Note: Unfortunately, very few outtakes circulate of Badlands, one of Springsteen's greatest songs and anthems, that he opened concerts with for years, although there must be some good stuff waiting in the vaults. Remember, title, music, lyrics, the Springsteen method of songwriting. The title came from Terrence Malick's 1973 movie, "Badlands" (he had not seen the movie). In late June, the music had been composed, and was first played by the E Street Band on June 27, 1977 at Atlantic Studios. The song's opening riff, Springsteen revealed years later, is a major-key twist on the minor-key intro to the Animals' 1965 hit "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood." V1 is an instrumental backing track, recorded on June 27 and 30. Max Weinberg said his opening drum part was suggested by Steve Van Zandt, and inspired by Motown. Bruce had a routine with his engineers to create "Ruffs" tapes for him, so he could take instrumental or early recordings home and write lyrics. V2 had to be recorded in late June, or on July 11 or 13 at Atlantic Studios. Springsteen was working at Atlantic Studios on July 13, 1977, when the twenty-five-hour-long New York City blackout began; soon after, the opening line "Lights Out Tonight", came into being. New takes, with developing lyrics, were recorded on August 24 and 30, 1977, but contrary to Lost Masters liner notes and many other sources, no outtakes circulate from these sessions.
It wasn't until November 1977, that Badlands was re-written with new lines, including, "I wanna go out tonight, I wanna find out what I got" from "Iceman", about which he later honestly recalled, "That whole record was a record where I felt like I was going to have to test myself, and that was what I wanted to know, so that line ended up in a few different songs."—Los Angeles Times interview, 1998. Next, from a song by Elvis Presley from the 1962 movie, "Kid Galahad", "King Of The Whole Wide World": "A poor man wants to be a rich man, A rich man wants to be a king, But the man who can sing when he hasn't got a thing, He's the king of the whole wide world". Bruce translated this to these Verse 2 lines: "You better get it straight, darling, Poor man wanna be rich, rich man wanna be king, And a king ain't satisfied till he rules everything, I wanna go out tonight, I wanna find out what I got". Verse 3 was strengthened by, "For the ones who once had a notion, it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive" from "Break Out".
V3 was recorded on December 12, 1977 at the Record Plant, with many new pieces in place. Bruce is still yelling at 'the man on the TV', but Badlands has started to take shape. The vocals for V4, the album version, were dubbed in during a three-day mixing marathon on February 22, 24 and 25, 1978. V4b is an alternate, with less double-tracked vocals than the Darkness version, and V4c was the final mix from April 11, which was pressed to acetate on April 12, 1978. V5 take 23 was a last moment dubbing, on May 5, 1978, of one of Clarence Clemons' greatest sax solos, perhaps ranking just behind Jungleland on his personal list. Springsteen's initial excuse for almost leaving it off was that he believed the instrument evoked the city, leaving it out of place on an album set in something more like "the heartland"; he later admitted, "[that] would have been a major error". Relax Bruce, don't overthink everything, you might inadvertently make a real mistake, like deciding to delete "The Promise" at the last minute.
Note: Finally, in 1977, the sequel to John Steinbeck's "East of Eden" has come. It is not a book or a movie, it is a track on "Darkness On the Edge of Town" called "Adam Raised A Cain", starring Doug and Bruce Springsteen. Blowing the other song about his dad, "Factory", out of the water, "Daddy Raised A Cain" is the kind of song only rock and roll allows us to express. This song is about some dark feelings in a father-son relationship, which is not unique in itself. The third verse is the boiling point of the song, "In the Bible, Cain slew Abel but East of Eden, mama, he was cast, you're born into this life paying for the sins of somebody else's past, Daddy worked his whole life for nothing but the pain, now he walks these empty rooms looking for something to blame." This is a pretty dark picture to paint for the whole world about your father. But things can always be worse. In verse 2, things warm up when Bruce encounters his mother, "In the darkness of your room your mother calls you by your true name, you remember the faces, the places, the names". However, in the earlier versions of the song, which were watered down for the final album release, Bruce said, "in the darkness of your own room your mother calls you by your true name, She knows you didn't come back to join their little games." Not friendly at all! Then comes Verse 3, "Daddy worked his whole life for nothing but the pain, now he haunts these empty rooms rattling these chains." In Factory, "Somebody's gonna get hurt tonight", now daddy just turned into a werewolf upstairs!"
Bruce had total control over his music at the time this was recorded, and he could have used either version. He had the record company and Jon Landau giving him advice, but Bruce would never allow anyone but himself make this decision. Nobody thought Darkness was an album that Springsteen was making compromises on to increase sales. Many times in his career, lyrics were violent and emotional, then like any adult, he thought things over, and used a different combination of words to express his feelings. That's likely all that happened here.
It is said that Springsteen and the Band started working on this song as far back as August, but that rumor came from the Lost Masters III liner notes, which said tracks 1-5 were all from August 1977. Track 5, "Prove It All Night" was first cut September 12, 1977, track 3, Factory, was not even called "Factory" until 1978, and the first take of V1 "Daddy Raised A Cain", according to studio logs, was on November 9, 1977, and work was not resumed again until December 15, 1977. The Darkness album take, only separated by lyrical differences, could have been cut on the same day if Bruce had both sets of lyrics prepared, but since we are missing all the practice takes, and left with two finished products, December 15, 1977, seems like a reasonable date for the base take. Three consecutive days were spent mixing and editing, on February 15, 16 and 17, 1978, so it also seems most reasonable that Daddy Raised A Cain became Adam Raised A Cain with vocal overdubs and perhaps re-recording of entire sections in February 1978. Bruce did the same thing on Born To Run, transforming Backstreets and She's the One into classics with last moment flashes of brilliance.
Before his death in 1998, Doug Springsteen was asked which of his son’s songs he liked best. “The ones about me,” he answered.
Note: Premiered live on August 1, 1976 and was played at 31 of 54 shows on the Lawsuit Tour 1976-1977, which gave Springsteen opportunities to revise lyrics and modify arrangements. The tour featured a full-time horn section, the Miami Horns, and they were also used in several arrangements. When the Darkness sessions began on June 1, 1977, takes of "Something In the Night" were recorded that evening, and apparently the album take was chosen from these. According to Sony logs, there were two subsequent recording sessions on June 14 and 16, and that was it, until mixing sessions began in 1978. Versions 2a, 2b, 2c and 2d are all the same June 1 recording, with different mixes made. There is a posibility of V1 being recorded later in June on the dates mentioned. Godfatherecords release G.R. BOX 01, The Unbroken Promise: Lighting Up The Darkness Sessions, a 6 CD compilation of outtakes from the Darkness sessions, describes in it's extensive liner notes that ”Something In The Night appears in three versions, Version 2a being recorded in June-July 1977 at Atlantic Studios and versions 2b and 2c during September-October 1977." Unfortunately, there is no evidence at all of the latter. The final notation is Mix take #42 (V2d), from February 27, 1978, was pressed to metal acetate on April 12, 1978, and became track 3 on Darkness On the Edge of Town.
Note: "God's Angels", alternately named "The Fast Song", was a fast-paced melody written by Bruce around May 1977 and developed at Atlantic Studios, New York during June. Though studio logs show the first take was on June 6, evidence exists that it was recorded on June 1 at Atlantic Studios, the first day of sessions. Instrumental track V1 was worked on June 6, 9, or 10. The lyrics heard in V2a can only be found in very poor quality on Darkness Outtakes Volume 3 (The Promise), but features an incredible searing guitar solo, strangely never to be heard again. "I wish God's Angels would tear this town down, blow it into the sea, and that's okay with me because I don't care"; V2b was worked on June 13, 14, 20 and 24, and again (V2c and V2d) on August 24, September 1 and 2, 1977, and lyrics slightly change ": "I wish God's angels would tear this town down and blow it into the sea, man that's alright with me I don't care anymore". There is no ironclad proof of this chronology, it could be the other way around. All of these lines were blown into the sea on September 27. Thanks to Eddy at springsteenlyrics.com for his consultations.
The evidence is a bit confusing, but it is not hard to conclude that "Candy's Room" was around since at least May 1977, and was connected to "The Fast Song", as evidenced by the Ampex cassette jacket ("The Star Wars tape"), dated June 1, 1977. Springsteen's mind at this point was turning faster than ever with song ideas; he was nothing like the "Born to Run" Bruce. Darkness was set to be released in October 1977, but he postponed that until June 1978, because of the constant stream of new ideas flowing through his head. Nothing illustrates this better than the genesis of "Candy's Room".
On the Thrill Hill Vault DVD/Blu-ray of The Promise: The Darkness On The Edge Of Town Story box set, there is a short segment with Bruce and Jon Landau in the Record Plant, as Bruce plays for Jon new lyrics he has written for "Candy's Room Demo" (V3); these are entirely new, and describe a magical house at the edge of town, with Candy waiting for him in the window. One has to conclude that this took place around September 10, 1977, just before Bruce decided to re-organize "The Fast Song" into "Candy's Room", giving his obsession (Candy) the home she deserves, in one of his best musical constructs, "The Fast Song". He took the first verse of "Candy's Boy", the second verse from the Fast Song, lines from "Frankie", and fresh lyrics ("we kiss", instead of "I got caught" at the start of Max's drum roll). The third verse was mainly adapted from "The Fast Song". On September 27, "The New Fast Song (Candy)" V4 appeared for the first time; we don't have an outtake, but we do have the words. The lyrics contain several lines that did not survive to the album track "Candy's Room" V5. "I get visions of avenging angels of eden with their white horses and flaming swords can blow this whole town into the sea" is from "God's Angels-Fast Song", and "they cant touch Candy and me, our love they cannot destroy, I will forever be Candy's boy". is still hanging on.
Over the next two days, he worked on it extensively, now calling it "Candy's Room". Studio logs show another take on December 12, 1977, and then a marathon mixing session, from March 3 to March 5, 1978, which finally concluded when take 42 (v5b) was selected for Darkness On the Edge of Town.
Craig Finn of the Hold Steady describes "Candy’s Room" as "a rocket ship that blasts out of somewhere private into the world." It has been mentioned Candy might be a prostitute, with "fancy clothes and diamond rings" and "men who give her anything she wants." In a 2010 interview with Rolling Stone, Springsteen said, "Does it really matter? I'll never tell." Bruce Springsteen is a good catholic boy, who wrote in "Atlantic City", "our love may be cold, but with you forever I'll stay"; many times he has written about endless fidelity. The closest he came to writing about prostitution was "the hard girls over on easy street" in "Incident on 57th Street". Clinton Heylin said "He took the rocking, kick ass melody of The Fast Song, replaced the first verse he had written with Candy’s Boy’s strong opening, along with the character of Candy, and developed their relationship from there." He wrote in V3 "And for me, for me, she's waiting, In the window I see her face, All the beauty that time can't erase…Tonight…"
Note: Springsteen started writing "Racing In The Street" shortly after New Years Eve at the Tower Theatre, back in 1975, along with "Darkness On The Edge Of Town" and "The Promise", and court proceedings prevented him from working on it in a recording studio until July 1977. But after he moved into Telegraph Hill in the Summer of 1976, witnesses agree that so did his payroll, including the E Street Band and support staff. The only time there was peace at Boss Acres, was during the Chicken Scratch and Lawsuit Tours, and Bruce and the band practiced daily. Unfortunately, it seems that almost none of this was documented, except for Barry Rebo's films (100% owned by Bruce), and what can be inferred by studying the live shows. When Bruce and the band took the stage at Monmouth County Arts Center for a one week residency, starting August 1, 1976, it was obvious that during June and July, plenty of attention had been devoted to Rendezvous, Something In the Night and The Promise. and then, "Look at me, it’s true, baby, what else can we do", was recorded July 2, 1977 at Atlantic Studios. According to the Lost Masters III liner notes, V2 was recorded in August 1977, and studio logs show takes on 8 different days at either Atlantic Studios or The Record Plant during the month. The comp. reel for the official album release V3b came on August 30, 1977. However, Bruce returned to his composition in V4a ,with an alternate band arrangement with wailing harmonica and tremendous vocal, recorded between November28 and 30, 1977 at The Record Plant. The officially released V4b, titled "Racing In The Street ('78)" on The Promise, utilizes a different 1977 vocal take and runs longer, but uses the V4 base tracks recorded at the end of November 1977, which have little in common with Racing Part I from August. David Lindley plays modern violin, as he did on "Come On", back in 1977. Work continued on December 6 and 9; studio logs also show mixing sessions at The Record Plant from March 21 thru 23, 1978. Mix take 46 went on Darkness. Bruce adapted the lines "summer's here and the time is right / for goin' racing in the street" from Martha and the Vandellas' "Dancing In The Street".
| THE PROMISED LAND - V1 |
|
uncirculating |
| THE PROMISED LAND - V2a |
4:14 |
ODM / HOD / UP |
| THE PROMISED LAND - V2b |
4:25 |
DARKNESS / ESSENTIAL |
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© All credits to the original photographer.
Note: One of the last songs written and recorded for the album, it's genesis was from a short trip taken by Bruce, Steve Van Zandt and photographer Eric Meola on August 17, 1977, two days after breaking from recording for a week. Their plan was to fly into Salt Lake City, Utah, rent a vintage American car, and drive to Reno, Nevada, by way of the Utah and Nevada wilderness. The fruits of their journey were "Rattlesnake speedway in the Utah desert", "the dogs on Main Street howl because they understand" (based on real dogs howling on a Main Street), and Eric's photographs, which appeared throughout "The Promise: The Darkness On The Edge Of Town Story" box set. Upon returning, Bruce composed "The Promised Land", and introduced it to the band on September 30, 1977, with 3 takes attempted. Recording resumed on October 27 at the Record Plant, with 20 takes, including take 19, marked "long ending". Take 5 on December 1, 1977, which was later pressed to metal acetate on April 12, 1978, is V2a, the final album version without the guitar solo. At the last possible moment, Bruce decided a guitar solo by Miami Steve Van Zandt was needed, just before Clarence Clemons's powerful sax part, which then required side two to be remastered, briefly delaying album release.
| COME ON (LET'S GO TONIGHT) - V1 |
|
uncirculating |
| COME ON (LET'S GO TONIGHT) - V2 |
2:07 |
DO-3 / UP / SC / LUTHER |
| COME ON (LET'S GO TONIGHT) - V3 |
2:10 |
LM-3 / LMEC2 / AM / UP |
| COME ON (LET'S GO TONIGHT) - V4 |
2:09 |
DDO / DO-1 / UP / DDOC / LES |
| COME ON (LET'S GO TONIGHT) - V5 |
2:16 |
PROMISE |
| THE FACTORY SONG - V6a |
2:20 |
ODM / HOD / UP |
| THE FACTORY SONG - V6b |
2:15 |
AM |
| FACTORY - V6c |
2:15 |
DARKNESS |
| COME ON (LET'S GO TONIGHT) II - V1 |
2:32 |
FFOD / HNWB |
Note: "Come On (Let’s Go Tonight)" was written in the Spring of 1977, and V1 was cut on June 1, 1977, complete with Vox [organ], at Atlantic Studios, on the first night of the Darkness sessions. The band picked up the rhythm quickly, but Bruce had much work to do on the lyrics. V2 is the earliest take we have in circulation, a rough workout, from either July 2 or 13 at Atlantic Studios, but further progress was needed on the lyrics. At this point, Bruce had written, "Well a man and he lost his only wife, He walks down the streets, babe, with death in his eyes, Well everybody wants heaven, but nobody wants to die, Come on, come on, lets go tonight." Two out of three verses had "death in their eyes". "Come On (Let's Go Tonight)" V3 represented a sudden shift; though it retained it's name (Sony logs show all sessions to the end of 1977 under this name), the lyrics were radically rewritten to the story of Douglas Springsteen, Bruce's father, who worked at a machine factory under harsh conditions. A well-known interview quote from Bruce, "I remember my old man was working in this plastics factory…and all I remember, when we used to go in that place, was him standing near ’em loud fucking machines". Now he sang "Factory takes his hearing, but he understands", but the third verse was the outcome of working under these conditions, "End of the day, factory whistle cries, Men walk through these gates with death in their eyes, And you just better believe, boy, somebody's gonna get hurt tonight, It's the working, the working, just the working life". It is possible that Bruce worked with both ideas for a while, but after September, all energies went toward "the Factory Song", though it was not named this until January 2, 1978. The only thing that remained from "Come On" was "death in their eyes". The new lyrics were worked on August 23, 24 and 30, and September 8, 1977 at the Record Plant. Also starting now was Roy Bittan playing his piano Floyd Cramer style to give it a Chet Atkins produced-country feel. Danny's organ was not in the mix at this point. V4 from November 2, 7, and 8, 1977 features violin overdubs by David Lindley, a well-known musician who played with Jackson Browne. V5, released on the "The Promise: The Darkness On The Edge Of Town Story" box set in 2010, is the finished take of "Come On (Let's Go Tonight)", with 2010 overdubs of David Lindley's violin. It is not known if there is a 1977 version of "Come On" with Lindley, though it could have been done easily enough, and it is not confirmed that V5 was completed in 1977. It still has it's first verse, modified by two words, "Put on your black dress baby, and put your hair up right, there's a party way down in factory town tonight, I'll be going down there if you need a ride, Come on, come on, let's go tonight", and adds the part about Elvis died (August 16, 1977), which had not been on any 1977 outtakes, until now. It is otherwise stripped of it's original lyrics, which went to "Factory", along with it's music, which is borrowed for the Promise take. The vocal is vintage, but the recording date has not been determined. The other parts of the song could easily have been assembled from existing tracks. V6 came from December 9 and 29, 1977, and overdub/mixing sessions on January 2, March 10 and 14, 1978, all at the Record Plant. The 1978 sessions were under the name "The Factory Song". Danny recorded new organ tracks which featured prominently in the final album version 6c. Bruce recorded new vocals, and changed, "Factory takes his hearing, but he understands" to "Factory takes his hearing, factory gives him life". V6c is mix take 28 from April 3, 1978, and it was pressed to metal acetate with the title "Factory Song" on April 12, 1978.
What ever happened to "Come On (Let's Go Tonight)"? In March 1981, Bruce wrote new music and recorded a demo at his home in Colts Neck, NJ, that can be found on Nebraska bootlegs, "Fistfull of Dollars" and "How Nebraska Was Born" under the incorrect name, "Bye Bye Johnny". A dark, foreboding arrangement used the discarded lyrics, including the part about Elvis dying, and became a Nebraska-style song, "Come On (Let's Go Tonight) II" V1. However, Springsteen decided to dump it once more, combining several lines, the Elvis part, new verses, and the first two lines from Chuck Berry's "Bye Bye Johnny", to create "Johnny Bye-Bye".
Note: V1 is apparently from Atlantic Studios in August 1977. V2 (three mixes) is from The Record Plant in December 1977. Takes recorded June 24 at Atlantic, either Atlantic or The Record Plant on August 24 and 30, plus December 6, 12 and 29, 1977 at The Record Plant. V2b is mix take #28 from April 5, 1978. It was pressed to a metal acetate on April 12, 1978.
Note: Bruce came up with the title, "Prove It All Night", and says he adapted "It's A Shame aka Jon's Jam", (which was written, recorded and dumped in June), but as usual, the lyrics were a work in progress when he arrived at the Record Plant on September 12, 1977. He later said (live as an intro to the song) that he got the idea from a cabbie, who was moanin' about having to prove it to your boss, your wife, and according to the Bruce brain filter…to the Night! The E Street Band learned the chords quickly, and to go ahead and record a take, Bruce had worked up a lyric sheet using the first verse from “Something In The Night”, which fit the music well. That was how the first take, V1, was done, and how the "Lost Masters Something In the Night version" came to be. Fortunately, "Something In the Night" was not scuttled for it's lyrics like "Candy's Boy"; on September 14, Bruce had two original verses in hand for the session, and work on the song was completed on September 16 with V2, the take used on Darkness (V2a and V2b are alternate mixes). V2c mix take 49 went on Darkness.
In May 1978, a single was needed, with the album due out next month, and "Prove It All Night" was selected. Album rock stations loved it, but it fell short as a pop hit. Oblivious to these matters, Bruce had worked up a special arrangement for the Darkness tour, a 2:00 prelude that started with Roy's piano, then his guitar, as the band built up to the main song, which rocked along until the big, dramatic break at the dynamo (which Bruce had decided was no longer needed by Candy's Boy). Like "Born To Run", "Night", and "Thunder Road", Bruce's character is armed only with his car and fantastic dreams, the will to escape to a better life, and his girl, who has to choose between her old life or going with him. Bruce has gotten better at this in three years, and tells her, "They'll never know what it means to steal, to cheat, to lie, what it's like to live and die", as Max's drum roll sneaks up on them, and now the band blasts into the final chorus. But this is not the end of the song, Bruce capitalizes on the emotion he has created, and leads the band in a two minute jam to the end, which jacks the energy level in the building through the roof, kicking the show into high gear. Every night, Racing In the Street, Thunder Road and Jungleland would follow to fill out the first set. As one, and then two months went by, the length of "Prove It" increased from five minutes to over eight minutes, and stayed that way for the rest of the tour. "Prove It All Night" became one of Bruce's great show-stoppers.
Note: "Events often beat the humanity out of people until they just lose it all. "Darkness On The Edge of Town" was about people holding on to that humanity. I started writing it right after Born To Run." – Bruce Springsteen, 1978. Down in the Prospective Album Sequence section, you can see "Darkness" listed on the first two 1976 "dream" sequences Springsteen prepared, supporting his recollection. V1 represents multiple takes reported at Bruce's home, Telegraph Hill, Holmdel, New Jersey, during 1976, even though the odds of recovering any material seem low at this time. Then again, few were aware that Barry Rebo had the film footage released from the Thrill Hill Vault on Blu-Ray/DVD No. 2 from "The Promise: The Darkness On The Edge Of Town Story" box set. No doubt Bruce and the E Street Band worked extensively on "Rendezvous", "Something In the Night", "The Promise", "Frankie", "Candy's Boy", and "Darkness". Music and some lyrics written by February 1976, was sub-titled "The Racer" for a time. Though it is listed on the "Star Wars" demo tape of June 1, 1977, pictured below, V2 was not cut until June 6. Sony logs show takes recorded on June 8, 9, 20 and 23, 1977 at Atlantic Studios. Work on the lyrics was needed. Then, after putting forth such a good effort (5 days), Bruce put "Darkness" aside for the rest of the year. It is not included on the "Badlands" album sequence from October, or the January 16, 1978 seq. On March 8, he suddenly called his forces together, and over three days, they re-recorded "Darkness" from scratch and completed what would become the title track of the album. The March takes were cut in a studio with bare concrete walls, after the room was gutted prior to renovation. V3a and V3b are different mixes of the same recording. V3a can be identified by the addition of the word "ready" to the line "I'll be there on time ready to pay the cost". V3b is mix take #28 from March 30, 1978, and was pressed to metal acetate on April 12.
Studio Sessions: Darkness On The Edge Of Town
