Published on Sep 19, 1997
One of the most difficult things about this job is having to say
unpopular things about popular artists and albums that have become
legendary. I found out the hard way when I dared to describe a
Mariah Carey album as mediocre – hoo, boy, my parentage was never
called into question that badly.
So when a reader (sorry, I don’t have your name in front of me –
this happens when you have mail on three different computers – but
I’m sure you know who you are) wrote to me about two weeks ago
asking me to review Bruce Springsteen’s
Darkness On The Edge Of Town, I can’t say I was overly
enthusiastic. Springsteen is an artist who enjoys almost godlike
adoration from fans and seething hatred from the critics; there is
no middle ground, and anyone who tries to claim some is damned by
both sides.
Well, warm up your flame mail, ’cause I’m a-headin’ for that
middle ground, with a slight lean towards the fanatics.
Following the success of his third album, 1975’s
Born To Run, Springsteen found himself in the middle of a
nasty legal situation. Springsteen sued his manager, Mike Appel,
after he was denied permission to let Jon Landau produce the
follow-up album, and rejected the producer Appel picked. As a
result, Springsteen found himself unable to record until an
out-of-court settlement favoring Appel was reached. Springsteen may
have won the freedom he was looking for, but at a cost. His music,
up till then not really socially conscious, became an homage to the
common man.
You can hear the anger in many of the cuts on
Darkness On The Edge Of Town; Springsteen was pissed, and he
very weakly tried to disguise it. One line from “Something In The
Night” shows the angry young songwriter: “You’re born with nothing,
/ and better off that way, / Soon as you’ve got something they send
/ someone to try and take it away.” Another song doesn’t directly
address his anger, but “Adam Raised A Cain” seems to have some
subtle references toward Appel.
Of the songs on this one, the leadoff track “Badlands” stands
out in my mind as being superior. Springsteen’s bands have never
really had a lead-guitar front; it’s always been more of a
piano-cum-rhythm section lead…. not that there’s anything wrong
with that. However, on “Badlands” the guitar work is a little more
in your face, something I wish he had done more often in his
career. A similar effort, “Prove It All Night,” doesn’t seem to
have the same gusto, and disappoints.
While Springsteen had always shown a touch of the storyteller in
his music, it really comes into its own on
Darkness On The Edge Of Town. “Racing In The Street” seems
to tell of wasted youth and the dreams that died as it passed by,
as well as an attempt to regain some of the lost time in one’s
life. Frankly, it is not a song I want to listen to when I’m
feeling depressed, but paints a very clear picture that serves as a
moral (warning?) to the listener. A shorter, but far more poignant,
example is on “Factory,” a song which almost every working stiff
(myself included) can relate to. However, other story songs like
“Candy’s Room” do not have the same effect, and the story seems to
be out of touch with the rest of the album. Never mind the fact
that Springsteen would do several more songs in this vein
throughout his career – check out the title track to
The River for a better example.
What surprises me about this album is that for all the trouble
Springsteen had to go through to get this album made the way he
wanted it, I would have expected it to be a little more electric –
that is, more songs like “Badlands” and “Adam Raised A Cain.”
Instead, Springsteen often goes for the softer vein that he has
never strayed far from throughout his career. And this is where I
thought the messages he was trying to convey could have often been
improved on.
Truth be told, I would not consider this album to be
Springsteen’s best, though I would not call it a failure by any
means. It’s just that when Springsteen gets into a solid groove
with the E Street Band backing him note for note, the adrenalin
level rises for both the listener and musician. There are times
that a quiet song fits the album perfectly; I’d say close to half
the album being on the quiet side is pushing it.
Darkness On The Edge Of Town could be seen as a transition
album.
Born To Run was the surprising breakthrough, and had
Springsteen not gotten caught up in all the legal yada-yada-yada,
this most likely would have been similar to
Born To Run. Instead, after a three-year “vacation,”
Springsteen retured to the studio a changed man. He would perfect
this newer style on his follow-up album,
The River. Consider this one a dress rehearsal for the real
thing.
Diehard Springsteen fans will surely find no fault with this
one, and even marginal Springsteen fans like myself will find
portions of the album enjoyable. It may not be Springsteen’s best,
but it’s a good start.