.gif)
Badlands (Bruce Springsteen song)
Encyclopedia
"Badlands" was the leadoff track on Bruce Springsteen
's fourth studio album Darkness on the Edge of Town
, and its second single.
These themes are similar to the motivations of Charles Starkweather
who is the explicit protagonist of another Springsteen song Nebraska
, although there is no stated connection to Starkweather in this song.
sound is immediately presented on "Badlands", as a brief drums
intro kicks in to a powerful piano
-and-electric guitar
riff. The song is taken fast but with a purpose, with Max Weinberg
's most dynamic drumming on the album to the fore; indeed it contains his most famous beat, a one-two-three-four-five-six-(double time)one-two-three pattern underneath the verses. Late in the song a brief guitar break leads to a Clarence Clemons
tenor saxophone
part.
, even worse than the album's previous single "Prove It All Night
". Badlands did achieve considerable progressive rock
and album-oriented rock
radio airplay at the time, and classic rock
airplay since. Moreover, Badlands has remained quite popular with Springsteen fans and with Springsteen himself. The song has appeared on seven Bruce Springsteen releases: Darkness on the Edge of Town, Live/1975–85, the 1995 Greatest Hits
, Live in New York City
, Live in Barcelona
, The Essential Bruce Springsteen
, and the Wal-Mart
-only 2009 Greatest Hits
.
As evidenced by its appearance on three live offerings, "Badlands" is a staple of Springsteen and E Street Band concert performances. It opened shows on the 1978 Darkness Tour
before the album had even been released, a slot it held for much of that legendary tour (one such performance from Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
was filmed and released as a promotional video in the early 1980s). It was featured near or at the end of the first set during the 1980-1981 River Tour
(one such performance from Arizona State University
, famously introduced by Springsteen decrying the election of Ronald Reagan
as president the night before, was included on Live/1975–85, less the intro), a spot it held for much of the 1984-1985 Born in the U.S.A. Tour
until the stadium
shows, when it was used to keep momentum going out of the opening "Born in the U.S.A.
". "Badlands" was put on the shelf for most of the 1988 Tunnel of Love Express, a mark of how radically that tour sought to throw out stock show elements. Once the 1992-1993 "Other Band" Tour was underway, it was quickly added back in for some needed mid-first-set energy. Springsteen seemed to conclude it fit this role, as he kept it in the same "10 songs in" position during all of the 1999-2000 Reunion Tour
and 2002-2003 Rising Tour
shows, recapturing audience enthusiasm after less familiar material such as "Murder, Inc." or "Worlds Apart" were performed. On the 2007 Magic Tour
, however, the shortened show time resulted in "Badlands" becoming even more prominent as the main set closer. For the 2009 Working on a Dream Tour
, "Badlands" resumed its old role as the show opener; it stayed in that slot until the final two months of the tour - when Springsteen chose to play the Born to Run
album in its entirety at a show, "Badlands" was usually shifted to be the final song of the main set, which the track "Born to Run" had previously held on the tour.
Performed live, "Badlands" features a number of band and audience customary practices. Danny Federici
, while he was alive and touring, would play the electronic glockenspiel, which added to carry the opening keyboard riff, immediately announcing the song to the crowd and getting everyone to their feet. Fans clap hands in time to Weinberg's famous part, with newcomers watching and then following the double-time part at the end. During the chorus, when Springsteen shouts "Bad-lands!" fans pump their fists in the air twice, once for each syllable of the word. In the years when it slotted at the start of shows, this would be Clemons' first sax solo, which would bring him to center stage and elicit huge cheers from the crowd. The slow-down afterward that is often elongated, with the audience joining Springsteen for the long, wordless "oooh oooh"s part. One or more false ending
s is usually tacked on, to further prolong the experience.
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
's fourth studio album Darkness on the Edge of Town
Darkness on the Edge of Town
Darkness on the Edge of Town is the fourth album by Bruce Springsteen, released in the late spring of 1978. The album marked the end of a three year period of forced hiatus from recording brought on by contractual obligations and legal battling with former manager Mike Appel...
, and its second single.
Themes
The song tells the story of a man down on his luck and angry at the world, who wants a better lot in life.These themes are similar to the motivations of Charles Starkweather
Charles Starkweather
Charles Raymond Starkweather was an American teenaged spree killer who murdered eleven people in Nebraska and Wyoming during a two-month road trip with his 14-year-old girlfriend, Caril Ann Fugate. The couple was captured on January 29, 1958...
who is the explicit protagonist of another Springsteen song Nebraska
Nebraska (song)
"Nebraska" is a song by Bruce Springsteen and the title song of his 1982 album Nebraska. The song sets the tone for the album, whose content consists mostly of songs about criminals and desperate people, accompanied by just guitar and harmonica...
, although there is no stated connection to Starkweather in this song.
Instrumentation
The classic E Street BandE Street Band
The E Street Band has been rock musician Bruce Springsteen's primary backing band since 1972.The band has also recorded with a wide range of other artists including Bob Dylan, Meat Loaf, Bonnie Tyler, Air Supply, Dire Straits, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, Stevie Nicks, Tom Morello, Sting, Ian...
sound is immediately presented on "Badlands", as a brief drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
intro kicks in to a powerful piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
-and-electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
riff. The song is taken fast but with a purpose, with Max Weinberg
Max Weinberg
Max Weinberg is an American drummer and television personality, most widely known as the longtime drummer for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band and as the bandleader for Conan O'Brien on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien.Weinberg grew up in suburban New Jersey...
's most dynamic drumming on the album to the fore; indeed it contains his most famous beat, a one-two-three-four-five-six-(double time)one-two-three pattern underneath the verses. Late in the song a brief guitar break leads to a Clarence Clemons
Clarence Clemons
Clarence Anicholas Clemons, Jr. , also known as The Big Man, was an American musician and actor. From 1972 until his death, he was a prominent member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, playing the tenor saxophone. He released several solo albums and in 1985, had a hit single with "You're a...
tenor saxophone
Tenor saxophone
The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
part.
Chart performance and reception
"Badlands" was not a commercial Top 40 success, only reaching #42 on the Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, even worse than the album's previous single "Prove It All Night
Prove It All Night
"Prove It All Night" is the penultimate song on Bruce Springsteen's fourth studio album Darkness on the Edge of Town, and the first single released from it....
". Badlands did achieve considerable progressive rock
Progressive rock (radio format)
Progressive rock is a radio station programming format that prospered in the late 1960s and 1970s, in which the disc jockeys are given wide latitude in what they may play, similar to the freeform format but with the proviso that some kind of rock music is almost always what is played...
and album-oriented rock
Album-oriented rock
Album-oriented rock is an American FM radio format focusing on album tracks by rock artists.-Music played:Most radio formats are based on a select, tight rotation of hit singles...
radio airplay at the time, and classic rock
Classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
airplay since. Moreover, Badlands has remained quite popular with Springsteen fans and with Springsteen himself. The song has appeared on seven Bruce Springsteen releases: Darkness on the Edge of Town, Live/1975–85, the 1995 Greatest Hits
Greatest Hits (Bruce Springsteen album)
Greatest Hits is Bruce Springsteen's first compilation album, released February 27, 1995 on Columbia Records. It is a collection of some of Springsteen's hit singles and popular album tracks through the years and four extra numbers at the end, mostly recorded with the E Street Band in 1995...
, Live in New York City
Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band: Live In New York City
Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band: Live In New York City is the name of a concert film done by HBO, featuring the first ever major televised Bruce Springsteen concert...
, Live in Barcelona
Live in Barcelona
Live In Barcelona is a full concert video DVD of a performance by Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band of their Rising Tour performance of October 16, 2002 at Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona, Spain....
, The Essential Bruce Springsteen
The Essential Bruce Springsteen
- Charts :- Certifications :- External links :* *...
, and the Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
-only 2009 Greatest Hits
Greatest Hits (Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band album)
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band Greatest Hits is Bruce Springsteen's fifth compilation album, released as a limited edition first in the United States, Canada and Australia on January 13, 2009 exclusively through Wal-Mart retailers....
.
Live performance
Darkness Tour
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's Darkness Tour was a concert tour of North America that ran from May 1978 through the rest of the year, in conjunction with the release of Springsteen's album Darkness on the Edge of Town...
before the album had even been released, a slot it held for much of that legendary tour (one such performance from Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
The Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum is a 14,870-seat multi-purpose indoor arena in Phoenix, Arizona, USA, located on the grounds of the Arizona State Fair...
was filmed and released as a promotional video in the early 1980s). It was featured near or at the end of the first set during the 1980-1981 River Tour
The River Tour
The River Tour was a concert tour featuring Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band that took place in 1980 and 1981, beginning concurrently with the release of Springsteen's album The River.-Itinerary:...
(one such performance from Arizona State University
Arizona State University
Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...
, famously introduced by Springsteen decrying the election of Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
as president the night before, was included on Live/1975–85, less the intro), a spot it held for much of the 1984-1985 Born in the U.S.A. Tour
Born in the U.S.A. Tour
The Born in the U.S.A. Tour was the supporting concert tour of Bruce Springsteen's massively popular Born in the U.S.A. album. It was his longest and most successful tour to date. It featured a physically transformed Springsteen. After two years of bodybuilding, Springsteen had bulked up...
until the stadium
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
shows, when it was used to keep momentum going out of the opening "Born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A. (song)
"Born in the U.S.A." is a 1984 song written and performed by Bruce Springsteen. Taken from the album of the same name, it is one of his best-known singles. Rolling Stone ranked the song 275th on their list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". In 2001, the RIAA's Songs of the Century placed...
". "Badlands" was put on the shelf for most of the 1988 Tunnel of Love Express, a mark of how radically that tour sought to throw out stock show elements. Once the 1992-1993 "Other Band" Tour was underway, it was quickly added back in for some needed mid-first-set energy. Springsteen seemed to conclude it fit this role, as he kept it in the same "10 songs in" position during all of the 1999-2000 Reunion Tour
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Reunion Tour
The Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Reunion Tour was a lengthy, top-grossing concert tour featuring Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band that took place over 1999 and 2000....
and 2002-2003 Rising Tour
The Rising Tour
The Rising Tour was a lengthy, worldwide, top-grossing concert tour featuring Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band that took place in arenas and stadiums over 2002 and 2003...
shows, recapturing audience enthusiasm after less familiar material such as "Murder, Inc." or "Worlds Apart" were performed. On the 2007 Magic Tour
Magic Tour (Bruce Springsteen)
The Magic Tour was Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's 2007–2008 concert tour of North America and Western Europe.The tour began October 2, 2007, in Hartford, Connecticut, and concluded August 30, 2008 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin...
, however, the shortened show time resulted in "Badlands" becoming even more prominent as the main set closer. For the 2009 Working on a Dream Tour
Working on a Dream Tour
The Working on a Dream Tour was a concert tour by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, which began in April 2009 and ended in November 2009...
, "Badlands" resumed its old role as the show opener; it stayed in that slot until the final two months of the tour - when Springsteen chose to play the Born to Run
Born to Run
The album's release was accompanied by a $250,000 promotional campaign by Columbia directed at both consumers and the music industry, making good use of Landau's "I saw rock 'n' roll's future—and its name is Bruce Springsteen" quote. With much publicity, Born to Run vaulted into the top 10 in its...
album in its entirety at a show, "Badlands" was usually shifted to be the final song of the main set, which the track "Born to Run" had previously held on the tour.
Performed live, "Badlands" features a number of band and audience customary practices. Danny Federici
Danny Federici
Daniel Paul "Danny" Federici was an American musician, best known as the longtime organ, glockenspiel, and accordion player for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band.- Career :...
, while he was alive and touring, would play the electronic glockenspiel, which added to carry the opening keyboard riff, immediately announcing the song to the crowd and getting everyone to their feet. Fans clap hands in time to Weinberg's famous part, with newcomers watching and then following the double-time part at the end. During the chorus, when Springsteen shouts "Bad-lands!" fans pump their fists in the air twice, once for each syllable of the word. In the years when it slotted at the start of shows, this would be Clemons' first sax solo, which would bring him to center stage and elicit huge cheers from the crowd. The slow-down afterward that is often elongated, with the audience joining Springsteen for the long, wordless "oooh oooh"s part. One or more false ending
False ending
A false ending has two contexts; in literature it is a narrative device where the plot seems to be heading to its conclusion, but in reality, there's still more to the story. In a musical composition, it is a complete stop of the song for one or more seconds before continuing.The presence of a...
s is usually tacked on, to further prolong the experience.