The River (2CD)

---

---

Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
Despite the acclaim accorded iBorn to Run/i and iDarkness on the Edge of Town/i, this is the album that broke Springsteen into the big leagues, thanks to "Hungry Heart", then his most pointedly commercial song; it had new fans swooning but some old ones grumbling for the "poetic" Springsteen of days gone by. Not to worry--though more economical lyrically, iThe River/i had something to offer nearly everyone: There's old-time bar-room rock ("Sherry Darling"), empathetic character studies ("The River", "Stolen Car", "Independence Day"), passionate rockers ("Out in the Street"), dramatic ballads ("Point Blank"), and even a couple of good-natured goofs ("Cadillac Ranch", "Crush on You", "Ramrod"). A sprawling double-disc set, iThe River/i offers proof that Springsteen could do it all and could do it better than virtually anyone else. i--Daniel Durchholz /i

---

Customer reviews

review by: jornfin date: 2009-04-27 rating:
Bruce coming into his own
This is Bruce finding his own voice. There is still the darkness (on the edge of town)of earlier releases, but it is balanced by a general optimism (which I perceive as very American) and a willingness to enjoy live whenever it allows for that. br /This is also the first album where he included obviously substandard material. Songs like I am a Rocker or Ramrod simply aren't good songs. Others, like Cadillac Ranch, only work if you are American. br /Still, some of his finest songs are on this double CD. Also, this might be his first release which doesn't sound dated today. br /All in all, I don't think you have to get this album, though. All the best songs are included on the Live 1975 - 85 3 CD compilation and receive better renditions live.

---

review by: Neil date: 2009-02-24 rating:
Bruce Springsteen, The River
When I queued up outside the Edinburgh Playhouse in 1980 to see him on his "The River" tour, I never thought I'd be sleeping outside for three nights on steps. But when we got to see him it was well worth it. I just bought this CD to replace my vinyl and it sounds as good today as it did then. Far better Springsteen before he went all BOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRNNNNNN in the usa.

---

review by: davethorn13 date: 2008-06-05 rating:
The flood
1980's 'The River' can probably be regarded as Bruce Springsteen's first move toward a more commercial sound. After years of sober epics punctuated by the occasional radio-friendly song, he turned out a stack of uptempo three-minute songs. Eight of the first nine tracks on this album are in that style. Far from being routine love songs, however, they feature Springsteen's vivid turn of phrase and odd storylines. On 'Sherry Darling', for instance, the subject threatens to throw his girlfriend's mother out of his car. The impassioned 'Jackson Cage' (well, his songs usually are impassioned) is a highlight, while 'Hungry Heart' is an obvious single, if a relatively unsuccessful one. Fans might balk at the gooey 'I Wanna Marry You', but the plaintive title track is a triumph. br / br /The second disc features some meatier subject matter among the rockers and is generally slower. Both 'Point Blank' and 'Wreck On The Highway' are Springsteen at his nerve-probing best. 'The Price You Pay' is bland, however, while 'Drive All Night', at eight minutes, is simply too long. br /Nevertheless, over three-quarters of the album is high quality rock music and it's one of Springsteen's most listenable.

---

review by: jembateman date: 2008-06-01 rating:
the standard comment on the greats' double albums...
Like the Beatles' White Album and Dylan's Blonde on Blonde, should it have been a single album? I'd like to give some songs 5 stars but others - and, unfortunately, therefore the overall album - a bit less. br /It has a lot of 'typical Bruce' uptempo songs and several slower, more reflective ones. Among the former, Cadillac Ranch is the most fun (especially when you realise he didn't mean it that seriously!); Hungry Heart ranks near Born To Run as a classic blue-collar rock ballad; The River is another essential which moved Bruce towards his next album, the acoustic Nebraska. Bracketing disc 2 are 2 of my Springsteen favorites that his singing is perfect for - moving ballads Point Blank and Wreck on the Highway, a great downtempo album closer to bring us down with a nightcap after the album's earlier partying. br / br /(Given some of the great tracks - both fast and slow - I don't know why Columbia released the less memorable Fade Away as the follow-up single to Hungry heart in the USA.) br / br /However, rehearing it I wonder if it needs so many songs (esp. on disc 1) of such a similar tempo: Sherri Darling, Jackson Cage, 2 hearts, You Can Look, Out on the streets, I'm a rocker, Ramrod... After seeing The Boss live for the first time, I wondered whether it would have been better to have released a 'pruned' 10/12-track studio album followed by a double live album with all 20 tracks on (maybe + a handful of the earlier classics - to make it an abridged version of the 3 CD / 5 LP 1975-85 album). br / br /So, certainly a lot of good tracks - but too many similar ones in some ways. I'd advise the more concentrated classics (Born To Run and Darkness) if you want an introduction to the man's greatness (tho I shamefully admit I haven't got those yet!).


review by: kennyb63 date: 2007-11-08 rating:
Bruce walks in another mans shoes
This is my favourite Springsteen album, my coma album if anyone saw fit to wake me up, never mind a desert island disc. Yes like most of his back catalogue the cd pressing is in dire need of a remaster to warm it up but the songs are bountiful and great. br / br /The first disc is the E Street band sound that most people recognise, the jangling guitar, the big mans sax - the wall of sound reinterpreted. Apparently uplifting songs such as The Ties that Bind, Jackson Cage and Hungry Heart have at their heart a deceptive lyrical bleakness, which are precursors to the darker second disc. Sherry Darling is the Boss's take on "Frat Rock" and the only genuinely light track on this disc. The title track is loosely biographical and remains a great ballad. I remember the excitement of seeing it premiered on the Old Grey Whistle test and being blown away by Bruces look and the song. It still sends chills nearly 30 years on, this was his lyrical coming of age. br / br /The second side opens with a criminally underrated classic of the Springsteen canon. Point Blank is simply beautiful; a 3/4 time ballad that could be a Johnny Cash song. For reasons I could never quite elucidate this remains my favourite Springsteen song, I was thrilled to see it given a rare live dusting off at Parken in Copenhagen a few years ago. The crowd just stopped dead mouths agape - I guess I am not alone. br / br /There follows a couple of rockers in the form of live favourite goof-fest Cadillac Ranch and the imaginatively titled rocker "I'm a Rocker". But for the intrusion of the excellent more imaginatively titled rocker Ramrod the remainder of the album points towards the bleak masterpiece that is Nebraska, which was to be his next album and the bravest artistic decision of any major artist. br / br /This is the start of Bruce's "walking in another man's shoes" songs. I constantly marvel at the economy of his lyrics while conveying the most vivid of pictures. Stolen Car and Wreck on the Highway are positively haunting, the lyrics, the anguished vocals, the spare instrumentation are all ingredients that set the Boss apart. br / br /Like chosing a favourite child - you know you shouldn't - but this is my favourite and I think it needs to step out of the shadows of the more commercially and critically successful stablemates. A classic. br /

---

Similar products

Darkness on the Edge of Town
Born to Run
Born in the U.S.A.
Nebraska
The Wild, the Innocent the E Street Shuffle

---

Similar categories

Music . Special Features . Bargain CDs . Festival CDs
Music . Special Features . Bargain CDs . Music Summer Sale
Music . Styles . Pop . Bestsellers
Music . Styles . Rock . Classic Rock . Classic American Rock
Music . Styles . Rock . General AAS
Music . Styles . Hard Rock Metal . Bestsellers
Music . Styles . Adult Contemporary . Bestsellers
Music . Styles . Adult Contemporary . Singer-songwriters
Music . Styles . Adult Contemporary . Pop Rock
Music . Substores . Regular Stores . Artist Pages Filter Nodes . Main Albums
Music . Refinements . Format (binding_browse-bin) . CD . CD Album

---