Watching a 27 year-old Bruce Springsteen and the young E-Street Band recording Darkness At the Edge of Town with commentary by all the principals makes The Promise one of the all-time great rock-&-roll documentaries. Thom Zimny carefully crafts the story of Springsteen’s legal problems that resulted in a three-year hiatus from the recording studio. Springsteen had one hit, Born to Run, and suddenly his fledgling career teetered on disaster. Along with the documentary, The Promise includes a Springsteen and E-Street Band concert with performances of “Racing in the Street,” “Gotta Get That Feeling,” “Ain’t Good Enough For You,” “The Promise,” and “Blue Christmas.” Also included is a revealing conversation with Bruce Springsteen and some fans. If you’re a Springsteen fan, you’ll love this DVD. If you’re a casual fan, you’ll enjoy the evolution of a great artist and his band. GRADE: A
One of my favorite Springsteen albums, especially “Promised Land” and “Prove It All Night.” I remember in 1975 (the year I graduated from high school) Springsteen was on the cover of both Time and Newsweek on the same week–and then it seemed as if we heard no more from him for years, so it would be interesting to watch this documentary if only to discover the source of the legal problems.
Springsteen mentions being on the covers of TIME and NEWSWEEK and then…nothing for three years, Deb. That was an eternity in rock-&-roll time. And, ironically enough, the legal problems involved a friend/manager of Bruce’s.
I remember this coming out too and have meant to see this doc. Thanks for the reminder.
The whole story of those missing three years in Springsteen’s career is fascinating, Patti.
Great post, George. Thanks. This is still my favorite Springsteen album.
Watching the process of recording DARKNESS AT THE EDGE OF TOWN floored me, Ed. I had no idea Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band recorded 70 songs in the process!
I, too, thought about catching this one…it’ll have to be on home video. So, bonuses tracks!
There’s about 2 and a half hours of content on this Blu-ray, Todd. Most of it is great music. I bought my copy at BORDERS with a 40% off coupon