Greetings!  As discussed, Christmas shopping season is coming with a vengeance.  Bruce Springsteen has always done well in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.  Local merchants will be busy pricing and selling the new release by Mr. S. this season.  Something with this much mass appeal will force the merchants to price this item competitively but this one is well worth the wait and the money.  Please subscribe to this and the vintage vinyl page.  It's free to have both emailed directly into your life.  Thank you!

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: "THE PROMISE: THE DARKNESS AT THE EDGE OF TOWN STORY": 2010: COLUMBIA (CBS)  3 CD/3DVD BOXED SET: RELEASE DATE-NOV. 16

"Darkness at the Edge of Town" was a pivotal album for Springsteen.  Only 10 trax made the LP but there were 21 other songs that could have and should have been released following "Darkness", this according to Springsteen himself.  This will not be the standard Deluxe Edition package that is released.  This one is part of an event which will follow the screening of the documentary film at this year's Toronto Film Festival on Sept. 14.  Toronto Film Festival is a highly prestigious event at which careers are made and this documentary film is directed by award-winning Thom Zimny.  Following the screening at TFF, HBO will air the documentary on Oct. 7. 

The cd/dvd package will be an event unto itself in the wake of the festival and the HBO presentation.  DVD 1 will include the documentary plus several hours of interview footage and out-takes.  DVD 2 includes the 2009 performance of the "Darkness" album in its entirety from the Paramount Theatre in Asbury Park, NJ. , plus 12 trax of live material from the Thrill Hill Vault.  Thrill Hill is Springsteen's production company and this is all live material from '76-'78, filmed/recorded in NJ, NY and Phoenix.  DVD 3 features a 'bootleg' concert from the "Darkness" tour in '78, filmed in Houston, Texas, all 26 songs of the playlist.

CD 1 contains the fully remastered version of the "Darkness" album.  CD 2 contains 10 of the unreleased songs while CD 3 contains the other 11.  The package includes a t-shirt and poster, an 80 page notebook of lyrics, recording session notes and an essay by Springsteen.

There will be vinyl releases as well in addition to the 2CD set that includes only the unreleased material.

The website price for the 6 disc set in $115 (www.brucespringsteen.net).  It is available for pre-order now  but will not be shipped until (or slightly before) the Nov. 16 release date.  SRP has not been announced yet but it should come in pretty close to the website price.  This is actually really reasonable for everything that is included.  Locally, Best Buy offers the lowest week-of-release price for large packages like this.  However, since Springsteen is so popular and "Darkness" has not been issued in a quality format, this can be expected to be a hot ticket item and other merchants will want to cash in as well.  Check the Fetus and Cheapo before you buy this.  Both stores have been known to offer great specials and they both offer special order capabilities that make it easier to know you'll get a copy.  No matter which way you choose to go, this is one you should plan for early  (Remember, release dates are subject to change without warning.  It likely won't happen with this one but things happen in the music industry.  Columbia takes a great deal of pride in their work and their artists, especially artists like Springsteen who has made a ton of money for them.)