Instrumentation
The classic E Street Band sound is immediately presented on "Badlands", as a brief drum intro kicks in to a powerful piano-and-electric guitar riff. The song is taken fast but with a purpose, with Max Weinberg's most dynamic drumming on the album to the fore; indeed it contains his most famous beat, a one-two-three-four-five-six-(double time)one-two-three pattern underneath the verses. Late in the song a brief guitar break leads to a Clarence Clemons tenor saxophone part.
Read more about this topic: Badlands (Bruce Springsteen Song)