Comments for Springsteen, Bruce, The River

that first night that I heard Point Blank I couldn't sleep with the lights off

"The River" ties with "Born in the USA" as my favorite Bruce album. Not every cut is totally memorable but with so many songs on this double album, its easy to overlook the less successful songs. "I Wanna Marry You" is especially touching and "Cadillac Ranch" and "Hungry Heart" are joyful, classic rock and roll songs. The album ends with a couple of stark acoustic numbers that pave the way for his next album "Nebraska."

This double album is an attempt to portray the raw emotion of Bruce`s live shows. He had been receiving criticism because, in the opinion of some, his albums did not capture the emotion of his live shows. This album was anticipated for a long time before release as it was originally scheduled to be released in 1979 but Bruce felt that he needed some more songs to put out there. What was actually released is an extensive set of rockers punctuated with key message tracks that give insight into Springsteen`s psyche. This album also produced Bruce`s first top ten single "Hungry Heart."