Springsteen, Bruce / Promise, The
Album: Promise, The   Collection:General
Artist:Springsteen, Bruce   Added:Dec 2010
Label:Columbia  

A-File Activity
Add Date: 2011-02-13 Pull Date: 2011-04-17
Week Ending: Mar 6 Feb 27
Airplays: 1 1

Recent Airplay
1. Apr 11, 2012: Seize the Sounds
Rendezvous
3. Feb 25, 2011: Time Traveler
Save My Love
2. Feb 28, 2011: Trainee Special
The Promise

Album Review
Be Sharp
Reviewed 2011-02-03
Like Dylan, Neil Young, etc, Springsteen’s got people going through all his old tapes, harvesting the demos, rehearsals, and outtakes. This package with 2 CDs brings us songs recorded between “Born to Run” (1975) and “Darkness on the Edge of Town” (’78). You can listen as Bruce works through his various influences, deciding what sort of songwriter he was going to be. There's stuff here that brings to mind 50s rockabilly, 60s pop, and big 70s anthems.

Here’s Springsteen in his late 20s, overflowing with ambition, desire, hope, and romantic American ideals. That’s rock ‘n roll! Listen and you’ll wanna climb into your hotrod and drive Wendy to the Promised Land.

A slower, Alt-Country "Racing in the Streets" (track 1 on disc 1) and the title tune, "The Promise" (track 10 on disc 2), are highlights.

No FCC issues.

Disc One
1.1. ** "Racing in the Streets" - This song made it onto “Darkness.” The take here is slower and sadder. The singing is unpolished, but the emotion is stronger. Beautiful violin and harmonica work. (6:50)
1.2. "Gotta Get That Feeling" - There are hints here of a big Bruce anthem, but the swingy chorus, the sha-la-las, and the brass choir are just a little too cute and a little too much. (3:20)
1.3. * "Outside Looking In" - If Buddy Holly had lived, he might have written this song. It's got a twangy guitar sound and the band calls back the lines of the chorus just like the Crickets would do. (2:19)
1.4. "Someday (We'll Be Together)" - This big, sweet love song has a pretty melody. Dropping it from the original album was probably a good idea. (5:39)
1.5. * "One Way Street" - A pretty, slow song sung like Elvis Costello. Works for me. Clarence plays a couple big, fat sax solos in the style of Clarence. (4:21)
1.6. * "Because the Night" - Patti Smith & 10000 Maniacs both recorded this. Bruce’s version is slow, spare, and pleading. Fades out with a nice bluesy guitar. (3:25)
1.7. "Wrong Side of the Street" - It sounds like someone else tried to write a Springsteen song. All the ingredients are here, but the product is nothing special. It’s ok, but it's also ok that it was dropped. (3:37)
1.8. "The Brokenhearted" - A sappy ballad plus mariachi trumpets. Bruce tries to sing like Roy Orbison. (5:20)
1.9. * "Rendezvous" - How did this terrific song never get on a Bruce album? Greg Kihn did it and it’s a favorite in Bruce’s live act. This take is stripped down and slightly slow. (2:40)
1.10. "Candy's Boy" - Definitely a work in progress. Very different & renamed, this became “Candy’s Room” on the Darkness album. A Jersey Shore carnival sound is juxtaposed with the down-and-out, forlorn theme. Interesting as history. (4:39)

Disc Two
2.1. "Save My Love" - Another big love song, clearly unfinished. Springsteen's voice, hoarse and strained, is interesting, but the take is really rough. (2:39)
2.2. "Ain't Good Enough for You" - A silly attempt at mid-60s pop. Homage to influences, sure, but it doesn’t work. (4:03)
2.3. "Fire" - Often done live; it’s on the “Live 75-85” album. Here the song is done slightly faster and with an R&B groove. (4:10)
2.4. * "Spanish Eyes" - A swaying slow-dance with a Latin accent. Nice. A bit of lyric made its way into "I'm on Fire". (3:51)
2.5. "It's a Shame" - It sounds like the band was just learning this “why don’t you love me” tell-her-off song. (3:16)
2.6. ** "Come On (Let's Go Tonight)" - A lovely, sad ballad. Bits of this became “Factory.” Has some very nice violin accompaniment. (2:20)
2.7. "Talk to Me" - Trumpets try a Herb Albert swing. This hardly suits the guy who wold become The Boss. (4:22)
2.8. "The Little Things (My Baby Does)" - Brill Building pop. Bruce attempts to write a song like Carol King. (3:19)
2.9. "Breakaway" - Bruce’s passion once again is unrequited. The band’s “sha la la” backup singing is a bit silly. (5:33)
2.10. ** "The Promise" - Cars, jobs, rock ‘n roll dreams. Promises broken. Slow, sad… and perfect. It's hard to understand how this song didn’t make the original album or any other one since. (5:54)
2.11. "City of Night" - This hardly even sounds like Bruce. An experiment that was rightly abandoned, but …
** Hidden track! Another beautiful, slow love song (“The Way”) starts at 3:20 (7:08 combined)

Be Sharp (Feb 2, 2010)

Track Listing
1. Racing In The Street ('78)   11. Save My Love
2. Gotta Get That Feeling   12. Ain't Good Enough For You
3. Outside Looking In   13. Fire
4. Someday (We'll Be Together)   14. Spanish Eyes
5. One Way Street   15. It's A Shame
6. Because The Night   16. Come On (Let's Go Tonight)
7. Wrong Side Of The Street   17. Talk To Me
8. The Brokenhearted   18. The Little Things (My Baby Does)
9. Rendezvous   19. Breakaway
10. Candy's Boy   20. The Promise
  21. City Of Night