The Promise
Compilation album by
Bruce Springsteen
ReleasedNovember 16, 2010 (2010-11-16)
Recorded1977–1978, 2010
Genre
Length88:05
LabelColumbia
ProducerBruce Springsteen, Jon Landau
Bruce Springsteen chronology
Working on a Dream
(2009)		 The Promise
(2010)		 Wrecking Ball
(2012)
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band chronology
Working on a Dream
(2009)		 The Promise
(2010)		 Wrecking Ball
(2012)

The Promise is a compilation album by American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released November 16, 2010, on Columbia Records.[1] The album is a collection of previously unreleased songs which were recorded during the Darkness on the Edge of Town sessions in 1977–1978, with some vocals and additional instrumentation overdubs recorded in 2010. It was released in 2CD and 3LP formats. The album is also available as part of the box set The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story.[2][3] The two-CD version of the release entered the UK Albums Chart at number 7.[4] It had been in production for many years and was originally scheduled to be released for the 30th anniversary in 2008. The Promise debuted at number 16 on the Billboard 200, while the box set, The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story, debuted at number 27.[5]

The album features one of the last appearances of Clarence Clemons before his death in June 2011. Clemons is featured on the song "Save My Love", which was the only song on the album completely re-recorded by Springsteen and the E Street Band for the project.

Promotion

On November 16, 2010, Springsteen performed "Because the Night" and "Save My Love" with Steven Van Zandt, Roy Bittan and the Roots on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (along with a cover of Willow Smith's "Whip My Hair" with Fallon posing as Neil Young).[6] Songs from the album were performed during Springsteen's Wrecking Ball Tour in 2012–2013.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic94/100[7]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
BBC Music(favorable)[9]
The Guardian[10]
Mojo[11]
Q[12]
Pitchfork(8.5/10)[13]
PopMatters[14]
Tom HullB+ ((1-star Honorable Mention))[15]
Uncut[16]

Upon its release, The Promise received acclaim from most music critics.[7] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 94, based on 17 reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim".[7]

Allmusic gave it four and a half stars; they stated that, "The Promise stands on its own as a great Bruce Springsteen record; it feels finished, focused, and, above all, offers more proof that Springsteen is one of the greatest rock and pop songwriters" although stating that "The Promise" was the only track that might have added something to the original Darkness on the Edge of Town album.[8] BBC Music had a favorable review and stated "The Promise is as compelling an advert for the Boss’s beautiful, blue-collar soul as you’re likely to find outside of the hits; an indispensable portrait of an artist at the top of his game."[9]

Commercial performance

The Promise debuted at number 16 on the Billboard 200.[5] While not selling as well as his previous studio albums on the American charts, the set did well on the European charts (with first week worldwide sales of over 187,000 units), opening at No. 1 in Germany, Spain, and Norway. It also charted at No. 4 in The Netherlands, Denmark and Ireland, No. 5 in Austria, No. 7 in the United Kingdom and No. 9 in Switzerland.[17]

Track listing

All songs written by Bruce Springsteen, except where noted.

Disc One
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Racing in the Street ('78)" 6:49
2."Gotta Get That Feeling" 3:17
3."Outside Looking In" 2:16
4."Someday (We'll Be Together)" 5:35
5."One Way Street" 4:19
6."Because the Night"Springsteen, Patti Smith3:25
7."Wrong Side of the Street" 3:34
8."The Brokenhearted" 5:19
9."Rendezvous" 2:37
10."Candy's Boy" 4:38
Disc Two
No.TitleLength
1."Save My Love"2:36
2."Ain't Good Enough for You"4:01
3."Fire"4:08
4."Spanish Eyes"3:50
5."It's a Shame"3:14
6."Come On (Let's Go Tonight)"2:18
7."Talk to Me"4:20
8."The Little Things (My Baby Does)"3:17
9."Breakaway"5:30
10."The Promise"5:52
11."City of Night"2:58
12."The Way" (hidden track)3:42

Personnel

Adapted from the album's liner notes:

Technical

  • Jon Landau, Bruce Springsteen – original tracks production
  • Bruce Springsteen – additional production
  • Jimmy Iovine, Toby Scott – recording
  • Thom Panunzio, Rob Lebret – assistant engineers
  • Bob Clearmountain – mixing
  • Brandon Duncan – mixing assistant
  • Bob Ludwig – mastering
  • Ken Asher – string arrangement on "The Promise"
    • Toby Scott – recording project supervisor
    • Rob Lebret, Kevin Buell – assistants
  • Kevin Buell – guitars support staff
  • Harry McCarthy – drums support staff
  • Shari Sutcliffe – musician contracts
  • Toby Scott, Matt Kelly, Donna Kloepfer, Sean Brennan, Tim Sturgis – archive research, retrieval and restoration
  • Eric Meola – photography
  • Michelle Holme, Dave Bett – art direction

Charts

Certifications

Certifications and sales for The Promise
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[45] Gold 15,000^
Germany (BVMI)[46] Gold 100,000‡
Ireland (IRMA)[47] Platinum 15,000^
Italy (FIMI)[48] Platinum 50,000*
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[49] Gold 30,000^
Sweden (GLF)[50] Platinum 40,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[51] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[52] Gold 250,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ "The Promise [Doppel-CD]" (in German). Amazon.de. Archived from the original on November 20, 2010. Retrieved November 12, 2010.
  2. ↑ "Columbia Records to release Bruce Springsteen's 'The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story' Nov. 16". www.brucespringsteen.net. Archived from the original on December 5, 2012. Retrieved September 7, 2010.
  3. ↑ "Springsteen Announces Massive 'Darkness' Set". Rolling Stone. August 26, 2010. Archived from the original on August 28, 2010. Retrieved September 7, 2010.
  4. ↑ "Official UK Albums Top 100". Official Charts Company. November 21, 2010. Archived from the original on February 22, 2012. Retrieved November 21, 2010.
  5. 1 2 "'The Promise: The Darkness On The Edge Of Town Story' Is Fastest Selling Box Set Of 2010". Archived from the original on December 2, 2011. Retrieved December 5, 2010.
  6. ↑ "Bruce Springsteen Rocks 'Fallon' with 'Promise' Tracks, 'Whip My Hair'". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 16, 2013. Retrieved March 25, 2013.
  7. 1 2 3 "The Promise Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. Archived from the original on April 15, 2014. Retrieved December 3, 2010.
  8. 1 2 Jurek, Thom. "Bruce Springsteen The Promise review". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Archived from the original on July 17, 2013. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
  9. 1 2 Denney, Alex (2010). "Bruce Springsteen The Promise review". Music. BBC. Archived from the original on March 26, 2019. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
  10. ↑ Williams, Richard (November 11, 2010). "The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story – review". The Guardian. Archived from the original on June 13, 2016. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
  11. ↑ "Bruce Springsteen – The Promise". Mojo (205): 112. December 2010.
  12. ↑ "Bruce Springsteen – The Promise". Q: 119. December 2010.
  13. ↑ Richardson, Mark (November 17, 2010). "Bruce Springsteen – The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on October 3, 2013. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
  14. ↑ Fiander, Matthew (November 16, 2010). "Bruce Springsteen: The Promise". PopMatters. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
  15. ↑ Hull, Tom (October 29, 2016). "Streamnotes (October 2016)". Tom Hull – on the Web. Archived from the original on July 4, 2020. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  16. ↑ Scoppa, Bud (December 2010). "Bruce Springsteen 'The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story'". Uncut. p. 82.
  17. ↑ "Rihanna Scores Euro Albums, Singles Chart Double". Billboard.com. September 14, 2009. Archived from the original on January 31, 2016. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
  18. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Bruce Springsteen – The Promise". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  19. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Bruce Springsteen – The Promise" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  20. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Bruce Springsteen – The Promise" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  21. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Bruce Springsteen – The Promise" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  22. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Bruce Springsteen – The Promise" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  23. ↑ Archived November 27, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  24. ↑ "Bruce Springsteen: The Promise" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  25. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Bruce Springsteen – The Promise". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  26. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Bruce Springsteen – The Promise" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  27. ↑ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Bruce Springsteen". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  28. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Bruce Springsteen – The Promise". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  29. ↑ "Charts.nz – Bruce Springsteen – The Promise". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  30. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  31. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Bruce Springsteen – The Promise". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  32. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Bruce Springsteen – The Promise". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  33. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Bruce Springsteen – The Promise". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  34. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  35. ↑ "Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  36. ↑ "Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  37. ↑ "Top de l'année Top Albums 2010" (in French). SNEP. Archived from the original on October 6, 2022. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  38. ↑ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Archived from the original on March 13, 2016. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  39. ↑ "Top 50 Albumes 2010" (PDF). Promusicae.es. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 3, 2011. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
  40. ↑ "Årslista Album – År 2010" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Archived from the original on October 16, 2020. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  41. ↑ "End of Year 2010" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 4, 2018. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  42. ↑ "Årslista Album – År 2011" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Archived from the original on April 13, 2013. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  43. ↑ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2011". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 1, 2018. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  44. ↑ "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2011". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 12, 2019. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  45. ↑ "Danish album certifications – Bruce Springsteen – The Promise". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  46. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Bruce Springsteen; 'The Promise')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  47. ↑ "The Irish Charts - 2010 Certification Awards - Platinum". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
  48. ↑ "Italian album certifications – Bruce Springsteen – The Promise" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved October 10, 2016. Select "2016" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "The Promise" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Album e Compilation" under "Sezione".
  49. ↑ "Spanish album certifications" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Select Álbumes under "Categoría", select 2012 under "Año". Select 23 under "Semana". Click on "BUSCAR LISTA".
  50. ↑ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 2011" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 24, 2015. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
  51. ↑ "British album certifications – Bruce Springsteen – The Promise". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
  52. ↑ "American album certifications – Bruce Springsteen – The Promise". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
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