Bruce Springsteen announces deluxe 'Darkness' reissue

(AFP PHOTO/EPA)

Bruce Springsteen's 1978 album Darkness at the Edge of Town is set to get a deluxe reissue, according to an August 26 press release. The Promise : The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story - which has been rumored to be underway since 2008 - includes the remastered album, a feature-length documentary, and two CDs' worth of previously unreleased songs.

Included in the deluxe Promise package, which is priced at $115.00 (€92.71), are 3 CDs and 3 DVDs or Blu-Ray discs containing more than six hours of film and two hours of audio. The CDs contain the remastered version of Darkness plus 21 unreleased rarities from that album's recording sessions. On the DVDs: A documentary film, The Promise: The Making of 'Darkness on the Edge of Town, set to debut at the Toronto Film Festival on September 14; an HD recording of a 2009 concert at Asbury Park when the E Street Band played Darkness in its entirety with no audience; and a full concert the band played in Houston in 1978 during its original Darkness tour.

A new essay by Springsteen, previously unseen photos, and an 80-page notebook replicating Springsteen's original notes from the recording sessions are also included in the deluxe release.

Fans also have the option of purchasing a scaled-back package, called simply The Promise ($18.98) and consisting of just the unreleased songs (on two CDs or four LPs) along with lyrics and Springsteen's essay.

American rock singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen has won 20 Grammy Awards and sold 120 million albums worldwide. His albums have regularly topped charts since the 1970s; most recently, 2009's Working on a Dream reached number one in 17 countries around the world.

Pre-order The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story at: http://www.brucespringsteen.net