Candy's Room

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Track 4 of Darkness On The Edge Of Town, 1978.

Darkness On The Edge Of Town (1978)
- Bruce Springsteen: vocals, guitar
- Roy Bittan: piano
- Danny Federici: organ, glockenspiel
- Garry Tallent: bass
- Steven Van Zandt: guitar, backing vocals
- Max Weinberg: drums

THE FAST SONG - V1	2:54	LM-2 / DO-3 / UP / AM / DDO / DDOC
THE FAST SONG - V2a	2:32	DO-3
THE FAST SONG - V2b	2:58	UP / GT / DO-2 / AM / SOTE
THE FAST SONG - V2c	3:01	UP / ODM / HOD / DO-2 / SOTE
THE FAST SONG - V2d	3:04	LM-3 / UP / AM / DDO / MT1 / LUTHER
NEW FAST SONG - V3		uncirculating
CANDY'S ROOM - Demo - V4	1:37	PROMISE: DELUXE
CANDY'S ROOM - V5a take 13	2:41	ODM / HOD / UP / AM
CANDY'S ROOM - V5b take 42	2:43	DARKNESS / PROMISE: DELUXE

Note: "The Fast Song", alternately named "God's Angels", was a fast-paced melody that eventually evolved into "Candy's Room". Shortly after sessions began at Atlantic Studios on June 1, 1977 a recording of "The Fast Song" was included on a "Atlantic Demo Tape" cassette (prepared by engineer Thom Panunzio for Bruce to take with him after sessions) with tracks from the first days at Atlantic. This recording was subtitled (Candy's Room) on the label, suggesting Springsteen had his title as early as June, despite "The Fast Song" remaining in use for months after.

V1 is a backing track that was recorded in early June, while V2a-d are different variances of lyrics and guitar tracks recorded over the original backing track. The distinctive hi-hat introduction was inspired by a number of Barry White records, according to Max Weinberg. A lyric in the first verse, "I wish God's angels would tear this town down and blow it into the sea," was first used in live performances of "Something In The Night" in February 1977, and then the "Backstreets" interlude in March 1977. 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" stayed with the song perhaps until the final takes and mixing of "Candy's Room" in March 1978, when it was removed. Work on "The Fast Song" was logged on June 6, 9, 10, 13, 14, 20 and 24 (V1 and V2a-d are probably from these dates), and again on August 24 and September 1–2, 1977, with lyrics slightly changing throughout.

After September 2, 1977, the last time "The Fast Song" and "Candy's Boy" would appear on session logs, Bruce decided to re-organize them into "New Fast Song", which was recorded on September 27–28. A handwritten lyric sheet titled "New Fast Song (Candy)" illustrates this. He took the first verse of "Candy's Boy", the second verse from "The Fast Song", lines from "Frankie", and added new lyrics (i.e. "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". These lyrics contain several lines that did not survive to the album track V5, eventually titled "Candy's Room". "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 mostly from "Candy's Boy".

A film clip shot by Barry Rebo on September 30, 1977 appeared on the Thrill Hill Vault DVD/Blu-ray of The Promise: The Darkness On The Edge Of Town Story box set. It is a short segment from the Record Plant of Bruce playing "Candy's Room Demo" (V4) on the piano for Jon Landau. The lyrics are entirely different, and describe a magical house at the edge of town, with Candy waiting for him in the window. The next dates are October 27 and December 12, 1977 (the final vocal track was probably recorded on one of these two days), and then a marathon overdub/mixing session, from March 3 to March 5, 1978, which finally concluded with mix take 42 (V5b) selected for Darkness On The Edge Of Town. Chuck Plotkin struggled to find a good mix that balanced the vocal and backing perfectly, perhaps explaining why it took a minimum of 42 mixes before they were satisfied.

^{Studio Sessions: Darkness On The Edge Of Town}

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