Darkness on the Edge of Town

Springsteen sued Mike Appel in July 1976 and could not record for almost a year. The case settled on 28 May 1977, when he bought out his contract. He toured meanwhile and reportedly wrote between 40 and 70 songs, drawing on John Steinbeck, John Ford, Hank Williams and Woody Guthrie, and taking note of the Sex Pistols and the Clash. He wanted a leaner and angrier sound than Born to Run. Guitar solos took the place of most saxophone solos, and Clemons plays one on only three of the ten tracks.

Released on 2 June 1978 with minimal promotion at his request, it reached number five in America, stayed on the chart for 167 weeks and sold more than three million copies. Prove It All Night reached number 33 and Badlands number 42. Dave Marsh hailed it in Rolling Stone, and NME named it its album of 1978. The Darkness Tour followed, 112 concerts and his largest to that point. Keith Cameron of the Guardian wrote that it remains the bedrock of the Springsteen legend.