I don’t believe any human on earth will argue the point that Bruce Springsteen is an icon of American rock music. And I doubt that many would argue the point that his 1978 epic “Darkness at the Edge of Town” is a rock masterpiece and quite possibly eclipsed the groundbreaking nature of its predecessor, “Born to Run.”

Recorded over a two-year period, “Darkness” was culled from what was really four albums worth of material that the Boss recorded during what seemed like endless sessions that started in early 1977 and ended in mid-1978. Now, 32 years after the fact, the unreleased material from these sessions has finally been released in a 2-CD package titled “The Promise - The Lost Sessions: Darkness on the Edge of Town,” and these songs sound as fresh and vital as the original album. Time has not reduced their significance or their power, if anything, it has elevated it.

Only one of these recordings does not come from the original sessions. “Save My Love” is a tune written for the sessions, but not recorded until 2010, although Springsteen re-created the environment and feel of the original sessions to do so.

This album is testament to the overwhelming creativity and genius that was in play at the time these recordings were made. In the liner notes, Springsteen defends the original track selection, rightfully so, but that does not diminish the depth and quality of these previously unreleased songs, and makes one wonder why it took so long to release them.

“Because the Night” and “Fire” are two songs you will recognize, as Patti Smith and The Pointer Sisters got hold of those respectively and made a hits out of them in the ‘80s, and there are a few others that you may have heard on bootlegs or Springsteen’s epic box set “Tracks,” but the lion’s share have never been heard before.

Springsteen fans will cherish this set, and even casual fans of the Boss will find this set pretty darn thrilling.

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