Bruce Springsteen - The Promise: The Making of Darkness on the Edge of Town (2010) + Extras

Director: Thom Zimny
Stars: Mike Appel, Roy Bittan, Clarence Clemons

Bruce Springsteen's "Darkness on the Edge of Town," released in 1978, was three years in the making, 10 songs chosen from 70 written and rehearsed during that period. Using archival footage from the studio and contemporary interviews with Springsteen, the E Street Band, and those who were in the control room, the film presents a portrait of an artist driving himself to capture working-class life with a rough and raw sound that felt more like a live performance than a studio recording.



Extras:
– Songs from The Promise Concert (30:13). Unfortunately I haven't been able to dig up much information on when or exactly where this live concert was filmed. It's evidently in Asbury Park, as the sunburst windows in back of Bruce and the band are the same as those that surround the famous carousel, but it is manifestly not The Paramount, where the main filmed concert in the big boxed set took place. This is, unlike that concert, an actual live performance before an appreciative audience. Bruce and the boys tear through five songs, including a nice holiday number replete with lots of Santa hats. Their set list: Racing in the Street ('78), Gotta Get That Feeling, Ain't Good Enough for You, The Promise, Blue Christmas
– Bruce Springsteen: A Conversation With His Fans (21:20). There aren't a whole lot of Sirius XM stations devoted (largely) to the output of one artist, but E Street Radio on that satellite service tends to specialize in all things Boss. This nice, intimate extra has Bruce showing up at the studio with a handful of excited fans who won a lottery to ask their questions in person. This "interview" of sorts features E Street Radio's Dave Marsh as facilitator and emcee, and it was part of the big promotional push that Bruce undertook for the release of the big boxed set. This is a very appealing, low key outing that shows why Bruce is so beloved as the iconic "Everyman" of modern day rock.

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