In commemoration of the 45th anniversary of his 1978 Darkness On The Edge Of Town album, Bruce Springsteen has issued a live version of the legendary set — complete with a smattering of songs originally intended for the classic collection.
The new 20-track Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band – The Darkness Tour ’78 package is culled from the official series of Nugs-issued “official” bootlegs from the storied '78 tour, with one track — “Something In The Night” — snagged from a 1977, pre-release performance.
In addition to such Darkness favorites as “Badlands,” “Prove It All Night,” and “Candy's Room,” the set includes the era-appropriate castoffs “The Promise,” “Because The Night,” “Rendezvous,” and “Fire,” among others.
The Darkness On The Edge Of Town album — and especially songs like “Racing In The Street” — featured a more pared back and dramatic style of lyric writing, dispensing of the bombastic “word salad” featured in Springsteen's earlier work: “What I kept stripping away was cliche, cliche. I just kept stripping it down until it started to feel emotionally real.”
Future MTV vee-jay J.J. Jackson spoke to Bruce Springsteen for KABC-TV during the L.A. run in '78 following “The Boss'” sold-out July 5th gig at The Forum, and Springsteen shed light on how seriously he took his job: “Y'know, it's, like, it's the thing. . . It's the, I guess, probably the only thing that I live for, y'know? (Laughs) And I just try to keep a hold on. . . I play Buddy Holly every night before I go on. That keeps me honest, y'know? (Laughs).”
The tracklisting for the new Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band – The Darkness Tour ’78 is:
Badlands (Live at Capitol Theatre, Passaic, NJ – September 19, 1978)
Adam Raised A Cain (Live at Berkeley Community Theatre, Berkeley, CA – July 1, 1978)
Something In The Night (Live at Palace Theatre, Albany, NY – February 7, 1977)
Candy’s Room (Live at The Summit, Houston, TX – December 8, 1978)
Racing In The Street (Live at Capitol Theatre, Passaic, NJ – September 19, 1978)
The Promised Land (Live at Fox Theatre, Atlanta, GA – September 30, 1978)
Factory (Live at Fox Theatre Atlanta, GA – October 1, 1978)
Streets Of Fire (Live at Capitol Theatre, Passaic, NJ – September 19, 1978)
Prove It All Night (Live at Fox Theatre, Atlanta, GA – September 30, 1978)
Darkness On The Edge Of Town (Live at The Agora, Cleveland, OH – August 9, 1978)
Rendezvous (Live at Winterland Arena, San Francisco, CA – December 16, 1978)
Because The Night (Live at Fox Theatre Atlanta, GA – October 1, 1978)
The Promise (Live at Berkeley Community Theatre, Berkeley, CA – July 1, 1978)
Fire (Live at Winterland Arena, San Francisco, CA – December 15, 1978)
Independence Day (Live at Fox Theatre, Atlanta, GA – September 30, 1978)
Action In The Streets (Live at Auditorium Theatre, Rochester, NY – February 8, 1977)
The Fever (Live at The Summit, Houston, TX – December 8, 1978)
Point Blank (Live at Fox Theatre Atlanta, GA, – October 1, 1978)
Sherry Darling (Live at The Agora, Cleveland, OH – August 9, 1978)
The Ties That Bind (Live at Winterland Ballroom, San Francisco, CA – December 15, 1978)