The Promise is a studio 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.[2] The album is also available as part of the box set The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story.[3][4] The two-CD version of the release entered the UK Albums Chart at number 7.[5] 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 #16 on the Billboard 200, while the box set, The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story, debuted at #27.[6]
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.
Upon its release, The Promise received acclaim from most music critics.[8] 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".[8]
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.[9]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."[10]
Commercial performance
The Promise debuted at #16 on the Billboard 200.[6] 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.[18]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
[9]
[13]
)[16]
