The Promise (Bruce Springsteen album)

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). Songs from the album were performed during Springsteen's Wrecking Ball Tour in 2012–2013.

Critical reception

Upon its release, The Promise received acclaim from most music critics. 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".

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. 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."

Commercial performance

The Promise debuted at #16 on the Billboard 200. 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.

Track listing

All songs written by Bruce Springsteen, except where noted.

Disc 1

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 Smith) – 3:25
7. "Wrong Side of the Street" – 3:34
8. "The Brokenhearted" – 5:19
9. "Rendezvous" – 2:37
10. "Candy's Boy" – 4:38

Disc 2

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