New Vibrations: Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen has become such a fixture in the American rock scene that it is hard to imagine the genre without him.

But in 1978, he was just getting started. About to release his first album since the 1975 hit, “Born to Run,” Springsteen produced a plethora of material, yet only ten of these songs made their way onto 1978’s Darkness on the Edge of Town.

Now, however, 21 of these previously unreleased tracks are available in the newest Springsteen collection, The Promise.

There’s a reason why we call Bruce Springsteen “The Boss,” and that’s because even in an album composed of thirty-year-old outtakes, he manages to provide us with great music.

The Promise is a collection of classic Springsteen song-stories with the characteristic Jersey charm and working-class edge that pervade most of his work; Springsteen is a master at sympathetically portraying the common man.

This technique is particularly effective in The Promise. In fact, when these songs were written it hadn’t been long since he actually was the common man.

So it’s moving when he croons about factories and living on a weekly paycheck, despite the fact that Springsteen himself is now a national success.

The Promise is a two-disc collection and each disc has its own mood.

The first disc is rather somber and full of raw emotion. Most of its songs convey a forlorn sense of longing. A prime example of this style is “Racing in the Street (’78).”

This is a different version of a song by the same name that was on Darkness on the Edge of Town.

Its opening sounds a bit like Springsteen’s earlier masterpiece, “Thunder Road,” and it has a similar poignancy.

The song is long and slow, but the lyrics are beautifully mournful. When Springsteen sings, “tonight my baby and me/ we’re gonna ride to the sea/ and wash these sins from my hands,” it’s near impossible not to be moved by his earnestness.

Another stand-out on disc one is “Because the Night.” This is a Springsteen-penned gem that was made famous by Patti Smith in 1978. Her version is powerful, and so is his.

Although the first disc holds up well on its own, the second is markedly more enjoyable. Here are Springsteen’s more catchy and upbeat rhythms.

The best of this bunch is “Ain’t Good Enough for You.” The melody is lively and the lyrics are clever and fun: “I tried to change/ got a job in sales/ I bought a shirt/ uptown at Bloomingdale’s… No matter what I do/ yea, you know it’s true/ ain’t good enough for you.”

It’s hard to find a track to dislike on disc two. Springsteen is simply approachable and endearing in these songs. Some more exemplary tracks include “The Little Things my Baby Does” and “Talk to Me.”

“Come On (Let’s Go Tonight)” breaks the overall happy feeling of the second disc with its mournful tune.

It’s a lyrical gold-mine, though. In it, Springsteen talks about a party at Factory Town (another appeal to the working-class man).

He sings beautiful, heartbreaking lyrics, “Many men failed/ their dreams denied/ they walk through the streets/ with death in their eyes/ and the man on the radio/ said Elvis Presley died/ come on, come on, let’s go tonight.”

This pure hopelessness and empty longing show Springsteen at his best. “Come On (Let’s Go Tonight)” showcases his unique ability to portray real life with a sincere poetic charm.

For those well-versed in their Bruce Springsteen, it’s possible to find elements of past and future songs in this collection.

“Fire,” another track from disc two, has a chorus slightly reminiscent of his later hit, “I’m on Fire.” But “Fire” is a great song in its own right.

Its beat is absolutely infectious and lyrics referencing Romeo and Juliet and Sampson and Delilah are especially cute.

There are some other recycled themes in the album. “The Promise,” the album’s title track, mentions “Thunder Road,” a song from the Born to Run album.

“It’s A Shame” also sounds a little like “Prove It All Night,” a track that was included in Darkness on the Edge of Town, but “It’s A Shame” is very appealing on its own.

Its melody is catchy and its lyrics are endearing, so even though one can find recurrent motifs in The Promise, the ideas work.

Similarities to other songs are subtle, so the repetition does not detract from the experience. The Promise gives the music-consuming public twenty-one new reasons to love Bruce Springsteen. These reasons are actually thirty-odd years old but they’re significant nonetheless.

Springsteen is a talented songwriter and musician and The Promise is another enjoyable and thought-provoking album to add to his impressive catalogue.

 

— Alexa Kwiatkoski