It is clear now that the rock messiah of '75 … embodies neither the state nor the future of rock music. But he has brains, taste, extraordinary talent; and he's capable of making transcendent rock and roll. At its best, his new album … [Darkness on the Edge of Town could] almost be called Reborn to Run. At its worst, Born to Rerun would be more like it. But there's a lot more good than bad.

Springsteen is still the prototypical '60s-style punk, the rebel tearing up the highways in his '69 Chevy, the teenaged loner whose last chance for freedom is almost within his reach. But he's not a kid anymore…. Work is on his mind, numbing jobs that grind a man down, leave him empty except for disillusionment and rage. These songs are more introspective and less exhilarating than the rich Spectorian anthems on Born To Run...