The River (album)

Infobox Album | Name = The River
Type = Album
Artist = Bruce Springsteen


Released = October 10 1980
Recorded = April 1979 - August 1980
The Power Station, New York
Genre = Rock
Length = 82:58
Label = Columbia
Producer = Jon Landau,
Bruce Springsteen,
Steve Van Zandt
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=A23rv284c055a link]
*Robert Christgau (A-) [http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist2.php?id=5142 link]
*"Rolling Stone" Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/236668 link]
Last album = "Darkness on the Edge of Town"
(1978)
This album = "The River"
(1980)
Next album = "Nebraska"
(1982)
Misc = Extra chronology 2
Artist = Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
Type = studio
Last album = "Darkness on the Edge of Town"
(1978)
This album = "The River"
(1980)
Next album = "Born in the U.S.A."
(1984)

"The River" is a double album by Bruce Springsteen released in 1980 (see 1980 in music).

History

The sources of "The River" go back into earlier parts of Springsteen's recording career. "Independence Day", "Point Blank", "The Ties That Bind", "Ramrod", and "Sherry Darling" were leftovers from the previous "Darkness on the Edge of Town" album and had been featured on that 1978 tour, as had parts of "Drive All Night" as a long interpolation within "Backstreets". "The River" had premiered at the September 1979 Musicians United for Safe Energy concerts, gaining a featured spot in the subsequent July 1980 "No Nukes" documentary film.

Originally, the album was going to be a single set entitled "The Ties That Bind" and released in late 1979, but Springsteen decided it was "too pop" and added darker material after he'd written "The River". Indeed, "The River" became noted for its mix of the frivolous next to the solemn. This was intentional, and in contrast to "Darkness", for as Springsteen said during an interview, "Rock and roll has always been this joy, this certain happiness that is in its way the most beautiful thing in life. But rock is also about hardness and coldness and being alone ... I finally got to the place where I realized life had paradoxes, a lot of them, and you've got to live with them."

"Hungry Heart" was Springsteen's first U.S. pop singles chart top ten hit single, reaching #5. (Springsteen had not intended the song to be for himself, having initially written it for The Ramones; manager/producer Jon Landau convinced Springsteen to keep the song for himself.) The album hit number one on the U.S. pop albums chart, a first for Springsteen, and sold 1.6 million copies in the U.S. between its release and Christmas. Sales faltered when "Fade Away" was a disappointing follow-up single, only getting to #20; the decision to make it the second single has often been questioned.

The album was followed by a lengthy tour of North American and Western Europe during 1980 and 1981. Several of the album's up-tempo rockers became concert staples for decades to come, including "Cadillac Ranch", "Ramrod", and "Out in the Street" (a song so idealistic that Springsteen almost kept it off the album), as did "Two Hearts" (with sidekick Steven Van Zandt acting as the second 'heart').

"Stolen Car" and "Wreck on the Highway", the closing tracks on the original LP's sides three and four, bore unusually quiet, haunted arrangements that presaged much of the musical direction Springsteen would take in the future.

Since its release "The River" has been certified quintuple platinum by the RIAA in the U.S., making it one of Springsteen's best-selling albums.

"Drive All Night" and "Stolen Car" played a key role in setting the tone of the 1997 film "Cop Land".

"Drive All Night" and "Out In The Street" was played in the 2007 film "Reign Over Me", and the album was mentioned multiple times throughout the movie.

Track listing

All songs written by Bruce Springsteen

Disc one

# "The Ties That Bind" – 3:34
# "Sherry Darling" – 4:03
# "Jackson Cage" – 3:04
# "Two Hearts" – 2:45
# "Independence Day" – 4:50
# "Hungry Heart" – 3:19
# "Out in the Street" – 4:17
# "Crush on You" – 3:10
# "You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)" – 2:37
# "I Wanna Marry You" – 3:30
# "The River" – 5:01

Disc two

# "Point Blank" – 6:06
# "Cadillac Ranch" – 3:03
# "I'm a Rocker" – 3:36
# "Fade Away" – 4:46
# "Stolen Car" – 3:54
# "Ramrod" – 4:05
# "The Price You Pay" – 5:29
# "Drive All Night" – 8:33
# "Wreck on the Highway" – 3:54

Personnel

The E Street Band (in alphabetical order)

*Roy Bittan – piano, organ on "I'm a Rocker" and "Drive All Night", background vocals
*Clarence Clemons – saxophone, percussion, background vocals
*Danny Federici – organ, glockenspiel
*Bruce Springsteen – Vocals, electric guitar, harmonica, piano on "Drive All Night"
*Garry Tallent – bass guitar
*Steven Van Zandt – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, lead guitar on "Crush on You", harmony vocals, background vocals
*Max Weinberg – drums

Additional personnel

*Howard Kaylan, Mark Volman – background vocals on "Hungry Heart"

Production

*Bruce Springsteen, Jon Landau, Steve Van Zandt – production
*Neil Dorfsman – engineering
*Bob Clearmountain – mixing
*Chuck Plotkin – mixing
*Toby Scott – mixing
*Frank Stefanko – cover art

External links

* [http://www.brucespringsteen.net/albums/river.html Album lyrics and audio samples]