Omschrijving

By October 1980, when his fifth album, The River, was released, Bruce Springsteen and his trusty E-Street Band were so hot that, in Phil Lynott’s phrase, they were steaming. The backlash to the hype over Born To Run in 1975 was a distant memory, eclipsed by critical acclaim for the brooding power of 1978’s Darkness On The Edge Of Town and a series of legendary live shows.

But behind the curtain matters were not so rosy. Springsteen’s search for the right tone, his yearning for perfection, was driving the suits and the band to distraction. And then, finally, a single album called The Ties That Bind, after the song of the same name, was forwarded to CBS, only for Springsteen to have second thoughts and take it back. He had more songs, better songs, so many that it would have to be a double album. He was right.
The swinging bar-band sound was a surprise after the intensity of Darkness and Born To Run, but the jaunty neighbourhood pop of the likes of Sherry Darling and Hungry Heart helped obscure a more ominous narrative summed up in the haunting closing track, Wreck on the Highway.

The road was no escape, there was no happy ever after. Springsteen, turning 30, was also moving beyond his New Jersey shore heartland. Independence Day was about father/son but also about place and being “brought up to do the things your daddy done”, the fate of the male character in the key title track inspired by his sister’s experience.
The River is a sprawling album, flawed but deeply felt and emotionally resonant. It is about family, about friends, about himself. It marks the end of one life and the beginning of another. It is the bridge to the stark Nebraska and the universalism of Born in the USA and it is also worthy of this lavish production.
The box set includes the original double album, plus the single album that was pulled, and 22 other tracks from the same time, 12 not heard before, mostly good songs but crucially not better.

01. The Ties That Bind.flac
02. Sherry Darling.flac
03. Jackson Cage.flac
04. Two Hearts.flac
05. Independence Day.flac
06. Hungry Heart.flac
07. Out In the Street.flac
08. Crush on You.flac
09. You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch).flac
10. I Wanna Marry You.flac
11. The River.flac
01. Point Blank.flac
02. Cadillac Ranch.flac
03. I'm a Rocker.flac
04. Fade Away.flac
05. Stolen Car.flac
06. Ramrod.flac
07. The Price You Pay.flac
08. Drive All Night.flac
09. Wreck on the Highway.flac
01. The Ties That Bind (The River Single Album).flac
02. Cindy (The River Single Album).flac
03. Hungry Heart (The River Single Album).flac
04. Stolen Car (Vs.1 - The River Single Album).flac
05. Be True (The River Single Album).flac
06. The River (The River Single Album).flac
07. You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch) (Vs.1 - The River Single Album).flac
08. The Price You Pay (The River Single Album).flac
09. I Wanna Marry You (The River Single Album).flac
10. Loose End (The River Single Album).flac
01. Meet Me In The City (The River Outtakes).flac
02. The Man Who Got Away (The River Outtakes).flac
03. Little White Lies (The River Outtakes).flac
04. The Time That Never Was (The River Outtakes).flac
05. Night Fire (The River Outtakes).flac
06. Whitetown (The River Outtakes).flac
07. Chain Lightning (The River Outtakes).flac
08. Party Lights (The River Outtakes).flac
09. Paradise By The C (The River Outtakes).flac
10. Stray Bullet (The River Outtakes).flac
11. Mr. Outside (The River Outtakes).flac
12. Roulette (Album Version).flac
13. Restless Nights.flac
14. Where The Bands Are (Album Version).flac
15. Dollhouse (Album Version).flac
16. Living On The Edge Of The World (Album Version).flac
17. Take 'Em as They Come.flac
18. Ricky Wants A Man Of Her Own (Album Version).flac
19. I Wanna Be With You (Album Version).flac
20. Mary Lou (Album Version).flac
21. Held Up Without a Gun (The River Outtakes).flac
22. From Small Things (Big Things One Day Come).flac