Thought I would just share a few thoughts on this album...
Darkness on the Edge of Town is not my least favorite Springsteen album, but it is not my favorite by him either. It is actually the closest I have ever found an album to being unlistenable to me--without actually being unlistenable to me. It is an album that I never play, but I would also never get rid of either.
Darkness balances the bizarre combination of downtempo folk/heartland, pop, rock, and even outright hard rock at times. Even the piano playing is perfectly balanced to set the mood.
Darkness never looses momentum either--possibly even better than
Born To Run does in that regard.
I own
the Promise as well, and while I would love to switch out a few tracks like "Racing in the Street" for the alternate '78 version, it would trash the mood, which is
Darkness's strongest aspect IMO.
As you would expect,
3/5 for Springsteen's
Darkness.