Bruce Springsteen: Box Set information
Although few details have been revealed about Bruce Springsteen's upcoming boxed set commemorating the 30th anniversary of his album Darkness On The Edge Of Town, some solid confirmation has leaked out.
The British Springsteen fan site Stone Pony London (spl-messages.net) quoted noted Springsteen photographer Frank Stefanko, who shot both covers for both Darkness On the Edge Of Town and The River, as saying that he had been interviewed for a Springsteen-produced documentary on the album. Stefanko added that the project will contain live concert footage that will "blow us away," and that the project will be released sometime between "June and December" of this year.
Recorded between June 1977 and April 1978, the album's sessions generated dozens of outtakes, as well as songs that went on to become successful for other artists, including "Fire" for the Pointer Sisters, "Because The Night" for Patti Smith, and "Rendezvous" for Greg Kihn and later Gary "U.S." Bonds.
The recording of Darkness On The Edge Of Town, which was the followup to Springsteen's 1975 album Born To Run, was blocked for a year while Springsteen was in litigation with his former manager and producer Mike Appel. Appel's suit barred Springsteen from recording with future manager and producer Jon Landau.
Springsteen has included the songs from Darkness On The Edge Of Town in his concert setlists far more than any other album, including such songs as the title track, "Badlands," "Candy's Room," Factory," "Racing In The Streets," "The Promised Land," "Adam Raised a Cain," and "Prove It All Night."
Springsteen's 30th anniversary boxed set of Born To Run featured a remastered version of the album, with a CD featuring a miniature reproduction of the album's artwork, a 48-page booklet, the Grammy award winning documentary on the making of the album Wings For Wheels, and a concert DVD Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band /Hammersmith Odeon 1975.
Although there has been no official word on what form the Darkness retrospective will take, there have been rumors that the set will feature a remixed and remastered version of the album, the documentary, and a full concert from Springsteen's 1978 tour, during which a half dozen shows were professionally filmed.