Review of The Promise: The Making of Darkness on the Edge of Town (2010) by Sean C — 14 Dec 2013

To an extent, it's for fans only, but as a Springsteen devotee I find this to be the most interesting phase of the Boss's career: embroiled in a legal battle over the rights to his star-making Born to Run album, Bruce and the band wait on the margins for three long years, prohibited from entering the studio. When the cloud finally lifts, there are about 70 songs in play, whittled down to 10 for the final product.

I liked the discussion of the most known songs and how they captured the goal of the album, as well as the focus on the songs that were left off, but I was a little disappointed that the "deep cuts" weren't talked about more; "Because the Night" gets given away to Patti Smith, "Fire" to the Pointer Sisters, but we never do learn why exactly a song like "Streets of Fire" ends up on the album. Thom Zimny's Boss flicks are always a little hero-worshipping, but like I said, to an extent it's for fans only.