Review Summary: Gotta get out before it's too late
In the world of rock n’ roll, once Bruce Springsteen released “Born to Run”, he was basically the certified poster boy. “Born to Run” had it all. The epic orchestrated rock (Jungleland), the smooth jazz rock single (Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out), and the heartfelt love song (Thunder Road). After being very well received by critics and selling millions of copies worldwide Bruce had to go on an extensive tour to back it up. This is also where he would start messing around with new material and putting songs together for the next album. Also, it was clear that at this point Bruce had the world in his hands. But, the question was, how do you follow up “Born to Run”?
Bruce knew the obstacle he was up against. It wasn’t going to be easy. And it did end up being quite a dreadful process. He is a perfectionist and needs everything to be done exactly the way he wants it to be. His bandmates are fine with this though. They know of the genius qualities he attains in his songwriting. If it’s going to be better than “Born to Run,” it’s going to have to be perfect.
“Darkness on the Edge of Town” features Bruce Springsteen at the absolute top of his game. Lyrics and all. The production is top notch as well. There is a clear change of direction and sound going from “Born to Run” to “Darkness.” Bruce is taking no prisoners this time. This album shows him in his rawest and grittiest form yet. There are no more orchestrated rock epics. No more songs about wishful thinking and following your dreams. It is like the boy in “Born to Run” who sang about leaving town with his girl and living happily ever after never made it. He got stuck in his dead end home town. All his dreams were crushed and his girl cries herself to sleep every night. All he can do is man up and go to work every day like his father did before him.
“Badlands” is an easy song to start with and a magnificent opener. The reason why it’s easy to start with is because the real dark themes do not begin here. It just gives you a rundown of what to expect in the coming minutes. But nothing can prepare you for “Adam Raised a Cain.” Immediately after Badlands you are plunged into one of the coldest and darkest tracks in Bruce’s discography. Cleverly using biblical imagery to describe the shaky relationship with his father, this is where the album truly begins.
“In the Bible Cain slew Abel
And East of Eden mama he was cast
You're born into this life paying
For the sins of somebody else's past”
Absolutely riveting. Bruce just drags you down deeper and deeper into the depths of the album with every line in this song. The darkness just consuming you. After Adam Raised a Cain follows “Something in the Night” which is completely devastating. A song about how hard life really is when you’re not expecting it and having it all crash on you at once. Truly saddening and heart-breaking. But when compared to “Racing in the Street,” it doesn’t even come close.
Racing in the Street falls dead center in the middle of the album and is the bridge into the second half, more upbeat part of the album. But getting there isn’t easy. Racing is one of the most depressing songs ever made. Featuring genius lyrics about a time when he was young and worked on cars to go racing, it doesn’t stay happy for long. He starts talking about men who just “give up living” and “start dying little by little” but others stick with the reckless lifestyle just because it is all they have in life. By the time he gets to the third verse, the struggle he is going through is apparent and real. The girl he loves “cries herself to sleep” and “hates for just being born.” Bruce feels there is nothing left to live for and the only saving grace he has is going out at night and racing once he gets home from his dead end job.
Although not as popular or successful as “Born to Run,” “Darkness” included the best writing of his career and lyrics far beyond anything he had written beforehand. This was the peak of Springsteen’s career. The emotion and passion in each one of these songs is unmatched as far as his discography goes. Combined with the grim themes and feelings of desperation, makes it a very captivating album to listen to. Many of these themes are familiar in much of Bruce’s work, but there is nothing like how it is executed on this album. The feeling that you have to get out and change your life. The feeling that if you don’t you’ll die. The feeling that you may never escape through the darkness on the edge of town.
5/5 *CLASSIC*
