"'Darkness' was my 'samurai' record, stripped to the frame and ready to rumble…But the music that got left behind was substantial."Bruce Springsteen
The new Bruce Springsteen documentary, “The Promise: The Making Of Darkness On The Edge Of Town,” sees its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival next month, in advance of its DVD release on November 16.
The film documents the creation of the 1978 follow-up to “Born To Run,” which made Springsteen a household name. “Darkness” produced such Bruce standards as “Badlands,” “The Promised Land,” “Prove It All Night” and the title track.
Directed by Grammy- and Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Thom Zimny, the ninety-minute film combines never-before-seen footage of Springsteen and the E Street Band shot between 1976 and 1978—including home rehearsals and studio sessions—with new interviews with Springsteen, E Street Band members, manager Jon Landau, former-manager Mike Appel, and others closely involved in the making of the record.
In the first clip released from the film, you’ll see Bruce and Steven Van Zandt doing a unique version of “Sherry Darling” - a full band version showed up two years later on “The River.”
Bruce Springsteen – The Promise: The Making Of Darkness On The Edge Of Town (clip)
The CDs feature a remastered version of “Darkness,” as well as “The Promise” - two discs of 21 previously unreleased songs from the sessions; Springsteen recorded almost 70 songs and pared things down to 10 for the original release. "The Promise" will also be available as a stand-alone 2 CD set.
The DVDs include more than four hours of live concert film from the Thrill Hill Vault, including the bootleg house cut (the footage that appeared on-screen at the concert) from a 1978 Houston show, and a 2009 performance of "Darkness on the Edge of Town" in its entirety from Asbury Park. The special performance in Asbury Park was shot in HD without an audience and successfully recreates the stark atmosphere of the original album.
This footage is not included in this package, but here's a version of "Darkness" from 2000.
Bruce Springsteen - Darkness On the Edge of Town - Darkness On the Edge of Bruce Springsteen – Darkness On The Edge Of Town
From DVD: “Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band: Live In New York City”
MSG, NYC – 2000
