New Bruce Springsteen Book, "The Light in Darkness," Takes a Special Fan-focused Look at Springsteen's "Darkness on the Edge of Town

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) September 19, 2009 -- New York, NY September 2009 "With "Darkness on the Edge of Town" Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band took a stand at a time and place where everything was on the line," writes Vike Savoth in the foreword to "The Light in Darkness." "They were prepared to pay the price of hurtling headlong into rock and roll oblivion by walking away from the sound and look that took them to the heights of fame and fortune."

Often overlooked in favor of other classic Springsteen records, "Darkness on the Edge of Town" provided a much rawer and angrier sound than anything Springsteen had done previously. Coming at the end of a bitter, three-year legal battle with Springsteen's first manager, the album's darker sound was difficult at first for many fans and critics to grasp.

"I really had to listen to that album, hard, over and over again, to find where I could meet him, or really, where he was meeting me," writes Suzanne Scala. "This was when listening to an album meant lying on the floor, head between your speakers, dropping that needle over and over to play that song again and again. Skipping this one or that one, it's formulaic and tired, or is it? Play it again and realize, no, there's something different here."

"The songs on "Darkness" spoke to me personally," said the book's editor, Lawrence Kirsch. "Yes, the mood is darker than previous albums, but not entirely without hope. "Darkness on the Edge of Town" is pure, energetic rock and roll and one of the best works that Springsteen would create."

Despite the album's darker tones, the accompanying tour was one the most raucous and energetic of Springsteen's career. With more than 200 photos, "The Light in Darkness" shows Springsteen at his peak, bounding across the stage, leaping from pianos and wading into the crowd. With the 1978 tour, Springsteen began a tradition of epic, three-plus-hour shows, something so incomprehensible to fans at the time that many, thinking the show was over, got up to leave at the intermission. As Springsteen turns 60 this year, he continues the tradition of epically long shows that outdo all other musicians.

"It was like lightning flashing through the darkness and the band was the thunder," writes Ron Wells. "I had never seem any performer so full of energy and joy. He was definitely on a mission. This was not just a gig for him; it was freedom and exhilaration personified."

Chronicling some of his most famous shows, such as the Agora in Cleveland, The Roxy in L.A. and San Francisco's Winterland Ballroom, "The Light in Darkness" brings to life some of the final concerts Springsteen would play in 1978.

     born to run     bruce springsteen     darkness on the edge of town     Springsteen     springsteen book