Tribute to Darkness on the Edge of Town: A fitting 1,000th Post

This is the 1,000th Post on The Blog @ TerryLyons (dot) com:

Darkness

November 16th marks the release of The Promise:  Darkness on the Edge of Town Story -- a compilation of the original album, concert footage from the Darkness Tour and bonus songs, written by Bruce Sprigsteen but released by others and often performed by The Boss in concert only.

Here is a recent review:

For Bruce Springsteen fans, Nov. 16 is shaping up as a banner day. That’s when Columbia Records will release “The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story,” a box set focusing on what many Springsteen aficionados consider his most vital period as a recording and touring artist.

The box will include three CDs, including a remastered version of the original album plus a bevy of outtakes, 21 unreleased songs among them, according to an announcement Thursday from the Springsteen camp. It also will hold three DVDs containing six hours of live and studio footage, including a 1978 Houston concert when Springsteen and the E Street Band were in the midst of their most storied tour and a 90-minute documentary that will debut at the Toronto Film Festival next month. An 80-page book containing images of Springsteen’s original lyrics and notes from the sessions will also be part of the package. The set will also be available in vinyl and Blu-Ray configurations.

A few notes from Bruce's point of view:

• Highlights include the extraordinary rock version of "Racing in the Street," the never-before-released original recordings of "Because the Night," "Fire," and "Rendezvous," the supreme pop opus "Someday (We'll Be Together)," the hilarious "Ain't Good Enough for You," the superb soul-based vocal performance on "The Brokenhearted," the utterly haunting "Breakaway," and the fully orchestrated masterpiece and title song "The Promise." All 21 songs have been mixed by Springsteen's long-time collaborator Bob Clearmountain.
• "'Darkness' was my 'samurai' record," Springsteen writes, "stripped to the frame and ready to rumble...But the music that got left behind was substantial." For the first time, fans will have access to two discs containing a total of 21 previously-unreleased songs from the 'Darkness' recording sessions, songs that, as Springsteen writes, "perhaps could have/should have been released after 'Born To Run' and before the collection of songs that 'Darkness on the Edge of Town' became."
• My favorite from the collection is and always has been "Because the Night" which you can hear via NPR.  When Patti Smith recorded this in '78, it was one of the best rock songs of the year.
• And, a review from the Asbury Park Press.

Today is also a very cool day in the world of sports as ESPN opens the College Basketball season with a marathon of basketball games.  St. John's is playing at St. Mary's (Calif) in the funky 2am est game, an 11pm pst start at St. Mary's.