"Born To Run" had made history and Bruce Springsteen had simultaneously been on the covers of Time and Newsweek. This time everyone was waiting for the next album, but most of 1976/1977 was a loss. Springsteen couldn't bring himself to go back in the studio unless it was on his own terms. When Springsteen signed his contract with Appel in 1972 (on the hood of a car in a parking lot!) he knew little, if anything, about the record industry. He even signed away the rights to the songs.
"What did I know? I didn't know what publishing was. I had never known anyone who ever made a record, or signed a contract for anything before! We wanted to play because we wanted to meet girls, make a ton of money, and maybe change the world a little bit".
His contract with Appel was characterized by many, including Producer John Hammond, as indentured servitude. Bruce also desired to have Jon Landau more involved with the production end of his music. A three year legal battle ensued which kept him out of the recording studios. It was during these years away from the studio that Springsteen and the band honed their "live" reputation, conducting exhausting tours around the country. His shows included many of the "staples of rock" including songs from Manfred Mann, the Searchers, Bobby Fuller, the Animals and Mitch Ryder. He also resurrected the career of Gary "US" Bonds by covering his tunes and everntually assisting in the production of two albums for the previously fading star. He was however, extrememly frustrated by his absence from the studio. Bruce said of Mike Appel "He worked hard for a long time. We all worked hard. And he sacrificed and he deserved something for it. But what I wanted was the "thing" itself, my songs. If I wrote a book, I couldn't even quote the lyrics from "Born To Run". I was losing control. That's why I started playing music in the first place, to control my life. No way was I going to let that get away".
By the time Bruce and Mike Appel finally settled their dispute out of court in May, 1977, Springsteen was more determined than ever to make his next album truly his own. Four days later, Springsteen and Jon Landau headed to the Atlantic record studios in New York. The initial title for the album was to be American Madness, which eventually turned into "Darkness on the Edge of Town".
"I think it's less romantic - it's got more, a little more, isolation ... There is less a sense of a free ride than there is on "Born to Run" ... They're not kids anymore ... On "Darkness" there ain't no free ride ... You wanna ride? You gotta pay!"
Once again, Bruce was disappointed with the finished results; "I oversang and we underplayed". For years he would talk about going back in the studio and re-recording the album. "For me, the whole thing in "Darkness" is just people stretching for the light in the darkness, just people trying to hold onto the things they believe in the face of the battering from the outside".
A great deal of Springsteen's best work can be found on this album. "Badlands", a major Springsteen anthem, talkes about 'trouble in the heartland' - an epic, dark, hard look at life across America. People fighting everyday to live decent, productive lives in the face of crisis. "Adam Raised A Cain" is a powerful look at conflict between father and son filled with Catholic imagery. Both subjects Springsteen was very familiar with.
There are also true rock n' roll mantras in the form of "The Promised Land" and the powerful "Prove It All Night", which became a center piece during the Darkness tour. But there are also more mature songs such as "Factory" and "Something In The Night" were Bruce sings about being "born with nothing,
and better off that way, soon as you've got something they send someone to try and take it away". "Racing In The Street" was described by one critic as "the muggy summer night, the street as the only source of escape. Springsteen has rarely sung better, or had more sympathetic accompaniment from the E Street Band than here. Sure, there are more automotive references. . . but this time there is a purpose. The racing in the street is the way out. When you have nothing and nowhere to go, it's the only place you've got left."
Bruce considered many of the songs recorded for "Darkness" to be too light and carefree for the theme of the album. Rendezvous, Hearts of Stone, Frankie, Don't Look Back, Iceman, Heart of Stone, Give the Girl a Kiss, and The Promise, to name just a few are all songs which would eventually be released on "Tracks".
Jon Landau said;
"Bruce had no interest in whether there was anything he could call a single. He was totally committed to making a record that was true to his own feelings. When you consider he had, but didn't use, songs like Fire and Because the Night, you've got to assume he didn't really want Darkness to be a big record. If success was what is was like with "Born To Run", Bruce didn't want that. He didn't want one song that could be taken out of context and interfere with what he wanted to album to represent."
The album concludes with the title track. "Darkness on The Edge Of Town" represents the very essence of what Springsteen is all about. It is a song about the loss of dignity and the courage it takes to overcome life's hard lessons when one's dreams are 'blown away'.
Though the album came nowhere near the commercial success of "Born To Run", it established Springsteen as the premier rock star in America.
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