Edgy

A box set devoted to Bruce Springsteen's 1978 album Darkness Of The Edge Of Town goes on sale today.  I watched the documentary about the making of the album that's included.

It was a transitional period for Bruce.  In the beginning he was supposed to be the next big thing, but his first two albums went nowhere. Then he appears on the cover of Time and Newsweek and his third album, Born To Run, in 1975, makes him a major star.  How will he follow it up?

Well, first, as the doc shows, with a lawsuit against his manager. Until that's cleared up he can't record.  Then, once he gets in the studio, he's looking for a new feeling and a new sound to match.  BTR was urban, this'll be more rural.  BTR had a Wall Of Sound--since then, punk had started and Bruce saw the wisdom of tearing down that wall a bit.

He wanted to reflect upon new experiences, and what maturing meant, but he only had his instincts to go on.  So rather than coming in with a set list he wanted to record, he and the E Street Band spent forever in the studio trying out new songs, casting most aside.  In fact, two he threw out became hits for others--"Fire" and "Because The Night." Four others he'd put on his next album, The River (which, incidentally, was his first #1).  It wasn't that he felt the songs were inferior so much as he didn't want the new album to be identified by them.

It's a pretty good doc, interviewing all the band members today and going into lots of old video (in black and white) shot at the lengthy sessions.  I've never been as wild about Bruce as a lot of rock critics, but if I had to pick my favorite era of his, it'd be his stuff in the 70s.  And if I had to pick my favorite album, I think Darkness would just edge out Born To Run.

PS To the closed captioner: It's "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out," not "Tenth Avenue Fever."