The Promise (2011)



Disc One						
  1. Racing in the Street
  2. Gotta Get That Feeling
  3. Outside Looking In
  4. Someday (We'll Be Together)
  5. One Way Street
  6. Because the Night
  7. Wrong Side of the Street
  8. The Brokenhearted
  9. Rendezvous
 10. Candy's Boy
 
 Disc Two
  1. Save My Love
  2. Ain't Good Enough For You
  3. Fire
  4. Spanish Eyes
  5. It's a Shame
  6. Come On (Let's Go Tonight)
  7. Talk to Me
  8. The Little Things (My Baby Does)
  9. Breakaway
 10. The Promise
 11. City of Night

 

The notion of an artist’s "golden period" is often subjective, yet for many Bruce Springsteen enthusiasts, the years between 1975 and 1978 represent his creative zenith. It’s a period etched in nostalgia by those who believe his subsequent work never quite matched the heights of albums like Born to Run or Darkness on the Edge of Town. It’s a sentiment that always carried a certain irony, given that Springsteen, even in these “downtime” years, was overflowing with ideas, driven by a creative urge that simply couldn’t be restrained by legal battles or studio locks. Thus, it seemed inevitable that any release from this period—especially a compilation of unreleased tracks—would shine as a treasure trove of hidden gems.

However, the reality proved far less satisfying.

Perhaps the most striking disappointment lies in the fact that expectations were sky-high. After all, Tracks, the sprawling 4-disc box set released over a decade ago, had set a near-impossible bar for unreleased material. There, Springsteen had pulled from the deepest corners of his vault, offering fans a glimpse into the evolution of his sound. The expectation for this collection, conversely, was one of fresh revelations. But what we receive instead is more akin to a reheated buffet, with familiar flavors reappearing, albeit in less memorable forms.

Indeed, much of what is included here feels disappointingly recycled. Tracks like Because the Night and Fire, while interesting as alternate takes, fail to significantly improve what we've heard before. For Springsteen aficionados, there’s something comforting about hearing these songs in their raw studio versions—especially given their massive popularity after being covered by Patti Smith and the Pointer Sisters, respectively. But the novelty of hearing the earlier, unpolished versions quickly fades. Racing in the Street is as powerful as ever, but its presence here only serves to remind us of the original’s brilliance, leaving us longing for the original’s emotional depth rather than this lesser rendition.

The second disc fares slightly better, injecting some spontaneity into the proceedings. But the overall sense of déjà vu is undeniable. It’s not that the material is necessarily bad—far from it—but rather that it feels, at best, like a pleasant diversion from what could have been an extraordinary archive. Even for the most diehard fans, there’s a lingering sense that Springsteen’s vault still holds stronger and more compelling songs, hidden beneath the surface.

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