Customer Reviews

The River (2CD)

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

These songs are no less than majestic, lyrically and melodically. The singing and playing are equally impressive and convey the various moods of the album so well. The ecstasy, the joy and the sadness of life are captured here with an honesty very rarely matched in the annals of rock. The Ties That Bind, Sherry Darling and Hungry Heart are passionate rockers, while Independence Day is a mournful ballad full of reminiscences and regret. Point Black is a slow ballad, whilst Cadillac Ranch and I’m A Rocker are blistering slabs of energetic rock. Fade Away is a slow and anguished rock ballad with beautiful piano work and a stirring arrangement, while the sad and fragile Stolen Car almost sounds like something from Nebraska. Traditional rock ‘n roll rears its pulsating head on Ramrod, while the next three songs all have cars and driving as their theme: The Price You Pay is sombre and melancholic, Drive All Night is sad and soulful, and this masterpiece of an album concludes with the sorrowful Wreck On The Highway, one of Springsteen’s most moving songs. In its dignified resignation, acceptance and the renewed appreciation for loved ones that it inspires, it reminds me of Lou Reed’s The Bed or Song For My Father by The Angels Of Light. This album is so great, it’s almost too much to digest in one uninterrupted session.

Had the album on tape and decided to upgrade to cd. As good as I remember! Great value for money.

Old as this may be..it's a classic..every track is utter Magic. The shinning star of this album is the eternal Drive all Night...a track that will always be in my top ten - it hits the spot !

I bought this album when it was a double vinyl record - played it to death, recorded it onto a cassette tape so I could listen to it when I was out and about (that gives you an idea of how old I am!). Delighted to have found the CD, as I lost my own copy some time ago in one of my many house moves. What a pleasure to hear it again - don't think there are any tracks I don't like and some I absolutely adore (The River & Sherrie Darlin' being two of my absolute favourites!)
A must for any Bruce Springsteen fans!!

These songs have a power it is difficult to articulate, words are a bit inadequate. As far as this relates to his other albums, it is perhaps more colourful and varied and obviously longer than the ones that run it close, Born To Run, Darkness On The Edge Of Town. but i havent heard a better album opener than 'The Ties That Bind', except maybe 'Thunder Road' on Born To Run and 'Badlands' on Darkness...(!)
Ok i'm running close to contradiction. Buy this anyway! To start with i thought 'Jackson Cage', 'The River' and 'Point Blank' were what it was all about, but later other songs hit me such as 'Drive All Night' and 'Out In The Street'. He delivers some lines better than Dylan, and he is often far simpler about it. For example 'All those nights when i dream of a better world/I wake up so downhearted girl'. He fires seemingly uninspiring lines with a power and immediacy that is sometimes beyond belief, for example 'I got a job working in construction' sounds as stunning as anything any of your long-winded romantic poets could manage. I think that is partly the point as well, Springsteen is as bluntly realistic as he is romantic. They will call me an idealist, but I find it difficult to believe that anyone could dislike this!

This is the Springsteen album that I always go back to. If you've only got one of Bruce's albums, make sure it's this one. You get everything: the raw energy of the first two tracks set you up for something special. There are rocking tracks to make you feel good and there are more soul-searching songs that make you feel grateful. The title track is probably one of the best songs he's ever written. Get inside the Boss's head by wearing this ablum out first, and then build your collection - that's what I did. That way you'll also appreciate the subtlties of 'Tracks' when you get that far down the line.

The River still stands out as one of Springsteen's greatest works.

Having been a fan since a young age and seen him many, many times, songs from this album still light up stadiums all over the world. Think Glastonbury 2009!

Two discs. The first one mainly uptempo, the second mainly melancholy. Both discs are absolutely superb and showcase all Bruce's talents with an incredible quality flowing through all the songs - none are filler. I played this for the first time in a couple of years this evening and felt compelled to write a review as it knocked me for six!

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.

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.
Nevertheless, over three-quarters of the album is high quality rock music and it's one of Springsteen's most listenable.

So, where do you start? How about a youth club disco in the Summer of 1980 where someone bought this double album in and, at the end he played Point Blank probably five times to a small crowd left behind. Like others have written I've gone from double album (gatefold sleeve - still have it upstairs) to cassette in my Golf GTI to CD now and an I-Tunes version.

Listen to it properly - in the order Bruce and Little Steve laid them down, savour the melodies, the haunting lyrics of midtown America in the 80's; redundancy, teenage pregnancies, borrowing cars, stealing cars and reflecting on loves lost. It's difficult to select a favourite track - obviously The River and Point Blank stand out as sombre, coming of age stories. Sherry Darling is a hoot and Cadillac Ranch immediately produces a vision of Burt Reynolds in his Black Trans Am from Cannonball Run (I think).

33 years on its still as relevant as it was when I was 18, and I can confidently say I'll be listening to it for the remainder of my years - until I end up in the Cadillac Ranch...