The River
Studio album by
Bruce Springsteen
ReleasedOctober 17, 1980 (1980-10-17)
RecordedApril 3, 1979 – May 9, 1980[1]
StudioPower Station, New York City, New York
Genre
Length82:58
LabelColumbia
Producer
Bruce Springsteen chronology
Darkness on the Edge of Town
(1978)		 The River
(1980)		 Nebraska
(1982)
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band chronology
Darkness on the Edge of Town
(1978)		 The River
(1980)		 Born in the U.S.A.
(1984)
Singles from The River
  1. "Hungry Heart"
    Released: October 21, 1980
  2. "Fade Away"
    Released: January 22, 1981
  3. "Sherry Darling"
    Released: February 20, 1981 (UK)
  4. "The River"
    Released: May 1981 (UK)[3]
  5. "Cadillac Ranch"
    Released: August 1981 (UK)[4]
  6. "Point Blank"
    Released: 1981 (Netherlands)
  7. "I Wanna Marry You"
    Released: 1981 (Japan)

The River is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released on October 17, 1980, by Columbia Records.[2] Springsteen's only double album, The River was produced by Jon Landau, Springsteen, and bandmate Steven Van Zandt. The album was Springsteen's first to reach number one on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart and spent four weeks at the top of the charts.[5] It received critical acclaim and the title track was nominated for Best Rock Vocal Performance at the 1982 Grammy Awards.

Background

The River included several tracks recorded in 1977. "Independence Day", "Point Blank", "The Ties That Bind", "Ramrod", and "Sherry Darling" were held over from his previous album, Darkness on the Edge of Town, and had been featured on the 1978 tour, as had parts of "Drive All Night" as a long interpolation within "Backstreets".[6] "The River" was recorded in August 1979, and then performed live at the September 1979 Musicians United for Safe Energy concerts, gaining a featured spot in the subsequent documentary No Nukes.[6]

Originally, Springsteen intended The River to be a single album, entitled The Ties That Bind. Springsteen had been working with the E Street Band at his home studio, Telegraph Hill Studios, which was actually a barn at his Holmdel, New Jersey property. By early August, there was an initial cut of 10 songs (recorded at the Power Station in New York City) and Columbia began to believe they might have a new Springsteen record in time for Christmas 1979. Bruce decided on a track sequence, and in September, Bob Clearmountain was brought in to mix twelve tracks. Springsteen signed off on The Ties That Bind, and the tapes were sent off for mastering on October 15. But when they came back, he suddenly cancelled the release, and went back to recording. He later said, "The songs lacked the kind of unity and conceptual intensity I liked my music to have." His manager and co-producer, Jon Landau, suggested that maybe this record needed to be a double album, in order to encompass everything Springsteen was trying to achieve. After another seven months at the Power Station, the sessions came to an end. The River was released on October 17, 1980, with 20 of the 50 songs that had been recorded.[7]

Springsteen added darker material after he had written the title track. 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."[8]

The 1979 single album was eventually released as one of the discs in the 2015 box set release The Ties That Bind: The River Collection.[9]

On November 8, 2009, at a concert, Bruce Springsteen spoke about the album, saying: "The River was a record that was sort of the gateway to a lot of my future writing. It was a record we made after Darkness on the Edge of Town. It was a record made during a recession—hard times in the States. Its title song is a song I wrote for my brother-in-law and sister. My brother-in-law was in the construction industry, lost his job and had to struggle very hard back in the late '70s, like so many people are doing today. It was a record where I first started to tackle men and women and families and marriage. There were certain songs on it that led to complete records later on: 'The River' sort of went to the writing on Nebraska, 'Stolen Car' went to the writing on Tunnel of Love. Originally it was a single record. I handed it in with just one record and I took it back because I didn't feel it was big enough. I wanted to capture the themes I had been writing about on Darkness. I wanted to keep those characters with me and at the same time added music that made our live shows so much fun and joy for our audience. So in the end, we're gonna take you down to The River tonight."[10]

Reception and legacy

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Absolute Punk93%[11]
AllMusic[12]
Chicago Tribune[13]
Christgau's Record GuideA−[14]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[15]
MusicHound Rock[16]
The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004)[17]
The New Rolling Stone Record Guide (1983)[18]
Q[19]
Tom Hull – on the WebA−[20]

In a contemporary review for Melody Maker, Paolo Hewitt compared listening to The River to "taking a trip through the rock 'n' roll heartland as you've never experienced it. It's a walk down all the streets, all the places, all the people and all the souls that rock has ever visited, excited, cried for and loved."[21] Rolling Stone critic Paul Nelson deemed it "a rock & roll milestone" and said it possesses "weighty conclusions, words to live by" regarding "the second acts of American lives", conclusions "filled with an uncommon common sense and intelligence that could only have come from an exceptionally warmhearted but wary graduate of the street of hard knocks".[22]

The River was voted the second best album of 1980 in the Pazz & Jop, an annual poll of American critics nationwide, published by The Village Voice. Robert Christgau, the poll's supervisor, wrote of Springsteen in an accompanying essay, "All the standard objections apply—his beat is still clunky, his singing overwrought...but his writing is at a peak, and he's grown into a bitter empathy. These are the wages of young romantic love among those who get paid by the hour."[23] In The New Rolling Stone Record Guide (1983), Dave Marsh called The River "by far Springsteen's most mature work, and arguably his most consistent".[18]

According to Jon Pareles of The New York Times, The River was the beginning of 1980s heartland rock.[24] In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked it at number 250 on their list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time,[25] then was re-ranked at number 253 in the 2012 revised list.[26]

"Hungry Heart" was his first U.S. pop singles chart top ten hit single, reaching number five.[27] (Springsteen had not intended the song to be for himself, having initially written it for The Ramones, but manager/producer/friend Jon Landau convinced him to keep it.) 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.[28] "Fade Away" reached number 20.[27]

The album was followed by a lengthy tour of North America and Western Europe during 1980 and 1981.[29] Since its release, The River has been certified quintuple platinum by the RIAA in the U.S., making it one of his best-selling albums, and his highest certified studio release after Born in the U.S.A. and Born to Run.[30]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Bruce Springsteen[31]

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."The Ties That Bind"3:33
2."Sherry Darling"4:02
3."Jackson Cage"3:04
4."Two Hearts"2:42
5."Independence Day"4:46
Total length:18:07
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."Hungry Heart"3:19
2."Out in the Street"4:17
3."Crush on You"3:10
4."You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)"2:36
5."I Wanna Marry You"3:26
6."The River"4:59
Total length:21:47
Side three
No.TitleLength
1."Point Blank"6:05
2."Cadillac Ranch"3:02
3."I'm a Rocker"3:34
4."Fade Away"4:40
5."Stolen Car"3:53
Total length:21:14
Side four
No.TitleLength
1."Ramrod"4:04
2."The Price You Pay"5:27
3."Drive All Night"8:26
4."Wreck on the Highway"3:53
Total length:21:50 82:58

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[31]

The E Street Band

Additional vocals

Technical

Charts

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[51] 3× Platinum 210,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[52] 2× Platinum 200,000^
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[53] Gold 25,000[53]
France (SNEP)[54] 2× Gold 200,000*
Germany (BVMI)[55] Gold 250,000^
Italy (FIMI)[56]
sales since 2009 		Gold 50,000*
Netherlands (NVPI)[57] Gold 50,000^
Sweden (GLF)[58][57] Gold 50,000[58]
United Kingdom (BPI)[59] Platinum 300,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[60]
The Ties That Bind – River Collection 		Silver 60,000‡
United States (RIAA)[61] 5× Platinum 5,000,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ Heylin, Clinton (2012). Springsteen Song by Song A Critical Look. New York, NY: Penguin Group (USA) Inc. pp. 42–46. Archived from the original on 19 June 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  2. 1 2 "Bruce Springsteen's 'The River' at 35: Classic Track-by-Track Album Review". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2019-12-24. Retrieved 2016-12-06.
  3. ↑ "Great Rock Discography". p. 773.
  4. ↑ "Great Rock Discography". p. 773.
  5. ↑ Inc, Nielsen Business Media (17 August 2002). "Billboard". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on 26 February 2023. Retrieved 8 November 2016. {{cite web}}: |last1= has generic name (help)
  6. 1 2 Kirkpatrick, Rob (2007). The Words and Music of Bruce Springsteen – Rob Kirkpatrick – Google Books. ISBN 9780275989385. Archived from the original on 2022-04-07. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
  7. ↑ Rose, Caryn (8 December 2015). "springsteens new ties that bind box set". salon.com. Archived from the original on 21 August 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  8. ↑ Dave Marsh (2004). Bruce Springsteen: Two Hearts – The Definitive Biography, 1972–2003. Routledge. p. 228. ISBN 978-0-415-96928-4.
  9. ↑ Marsh, D. (1981) [1979]. Born to Run. Dell Publishing Co. p. 247. ISBN 0-440-10694-X.
  10. ↑ "Transcribed Bruce Springsteen Quotes". Archived from the original on 2010-06-09. Retrieved 2009-11-19.
  11. ↑ "Bruce Springsteen – The River – Album Review". AbsolutePunk.net. 1980-10-17. Archived from the original on February 20, 2014. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  12. ↑ William Ruhlmann (1980-10-10). "The River – Bruce Springsteen | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 2020-11-23. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
  13. ↑ Kot, Greg (August 23, 1992). "The Recorded History of Springsteen". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved July 8, 2013.
  14. ↑ Christgau, Robert (1990). "Bruce Springsteen: The River". Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s. Pantheon Books. p. 381. ISBN 067973015X.
  15. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2011). "Bruce Springsteen". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0857125958.
  16. ↑ Graff, Gary (1996). "Bruce Springsteen". In Graff, Gary (ed.). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Detroit: Visible Ink Press. ISBN 0787610372.
  17. ↑ Sheffield, Rob (2004). "Bruce Springsteen". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. London: Fireside. pp. 771–773. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. Portions posted at "Bruce Springsteen > Album Guide". rollingstone.com. Archived from the original on 18 October 2011. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  18. 1 2 Marsh, Dave (1983). "Bruce Springsteen". In Marsh, Dave; Swenson, John (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Record Guide. Random House/Rolling Stone Press. p. 483. ISBN 0394721071.
  19. ↑ Williams, Richard (December 1989). "All or Nothing: The Springsteen back catalogue". Q. p. 149.
  20. ↑ Hull, Tom (October 29, 2016). "Streamnotes (October 2016)". Tom Hull – on the Web. Archived from the original on July 4, 2020. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  21. ↑ Paolo Hewitt (1980-10-11). "Bruce Springsteen: The River (CBS) . By Paolo Hewitt : Articles, reviews and interviews from Rock's Backpages". Rocksbackpages.com. Archived from the original on 2012-06-06. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
  22. ↑ Nelson, Paul (December 11, 1980). "Bruce Springsteen The River > Album Review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 20 April 2014. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
  23. ↑ Christgau, Robert (February 9, 1981). "The Year of the Lollapalooza". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on March 9, 2017. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
  24. ↑ Pareles, Jon (August 30, 1987). "Heartland Rock: Bruce's Children". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 22, 2016. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
  25. ↑ "The River ranked 250 on 2003 Rolling Stone list". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2011-09-02. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  26. ↑ "500 Greatest Albums of All Time Rolling Stone's definitive list of the 500 greatest albums of all time". Rolling Stone. 2012. Archived from the original on February 5, 2020. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  27. 1 2 "Bruce Springsteen – Chart history". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2013-10-04. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
  28. ↑ "Bruce Springsteen – Chart history". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2015-09-02. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
  29. ↑ "Bruce Springsteen The River Tour Song Count". Stoneponylondon.net. Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
  30. ↑ "Gold & Platinum Searchable Database – January 29, 2014". RIAA. Archived from the original on 2015-02-03. Retrieved 2014-01-29.
  31. 1 2 The River (liner notes). Bruce Springsteen. Columbia Records. 1980. 5113022000.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  32. 1 2 Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  33. ↑ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0273". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  34. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Bruce Springsteen – The River" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  35. ↑ "InfoDisc : Tous les Albums classés par Artiste > Choisir Un Artiste Dans la Liste" (in French). infodisc.fr. Archived from the original on 2013-05-06. Retrieved 2012-04-04.Note: user must select 'Bruce SPRINGSTEEN' from drop-down
  36. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Bruce Springsteen – The River" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  37. ↑ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  38. ↑ "Charts.nz – Bruce Springsteen – The River". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  39. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Bruce Springsteen – The River". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  40. ↑ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  41. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Bruce Springsteen – The River". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  42. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Bruce Springsteen – The River". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  43. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  44. ↑ "Top 200 Albums". Billboard 200. Billboard. November 8, 1980. Archived from the original on 2018-02-19. Retrieved 2017-12-29.
  45. ↑ "Top 100 Albums". RPM. 1980-12-20. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2012-04-04.
  46. ↑ "Dutch charts jaaroverzichten 1980" (ASP) (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  47. ↑ "Les Albums (CD) de 1980 par InfoDisc" (PHP) (in French). infodisc.fr. Archived from the original on 2016-01-09. Retrieved 2012-01-29.
  48. ↑ "Top 100 Albums of 1981". RPM. 1981-12-26. Archived from the original on 2012-10-20. Retrieved 2012-04-04.
  49. ↑ "Dutch charts jaaroverzichten 1981" (ASP) (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 2014-05-12. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  50. ↑ "Top Selling Albums of 1985 — The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Recorded Music New Zealand. Archived from the original on 4 July 2019. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  51. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2008 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 2012-04-04.
  52. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Bruce Springsteen – The River". Music Canada. Retrieved 2012-04-04.
  53. 1 2 "Bruce Springsteen" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 2017-09-19.
  54. ↑ "French album certifications – Bruce Springsteen – The River" (in French). InfoDisc. Select BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN and click OK. 
  55. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Bruce Springsteen; 'The River')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 2017-09-19.
  56. ↑ "Italian album certifications – Bruce Springsteen – The River" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 2012-04-04. Select "2008" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "The River" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Album e Compilation" under "Sezione".
  57. 1 2 "International Certifications" (PDF). Cash Box. September 19, 1981. p. 44. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  58. 1 2 "Springsteen Tour Of Europe A Triumph Covering 10 Nations" (PDF). Billboard. June 20, 1981. p. 73. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  59. ↑ "British album certifications – Bruce Springsteen – The River". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  60. ↑ "British album certifications – Bruce Springsteen – The Ties That Bind – River Collection". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  61. ↑ "American album certifications – Bruce Springsteen – The River". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 2012-04-04.
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