A rollout of materials from Born to Run is sure to delight. Lonely Night in the Park finally gets a release, fifty years on from its recording. What took Bruce Springsteen so long to release this is anyone’s guess, but there is a sense of wanting to clear out the archives. Tracks II offered seven albums’ worth of material from The Boss, and with new albums allegedly in the works, it’s hard to think of a better time to continue releasing these pieces from the vault. Springsteen said the vault has been cleared. Whether he found Electric Nebraska is, right now, not a concern. Lonely Night in the Park, releasing with no build-up, is a delight. We must be careful not to be blinded by a love for the album when tackling Lonely Night in the Park. One of the many songs cut from Born to Run as Springsteen and The E Street Band fought tooth and nail to make a perfect album. They succeeded.
Lonely Night in the Park is an excess song, then. It’s a brilliant piece of work on its own, though with some sharp writing and freedom to the playing. Percussion is the focus here, the padding it offers as The Boss sings of Ferris wheels and of care in response to the thrills of the heart is nothing short of phenomenal. Bass riffs which cut deep into the heart, and those effective, muffled drum beats are classic Born to Run quality. You can hear why it was cut from the album, but as a standalone song, Lonely Night in the Park works wonderfully. Light and touching work which feels more like a song suited to the Darkness on the Edge of Town style than Born to Run. The latter album is an adrenaline-capturing masterclass, a moment of madness distilled into leaving your troubles to the past as you climb into the car.
Contrast that liberation with the loneliness of losing a lover. It’s the despondency which does not fit Born to Run. Springsteen and the band captured the thrill of new experiences in the face of heartbreak and hopelessness with Thunder Road and Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out. Lonely Night in the Park gives in to those darker elements of Born to Run. It’s a magnificent back-and-forth of those upbeat instrumentals and the howls of a “lonely, lonely, night,” on your own. A great start to what should surely be a deeper look into the Born to Run sessions, or at least, listeners can hope so. If it were to be included on the album, it would need another version. A brief but audible break of laughter from Springsteen and a looseness to the song, while endearing, do not quite match the slick and stylish Born to Run essentials.
What has been released is of real value, though. Another cut of sincerity from Springsteen during a period when every song mattered. It’s not quite a barnstormer but it does have the aesthetic essentials within. A song with real heart and emotion, that dominating sound of the ‘70s, which cemented Springsteen as an all-time great. It’s a song of isolation, either the lead-up to the decision to leave town or the after-effects. It’s a song of double meaning, the latter of more interest. You can escape your troubles on the road, but there are more towns around where the same haunts of life are heard. Travel, then, is the route out of disaster and dissatisfaction. Are you set for a lonely night in the park if you keep moving? It’s an unanswered question, but Lonely Night in the Park gives listeners plenty to think about.
