Darkness on the Edge of Town is possibly
Bruce Springsteen's best album, though it is hardly ever recognised as such. Released in 1978, after Springsteen's legendary
Born to Run in 1975,
Darkness was another stepping-stone to his peak in 1984, following the release of his best-selling album
Born in the USA.
Darkness is the closest Springsteen ever went to recording a theme album. Every track is about the darkness of living as the working class, without a hope for the future, and somehow looking around and finding hope anyway.
It is also an album about self-respect. There is a feeling of overcoming one's accepted lower-status, and
realising who you are.
From the rage of Adam Raised a Cain to the sadness of Racing in the Street, the album is extremely touching. The first thing I think about when someone mentions this album is the way Springsteen shouts the words to Adam Raise a Cain, howls the lyrics to Streets of Fire, and moans the intro to Something in the Night. This was recorded in Springsteen's "Era of Energy", when he used to run and jump and sing until his face fell off, giving his crowds encore after encore until he simply couldn't go on. On this record, Bruce Springsteen puts all of that energy into the sadness of the music (with the exception of a few tracks).