TotalDarkness Liner and Setlist.txt
Total Darkness Liner Notes and Setlist
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Disc 1
Disc 2
Disc3
Disc4
Disc5
Disc 1: The Opening
"Bootleggers out there in radioland, roll your tapes!"
We begin our documentary of the timeless Darkness on the Edge of Town tour by presenting
songs that would feature in the first part of the show, in the sequence they would typically
appear on any given night. The Darkness tour was the first to see the marathon length
performances that Bruce would become legendary for; and this was facilitated by the
introduction of a short intermission, which divided the main body of the concert into two
different sets. Shows in 1978 usually included twenty one to twenty six songs, and lasted up
to three hours or more, not including the intermission. This fifteen to twenty minute break
did more than merely give the band and audience some respite, and energy to go on for
longer. It created two separate and very distinct sets, and facilitated a new model of
concert, which would remain in place for many years to come. While the first set would
develop subtly over the course of the tour, it quickly established its role of presenting the more serious, mature and reflective music in a deliberate sequence of delivery, which
changed little. This was a pattern that Springsteen would follow for much of his career.
Some songs would be played every night. "Badlands" was the most likely choice for the vital
opening song slot, and much of the rest of the first set was taken up by songs from the new
album; music that Bruce had worked so hard and long to create and release to the public.
"It's a different kind of fun. It's more fulfilling. I don't mean they're fuller. There's this stretch where we go from "Darkness" to "Thunder Road", a stretch of songs that we do
basically in the same order every night because there's this continuity thing that happens. It makes connections and it gives the rest of the show resonance." Other songs featured here, such as "Meeting Across the River" and the Darkness outtake "Rendezvous", appeared only on a few occasions. "Night" was only played early in the tour, while "Jungleland" would not become a standard until almost two months on the road. "Streets of Fire" was hardly played at all during the initial summer tour, but would be entrenched in the set by the fall. The first hour of a Darkness tour show was of course anything but plodding and bleak. In fact the most obvious highlight of the first set was arguably the lusty "Prove it all Night", delivered in an extended guitar dominated rendition, which made the original album version sound downright pedestrian. While the overall tone of Darkness on the Edge of Town very much lived up to its sombre title, live performances of the new songs were characterised more by intensity than darkness.
Disc 1: The Opening
Title
Source
Badlands
Piece de Resistance
Streets of Fire
Piece de Resistance
Night
The Promise
Spirit in the
Night
Roxy Night
Rendezvous
Paramount Night
Darkness on the
Edge of Town
Jersey Devil
Factory
Winterland Night
Promised Land
Summertime Bruce
Prove it all Night
Fox Theatre
Presents the Boss
Racing in the
Streets
Piece de Resistance
Thunder Road
Piece de Resistance
Meeting Across
The River
Palladium
Jungleland
Fox Theatre
Presents the Boss
Home
Disc 1
Disc 2
Disc3
Disc4
Disc5
Disc 2: After the Intermission
The second half of the main set was inevitably more laid back and fun, but also more
intense, building up momentum before the inevitable multiple encores brought the house
down. Before he had even played a note, this lighter mood was often evident from Bruce's
onstage banter before he kicked off with a lively second set opener like the instrumental
"Paradise by the 'C'" or "The Ties that Bind".
The Darkness tour can be divided into several periods, each with its distinctive sound and
mood, and this is most evident in the different kinds of songs which might be included in the
flexible second set. The shows in the early summer are brash, violently in your face, almost
like a hangover from the intensity of the '77 tour; witness for instance the crashing assault
of "Saint in the City", only a week into the tour. The mid-to-late summer saw a much more
light hearted and joyous show, including an early "Sherry Darling", and humorous
monologues in the middle of "Growin' Up", both preserved here from the Cleveland Agora
radio broadcast. By the early fall the mood was darker again, less vicious but more moody
than it had been at the beginning of the tour. The particularly desperate version of "Point
Blank" included here is taken from the classic Winterland show in December; perhaps the
best known of all the '78 tour shows. Even when the overall tone of the show was a darker
one, the second set with its added unpredictability and lustful intensity made for a different
mood than the first set.
The second set was above all an exercise in extremes. The raw edgy electric power of "Adam
Raised a Cain" would contrast with the defeatist despair of "Point Blank". Bruce would
approach the same themes from different musical angles. That timeless rock 'n' roll theme -
sex, would be amply represented by "Candy's Room" and "Because the Night" but also
"Fever" and "Fire". During August, "Sherry Darling" and "Sandy" (included on disc 5) might
appear side-by-side, combining to lend a romantic summery feel to the show.
Today it can be easy to forget that much of the second set featured songs which were then
unreleased and would have been unfamiliar to all but the most frequent concert goers. Upon
comparing early versions of "Sherry Darling", "Point Blank" and "Because the Night" with
their later released versions, it is clear that these songs were very much works in progress.
In fact, "Point Blank" underwent several lyrical changes during the tour and "Because the
Night" developed (alongside "Prove it all Night" and the ever changing "She's the One"
medley) to become a tour de force for Bruce's exceptional guitar antics, which truly reached
their peak in this period. It might be observed that these unreleased songs would never
again sound quite so vibrant and downright excellent as when they were fresh, being played
live and experimented with night after night.
Disc 2: After the Intermission
Title
Source
Paradise By the
"C"
Summertime Bruce
The Ties That
Bind
Paramount Night
Sherry Darling
Summertime Bruce
Fire
Raising Cain
Candy's Room
Killers in the Sun
Adam Raised a
Cain
Killers in the Sun
It's Hard To Be a
Saint in the City
Million Dollar Sound
The Fever
The Firecracker
Show
Because The
Night
Summertime Bruce
Point Blank
Winterland Night
Mona - She's The
One
Winterland Night
Growin' Up
Summertime Bruce
Home
Disc 1
Disc 2
Disc3
Disc4
Disc5
Disc 3: Bringing it Home and Encores
Before the encores could be allowed to bring the house down, the fluid second set would be
tied up with two key songs. Nearly every night, "Backstreets" would inject shot of bitter
desperate longing to the end of the main set. By the late 70s, this song regularly featured
an intensely emotional monologue known to the fans as "Sad Eyes", which would later
develop into "Drive all Night". This unique story/song changed every night, and brought the
already powerful song to new heights. Its unexpected absence from Live 1975-85 was
perhaps the hardest to forgive of that album's numerous edits; and the version from the
legendary Roxy show can be heard here in its full glory. No song could be rival "Backstreets"
for emotion, so the time honoured show closer "Rosalita" was the ultimate rock "n" roll
antidote, once again shifting the tempo and mood, and culminating with the traditional band
introductions before the band left the stage.
Of course Bruce wouldn't be done by then. Upon returning to the stage, he liked to take a
moment to thank the audience for their continued support over the recent few years when
the band had been barred from the recording studio, before launching into a taut and frantic
"Born to Run".
Most shows during the summer months seem to have ended with around three songs in two
separate encore sets, but by the end of the tour, fortunate crowds might be treated to half a
dozen or more songs. It was not unknown for the band to return to the stage after the
exhausted crowd thought the show was all over. On at least one occasion the band returned
to play a fourth encore set for the dumbstruck few hundred fans that had been too wiped
out to leave their seats after the house lights had gone up. Several of the radio broadcasts
of shows even have parts of the final encores cut from the broadcast because the radio DJs
assumed the concert was over when the band returned for one final encore.
The final songs of the evening would usually be covers of rock 'n' roll chestnuts the band
loved to play at full tilt. These would be extended with numerous false endings, and
humorous interaction with the crowd. By the end of the show everyone would be physically
and emotionally spent. "I can see some people that ain't up back there! Do you think this is
a free ride? You wanna' play, you gotta' pay!" Sometimes the last image the crowd might
have would be Bruce being carried off the stage by his band mates. Looking back on it all
much later Bruce remarked; "We took our fun very seriously".
Bruce's music of the 80s and beyond would explore broader and bolder themes and more
important ideas, but it was his uncompromising attitude towards rock "n" roll during the 70s
which earned him the devotion of a core of diehard followers, many of whom have stayed
with him to this day. The Darkness tour encapsulated the youthful music of this vital first
decade in what many fans regard to be his finest concerts ever.
Disc 3: Bringing it Home and
Encores
Title
Source
Backstreets
Roxy Night
Rosalita (Come
Out Tonight)
Fox Theater
Presents the Boss
Independence
Day
Roxy Night
Born To Run
Winterland Night
Tenth Avenue
Freeze Out
Million Dollar Sound
Raise Your Hand
Roxy Night
Detroit Medley
Winterland Night
Quarter To Three
Paramount Night
Twist and Shout
Summertime Bruce
Home
Disc 1
Disc 2
Disc3
Disc4
Disc5
Disc 4: The Covers
Night after night Bruce would pay tribute to his musical heroes and influences by performing
a slew of cover songs. Here we collect many of the ones which were played at one time or
other, especially the ones which were played several times and therefore exist in high sound
quality on readily available recordings.
It is pretty clear from listening to the light-hearted rock 'n' roll songs just how much Bruce
enjoyed performing them. While introducing "Sherry Darling", Bruce had frequently referred
to the "fraternity rock" songs "Double Shot of my Baby's Love" and "Louie Louie" as
inspiration (see disc 2), and one night at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, IN, he
performed both songs, seemingly inspired by the campus surroundings of the venue. Many
of the short fun rock 'n' roll songs are taken from the mid tour period, when they provided a
kind of antidote to, or release from, some of Bruce's own darker, more intense original
material (and later in the tour, the seasonal Santa Claus is Coming to Town provided the
same counterbalance). If he was in the right mood, Bruce might decide to kick-start his
show with one of these before going forging on into Darkness mode with "Badlands".
A few of the slower paced songs had been played on earlier tours. "It's My Life" and "Pretty
Flamingo" had both been standards in the set several years prior but returned for rare
appearances. Conversely "Chimes of Freedom" was premiered in a rare performance in
1978, but ten years later would become part of the set for the European leg of the Tunnel of
Love Express tour and the Amnesty tour in 1988.
However, most of the songs included here were only played up to a dozen or fewer times in
1978 and subsequently more or less left out of Bruce's live catalogue. Some, like the
spontaneous "Night Train" and Charleston set opener "Oh Boy" were probably only played
once ever, in the performances documented here. It is a testament to the E Street Band not
only that they were able to break into any number of old classics at the drop of a hat if
Bruce needed to mend his guitar mid set, but that they performed them to such perfection.
The E Street band's characteristic combination of double guitars, piano, keyboard and sax in
addition to the standard bass guitar and drums all merged to form a very loud and full
sound, which brought a new dimension to songs which may have been first performed with
far more limited instrumentation.
Disc 4: The Covers
Title
Source
Summertime
Blues
Summertime Bruce
Night Train
Fox Theatre
Double Shot of
My Baby's Love
South Bend
Louie Louie
South Bend
Pretty Flamingo
Firecracker Show
It's My Life
South Bend
Good Rockin'
Tonight
Paramount Night
Heartbreak Hotel
Roxy Night
Rave On
Roxy Night
Oh Boy
Oh Boy
It's Gonna Work
Out Fine
Veterans Memorial
Chimes of
Freedom
Masonic Temple
Auditorium
Sweet Little
Sixteen
The Jersey Devil
High School
Confidential
Bosses Birthday
Party
Hang Up My Rock
and Roll Shoes
Killers in the Sun
I Fought the Law
This Could Be the
Last Time
Santa Claus is
Coming to Town
Paramount Night
Home
Disc 1
Disc 2
Disc3
Disc4
Disc5
Disc 5: And Now for Something Special
While the setlist on the Darkness tour did not tend to change wildly from night to night, a
wide selection of original material was played during the course of the tour, including all of
Born to Run, all of Darkness and about half of the material from the first two albums. In
addition, there was a wealth of new original material, which had not made the Darkness,
although most of these songs would be eventually released on subsequent albums and later,
box sets. There is not enough space on the first three discs to include all the essential
original songs played on the tour; here we compile a number of excellent performances of
various songs played throughout the tour in a sort of "the rest of the best" compilation.
None of these songs were standard inclusions throughout the tour. Songs like "For You" and
"Sandy" moved in and out of the set throughout the tour. But "Lost in the Flood" was only
played a couple of times during the entire tour. Of particular note on this set is "The
Promise", which was used as an encore early on in the tour before disappearing from the
live set for over twenty years. This track had almost made it to the Darkness album and was
long considered to be one of Bruce's best ever unreleased tunes. Fans and critics alike have
speculated over whether the song is about the infamous lawsuit that kept Bruce from the
recording studio. According to the man himself, the song was written before the lawsuit, but
by 1978 Bruce was singing the song with a rewritten final verse.
Songs like the then unreleased "Independence Day" and "The Ties that Bind" underwent
lyrical or music changes; compare for instance the versions here with versions on the other
discs of the set. "She's the One", on the other hand was already an established live favourite
from Born to Run and was played in a medley with various songs, which might change from
night to night. The rampaging version from the Fox Theatre radio broadcast for instance,
incorporates covers of "Not Fade Away" and "Gloria", and has some spectacular guitar work
not included in the version on disc two.
By the late seventies, the E Street Band was a red hot live band routinely performing songs
in renditions far superior to the versions originally laid down in the recording studio.
"Incident of 57th Street" was brought to new heights by an anguished guitar solo at the
end, beautiful in its mournful simplicity. While on home turf at the Capitol Theatre in
Passaic, NJ, the band played what may have been the tightest show of the tour; and "Kitty's
Back" from that night demonstrates just how well the band could jam as a cohesive unit.
1978 represented a time when Bruce was a rising star shining at his very brightest. The
music of Darkness tour can be best described as intense, emotional and sometimes dark
rock 'n' roll, delivered at its most energetic and exciting. The compilation has tried to distil
what is left of that energy through "the magic of bootlegging". As you listen to these discs,
close your eyes and be transported back in time to that magic era.
Disc 5: And Now for Something
Special
Title
Source
The Ties That
Bind
It's Dangerous
Down There Tonight
For You
Million Dollar Sound
Something in the
Night
Million Dollar Sound
Independence
Day
Fox Theater Present
The Boss
The Promise
Paramount Theater
Lost in the Flood
Masonic Temple
Auditorium
Fourth of July,
Asbury Park
Passaic Night
Kitty's Back
Passaic Night
Incident On 57th
Street
Palladium
Not Fade Away /
Gloria / She's the
One
Fox Theater
Presents the Boss
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