway
- The Promise
- City of Night
DVD1: The Promise: The Making of Darkness on the Edge of Town. The documentary directed by Grammy- and Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Thom Zimny. The 90-minute film combines never-before-seen footage of Springsteen and the E Street Band shot between 1976 and 1978—including home rehearsals and studio sessions—with new interviews with Springsteen, E Street Band members, manager Jon Landau, former-manager Mike Appel, and others closely involved in the making of the record. The documentary will first screen at the prestigious Toronto Film Festival on September 14 and will make its television debut on HBO on October 7.
DVD2: A mix of E Street new and old: first the modern-day E Street Band tackles the Darkness album from start to finish (remember back in December, when Bruce and the E Streeters were doing some closed-door filming at the Paramount Theater?), then a wealth of vintage clips from the Thrill Hill Vaults document the Darkness-era band, both in-studio and live.
Darkness on the Edge of Town (Paramount Theater, Asbury Park, NJ, 2009)
A performance of the album in its entirety, shot in HD without an audience and recreating the stark atmosphere of the original album.Thrill Hill Vault, 1976-1978
From studio rehearsals to live performances, clips here include brand new cuts of the Phoenix footage, re-edited by Thom Zimny.
- Save My Love (Holmdel, NJ 76)
- Candy's Boy (Holmdel, NJ 76)
- Something in the Night (Red Bank, NJ 76)
- Don’t Look Back (NYC 78)
- Ain't Good Enough For You (NYC 78)
- The Promise (NYC 78)
- Candy's Room Demo (NYC 78)
- Badlands (Phoenix 78)
- The Promised Land (Phoenix 78)
- Prove It All Night (Phoenix 78)
- Born To Run (Phoenix 78)
- Rosalita (Come Out Tonight) (Phoenix 78)
DVD3: Houston '78 Bootleg: House Cut A holy grail of sorts, this is the complete show from December 8, 1978, at the Summit in Houston, TX toward the end of the tour for Darkness on the Edge of Town. They're calling this a "bootleg house cut," as it's the footage that appeared on-screen at the concert.
- Badlands
- Streets of Fire
- It’s Hard to Be a Saint in the City
- Darkness on The Edge of Town
- Spirit in the Night
- Independence Day
- The Promised Land
- Prove It All Night
- Racing in the Street
- Thunder Road
- Jungleland
- The Ties That Bind
- Santa Claus is Coming to Town
- The Fever
- Fire
- Candy's Room
- Because the Night
- Point Blank
- She's the One
- Backstreets
- Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
- Born to Run
- Detroit Medley
- Tenth Avenue Freeze-out
- You Can't Sit Down
- Quarter to Three
Eipä sitten muuta kuin joulua odottamaan. Se tulee marraskuun 16. päivä.
