 The Light in Darkness
A Limited Edition Companion Book to the
New Bruce Springsteen The Promise Box Set.
 
From the same publisher of the sold out book, For You Original Stories
and Photographs by Bruce Springsteen's Legendary Fans.
I spent those years in between [Born to Run and Darkness] waiting for his return, both
sonically and in the flesh. And when he did return, a changed man, a grownup with a new anger and dissonance to his sound, I felt bereft.
I had to fucking adjust. I mean, I really had to listen to that album, hard, over and over again, to find where I could meet him, or
really, where he was meeting me. This was when listening to an album meant lying on the floor, head between your speakers, dropping that
needle over and over to play that song again and again. Skipping this one or that one, it's formulaic and tired, or is it? Play it again
and realize, no, there's something different here. And when I listen now, I can hear it all. The genius of that album. The anger and
the disenchantment. And the rage in those guitars! - Suzanne Scala
| Click on thumbnails below for larger image |  |  |  |  |  |  | | The Light in Darkness
With so many
Springsteen-related books available, you might not know where to begin to get the perfect gift for the Bruce fan in your life. You cannot
do better than The Light in Darkness. - David Lifton
Popdose.com
Bruce Springsteen's Darkness on the Edge of Town broke
new ground for The Boss in 1978. A counterpoint to the operatic elegance of Born to Run, the album was an angry, raw record that
burst forth after a three-year hiatus. Because of its darker tones, some might call Darkness a difficult album, but despite
this, it's a cherished gem for many. Collecting stories and photos from hundreds of fans, The Light in Darkness celebrates this
classic record, allowing readers to revisit the excitement of that moment when the needle found the grooves in that first cut and the
thundering power of "Badlands" shook across the hi-fi for the very first time. Or the uninitiated, but soon-to-be-converted
teenager, brought along by friends and finding salvation at one of the legendary three-plus hour concerts - shows that embodied all the
manic fury of a revival meeting. The book is also for those more recent converts to The Boss who may have stumbled across a dusty
bootleg in a used record store - discovering the magic of the Agora or the Winterland shows. Finally, The Light in Darkness is
for those who never gave Bruce's fourth album much consideration; those more partial to the high-polished sounds of Born to Run or
the stadium-rousing choruses of Born in the U.S.A. For the skeptics, just read the tales of those who struggle with the dark and
trembling frustration of "Something in the Night," the open-road emptiness of "Racing in the Street," and the too-faraway hope of "The
Promised Land." A troubling album indeed. But the passion, the connection, the thrill of the fans as they explore this classic record
will make a convert of anyone. The Three-Year Wait
It was a long wait. From the time Born to Run came out until the
release of Darkness on the Edge of Town, fans had to suffer through a three-year hiatus, a lifetime for a musician to be off the
radar back then. And in the days before the Internet and MTV, Bruce's devotees often had no idea what was taking him so long, and
little means to find out. They resorted to scouring the pages of Rolling Stone and Creem magazines for any mention of Springsteen, any
hint or clue about when the new record would be released. And when that produced no results, they turned to prayer. We all know now
that legal wrangling with his first manager, Mike Appel, kept a new record off the shelves for those three years. When Bruce finally came
out victorious and replaced Appel with music writer Jon Landau, the stage was set for the next record to be released. But few would
anticipate the frustration that had built up during those years, anger that Springsteen would channel into the new album. The Light
in Darkness shares the stories of fans coming to grips with this new record and this very different sound from The Boss, finding that
Bruce's struggles and frustrations often mirrored their own battles in life. A frayed relationship with a father, a body made sore with
factory work, or the suffocating fear of being trapped in the badlands, fans have lived the stories Bruce tells on Darkness - the
album is part of their history, a history they share in this book. Springsteen Live
From the Palladium in New York to
Detroit's Cobo Hall, from the famed Winterland to the year's final show at Cleveland's Richfield Coliseum, Springsteen's 1978 tour is
legendary. Bruce, who was already famous for his incredible shows, pioneered a whole new kind of concert experience on this tour. Just
the audience, Bruce and the E Street Band for a marathon three-plus hours, with an intermission in the middle just long enough to let the
audience catch their breath. The Light in Darkness brings these shows to life through the testimony of those who were there,
concerts that can still be heard through the magic of bootlegging. The stories fans tell from those electrifying 1978 shows only
increases the power of hearing these coveted, semi-legal tapes still circulating today. The Darkness tour also marked the last
time many would get to see The Boss in small concert halls, as Bruce's exploding popularity forced him to trade up to hockey arenas
during several stops on the tour. Stadiums would soon follow. Today, many fans lucky enough to have attended the Darkness tour are
glad they did whatever it took to land a ticket, a memory they can still cherish as they now watch Bruce from the nosebleeds. Over
200 Photos
The Light in Darkness features stunning photography from the Darkness tour. With over 200 photos taken by
dozens of photographers, many of them never before published, this is a book you'll come back to time and time again. Many notable
Springsteen-era photographers contributed to the volume, including: - James Shive
- P. Jay Plutzer
- Lynn Goldsmith
- Peter
Howes
- Anastasia Pantsios
- Mark Wyville
- Cliff Breining
- Lawrence Kirsch
About the book: Limited Collector's
Edition
This 208 page, large format, 9.25" x 12" full-color book is printed on Premium Gloss 200m paper stock and contains more
than 200 photographs reproduced from the original negatives and slides. The book is only available online for purchase at: www.thelightindarkness.com
The reason that I
haven't written you before now is that I just completed the book. I've been savoring it. It's just terrific-wonderful photos and
compelling stories. - Lauren Onkey
Vice President of Education & Public Programs
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum
Order your copy now!
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