The River by Bruce Springsteen

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Essential Listening. Springsteen was going through one of the most productive phases of his career when he recorded this album in 1979 and 1980. Looking at the album 25 years on, one can see all the themes and musical genres that Springsteen would grow and nurture during the his subsequent records -- the stark reality of Nebraska, the pop hooks of Born in the USA, and the even the country/folk records in the 90's and earlier this decade. The album rises through multiple emotional peaks and valleys -- the bar band sound of Sherry Darling to the despair of the River onto the fun of Cadillac Ranch and finishing with the intimate portrait of Wreck on the HIghway. Essential listening for anyone serious about rock and roll and understanding its place in America in 1980.

Drive all night. One of the most heartbreaking melodies. A must have.

Deserted islands and choices. There are few simple choices in life, but this album is a gift....it's a must-have. If you could only take a handful of albums with you to a deserted island, this one has to be one of them. Visceral, tender, energetic, hopeful, elated, destitute...this album describes LIFE and will touch you!

Extremely Good, But not quite his best. Like the albums Born to Run and Darkness,I bought this two-disc set in vinyl when it first came out. I think Disc 1 is Springsteen's 2nd best disc behind Born to Run and just ahead of Darkness. I love the first three tracks plus Out In the Street, The River, and Point Blank. Sherry Darling is Springsteen's funniest song and reminds me of Taxman by the Beatles with its sense of humor. Out In the Street has that same cocky attitude as The Punk And The Godfather by The Who and the title track is Springsteens best ballad. Meanwhile, Hungry Heart is a bit too commercial for my taste. Way more McCartney than Lennon. (And, a trend that really continued with Born in the USA.) As to the second disc, after Point Blank, I thought the effort was a bit weak; at least by Springsteen standards.

Great album!. In 1980, I did not care much for Springsteen but he a new girlfriend who loved him.....so I bought the album. I started liking one song and then another and so on. Pretty soon I wore the grooves out! A somber masterpiece ! The stories of lost love and broken dreams resonate more the older you get!

The river. It's one of my favorite Bruce songs

The River of greed. Does Springsteen have no shame. That is probably more than the album cost when originally released. Really, at what point have your stolen enough money from your fans. Aren't you rich enough yet? A 40 year album should be free. The general admission ticket for this album tour only cost me $15.

Probably his 3rd best album. Good album but not in the same tier as BTR or Darkness. Front side of the first disc is excellent. The first 3 tracks are probably the best tracks of the front side along with the title track. The second side is good too with The Price You Pay and Drive All Night being the two best songs on it in my opinion. I would have to say Hungry Heart is probably the worst song on this album. It is such a sellout song by Bruce to muster out a number one single and just doesn't do it for me or any true bruce fan.

THE RIVER. ONE OF THE BEST ALBUM'S OF ALL TIME. IT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE. NOW CAN YOU DIG THAT***

his best. I feel this is Bruce's best . . . . hard to believe some can give it two or three stars . . . .

Drive All Night.... This is one of my favorite songs EVER by the Boss. So beautiful. Definitely pulls at my heart. I wish there was video to go with it. You will not be disappointed in this song. Wow!

Better than Born In The USA. My favorite Springsteen album!

Love this album. One of my favorite albums pre Bruce Trump Derangement Syndrome.

The best. I think this the best album he has. It doesnt get enough publicity. Out in the street and ties that bind are one of the best songs. This could actully be the best of all time.

Bruce's best Album. This is Bruce's best album. Period. He has matured since his early stuff, yet all the energy is there. He shows all the different styles and approaches he has in his repertoire. Damn, its a double album of all new stuff--his creativity has hit its high point. And at least three of the songs The River, Point Blank, and Independence Day are among his all time best songs--those three will rip your heart out. But everyone of the 20 are excellent.

Amazing. This album moved me and kept me going all my life buy it and you wont be sad you did

great album. saw him preform in concert, incredible.

The River. One of his best albums. This is a perfect blend of all that is Bruce.

Awesome CD. Bruce Hit Another Jackpot!

Mastered for iTunes you say?. I hope so. My current CD (which I uploaded for iTunes) sounds like spit (subbing for another word that rhymes with spit). We'll see

Classic. The River is classic Springsteen. Sherry Darling and Out in the Street are two of my favorites. Bruce just understands real life. Never gets old!

Simply the Best. I had all of the early releases and the out comes Born to Run and everything changes. The River is my favorite of all. Not only a great album but saw the live show and was treated to four hours of incredible showmanship by Bruce and the E-Street gang. A life long memory with nothing else coming close.

Great album needs remastering.. This may be Bruce's finest work, the reason it's often overlooked is that it was a double album and there was so much here to digest. If you take his "Born in the USA" official release and then add in the since-released songs that he wrote for that LP it would look a lot like this, maybe even a 3-disc LP. Bruce always wrote a lot more than he needed for an album and "The River" is what every Bruce release could have possible looked like. The man is as prolific as anyone in the business. Also, there is not a central theme with this album, especially coming off of "Darkness on the Edge of Town." My only problem with "The River" is that it sounds quiet when you play it next to Bruce's other albums. Try making a Bruce best of, compiling all of his work, and you'll see what I mean. Invariably you will have to reach over and turn up your radio when anything from "The River" plays. It needs remastering! That being said, I love it and it always takes me back to when I was a kid and I would go to Wal-Mart and think about buying it but it was a double album and it cost a little more than the normal single disc album. So I saved and saved and eventually bought it. That was the summer of 1984 and I've been loving it ever since.

The River. In my opinion, one of the essential rock albums of all time. Bruce is a true genius and it shines on this album, as it does on most of his but this one is special. It has a little of everything, love, heartbreak, hard times, good times, and overall just a piece of great rock history. Put it on and just let it play all the way through.

I <3 this album!. Yaaaay!! I love this album! If you're lookin to buy only the best songs, I really recomend Hungry Heart and The River. I love you Bruce fans!! I love Bruce toooo!

Not a big fan...however. I'm not a big Springsteen fan but The River is truly a great album. Very little filler and many memorable songs. It really could use remastering but don't let that prevent you from enjoying a wonderful set of tunes.

Springsteen at his hard rocking best. Of course the ballads are heartbreaking with their spare arrangements and deceptively simple lyrics that tell haunting short stories with a few well-chosen words. But what makes this album one for the top of the “If I could only have one Bruce Springsteen record on a desert island” is the rockers. Cadillac Ranch throws off so much swagger and joy thirty/plus years on that it still makes me want to crank up the volume until the neighbors call the police. If you’re feeling old and creaky, or fighting the January hibernation blues, you need a dose of “Ramrod” or “I’m a Rocker.” Now.

BRUCE SHINES...!. If the masterpiece DRIVE ALL NIGHT doesn't make your eyes well up with tears, then you have no soul !!! ...Yes, the song is about SO MUCH MORE than just a lonely sex-beggar with a shoe fetish driving around town late at night in his muscle car looking for a 24-hour shoe store. His heart and mind is being toyed with somehow by an indifferent user and he's desperate for her love...BRUCE IS A MASTER OF THE METAPHOR !!!

Finally!. A couple months ago I complained about cadillac ranch not being here. Now they have it! (thanks to me) Thank you iTunes!

It Isn't Born to Run. But it certainly is his second best album, and definitely worth five stars. What Born to Run had in upbeat rock mantras such as "Born to Run" and "Thunder Road", The River has in solemn, almost reflective songs. These are songs that don't often get a lot of playtime, but are arguably his best. The eponymous song is, in my opinion, his greatest, and "Sherry Darling" and "Point Blank" are also definitely worth a download.

Reign over me. give five stars if you heard the river in the background of the movie Reign over me

The River. This double album gives you everything by Bruce. The serious and the fun wrapped into one. It doesn’t get any better. Kind of like The Stones. Turn it up and get out of the way !!

Why give this anything but five stars?. One of the Boss's best albums. Sure it's a long album but what makes one give it four stars? It may not be the ultimate Boss record, but every song is worth a listen over and over.

outstanding. great songs, some better than others the title song is the best. would have made 1 outstanding album

One Of The Best. This is one of my favorite Springsteen albums. Why? Well because this double LP has everything, it's got a great mix of ballads, story songs, and rockers. This album takes all of Springsteen's seventies work and puts into one. I think he found the best version of himself and his music on The River.

A TRUE CLASSIC ROCK ALBUM. I bought the record album of Springsteen's "The River" in 1980 when I was sick of the disco crap of the late 70's. I almost gave up on "Rock and Roll" and this record restored my faith. A great true classic rock album from start to finish. Buy it!!!

Jackson Cage. If you don't appreciate to this album, then there is really no hope left for you. "The River" is so beautiful in every note and lyric, I can't even describe it. The song "The River" itself is a favorite, and same with "Cadillac Ranch." Like every other Bruce album, the E Street band shines and does a great job. This album is a must for any Springsteen fan, young or old. Don't spend your money on crap like Justin Bieber or Miley Cyrus, invest in the Boss instead. You won't regret it.

Best of all time. The River captures the essence of Springsteen at the apex of his talent, before the the stadium rock aura built up around him in the mid-80s and he began to take himself too seriously. The best Springsteen album off all time, in my opinion.

One of my favorite albums.. I should be upfront and say that BTR has never been my favorite Bruce album. I preferred the period between Darkness and Nebraska. The longer, meandering stories have been replaced with shorter, sharper more succinct songs which are just as evocative lyrically. Even though it's a double CD, there realy isn't a single song that feels like filler. It runs the gamut from up-tempo fun rockers like Ramrod to the haunting beauty of Independence Day. A must-have...

Me and Wayne on the 4th of July. Was at the record store waiting on the day they unboxed the shipment and went home and listened to all four sides 3 times before I went to sleep that night... mind blown. Why this one? Because on this particular album, you will hear a representation of every sound, every theme and/or every emotion he had ever written and would ever write. You can hear bits of what you had already heard on The Wild... Greetings... B2R... Darkness... etc. and would hear on Nebraska... USA... Lucky Town ... The Rising... etc. On one double album ...from 1980! If some front office idiot had distilled this down into a single album, it would not the “something miraculous” that it actually is. Some think of it as just another Bruce album - but they aren’t listening closely ... and I suppose it had to have taken almost 50 years of him recording to realize what The River really is... Bruce, complete.

the River. This album made me a true boss fan. It bounces all over the rock n'roll genre; from fun tunes,like"crush on you" ,"I'm a rocker", to great songs that relate to one's inner self, like "i wanna marry you","hungry heart", and the celebratory beat to a song dealing with death( cadillac ranch).. truly an amazing work of musical art..

Vinyl. The only way this would be better is if I was listening on my old 33's. Most don't even know what I'm talking about. But now I can have every album everywhere!

Lost classic?. If I have to rank The River along with the rest of the Bruce albums, it would probably rank 4th. That's no knock on it though. The reason is the best Springsteen albums are the ones with deep messages (but with great sound behind them). Bruce doesn't go for a theme, but that's what I love about this album. It's so diverse that you hear every sound he has, from garage rock, slow songs, and just pure epic songs. Even though it follows no theme, you still get the deep messages in each song, but each is different from the other, which I like. It's a shame it's so over-looked.

A GREAT LP!. Nothing but the best.

MSG Night 2. Best concert I've ever witnessed when he played this album in its entirety at MSG.

All time favorite Bruce album...takes me back.. I was 13 or so when this came out and I can recall listening to it over and over while doing puzzles & reading old catalogs during long winter days in my family's cabin...when I hear it now, nearly 30 years later, I go right back to those days...it's strange how some albums have that effect, but this one sure does. Cadillac Ranch, The River, Hungry Heart...they just take me someplace else. Fantastic album!

30 years later.... The first time I heard many of the songs on this epic double album, two female friends in high school dragged me to the first of two live concerts at the Oakland Coliseum for my 18th birthday in late October of 1980. After being wowed by The River, Jackson Cage and Two Hearts intermixed with Born to Run and Darkness favorites, Springsteen walked slowly across the darkened stage after a short intermission. The E Street Band with Roy and Danny leading the way debuted Point Blank, a song that seems to be about our struggle just to make it through another day only to have your dreams suddenly snatched in the night. The haunting piano intro combined with Max's subtle drum work gave me goosebumps which reappear at every listen to this memorable collection of what have become like old friends who don't care if you are on Facebook or what you tweeted for lunch. Thirty years have gone by and I wish I could thank Barb and her generous friend for giving me their extra ticket and turning me onto a musician who actually rises above the hype and never fails when it comes to telling stories for humankind, not just his fans. Buy the album and there is a good chance your feelings about Bruce and his incredible bandmates will be transformed, especially if you weren't fortunate enough to catch this material in its most raw - and most fantastic - form. Yes, The Boss simply outperforms even his over-hyped self during his legendary live shows. Listen and don't be surprised if tingles tug at emotions you haven't felt in years.

A Must Have. I was living in San Francisco when this album was released. They were giving away preview copies on KMEL radio station. I called and called and finally , viola', I won. I was so excited I ran down to the wharf and picked up my copy, which I still have. I owned it before anyone else, and I played the grooves off of it. From the opener, Ties That Bind, to the haunting Price you Pay, the incredible Drive All Night, and the down right darkness of Point Blank, this album delivers on all levels, each song is a storybook, that you'll want to read over and over again. Danny Federicis soaring organ solos, Bruces guitars, and roy Bittans piano masterpieces to Garry Tallents steady bass lines, this album qualifies as a masterpiece among Bruce albums. Bruce Springsteen to me is one of the most important artists of my time, The Beatles, Bruce and then there is the rest. Buy it you will love it, plus it's $10 cheaper here.

Not Bruce's best. I feel that this is Bruce's most disappointing album, the point where he ceased being a visionary. The album is filled with meaingless and superficial tracks.

Letdown. Honestly, I'm a big fan of the Boss, but I think this is a plain letdown. Sure, there's one or two good songs, but I can't understand the hype of The River (the album and the song) Basically, get all that Bruce did, except this.

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