Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band: The River

Bruce Springsteen is a legend and even more so when he’s playing with the E Street Band. When together, their energy and musicality bring to life the incredible lyrics of the many unique and timely songs of an era.

Known by many as the working class man’s artist, Bruce Springsteen embodies all of that and more when he picks up a guitar and is backed by the E Street Band. His vocal expression and attitude seem to fit perfectly with the words and music.

The River is Springsteen only double studio album. Filled with songs of hope, struggle, heartbreak, and victory, the album covers life. The River was Springsteen’s first to reach number one on the Billboard charts.
Many of the songs on The River were hold overs from Darkness On The Edge of Town, which explains the change from the original intent to release The River as a single album titled The Ties That Bind.

Dubbed by Springsteen as “sort of a gateway to a lot of my future writing”, The River stands as one of his shining achievements.

While Springsteen was somewhat of a stickler for ensuring the songs on an album were well written, well conceived, and unified, he was not such a stickler for the mixing and mastering process. The 2014 reissue, even though remastered from original source tapes, is very much like most of his other records.
The River lacks detail, dynamic range, and an expansive sound stage. It plays like listening to a radio on a really good car stereo, which is where these songs were woven into the fabric of many American lives.

TRACK LIST
Disc: 1
1 The Ties That Bind
2 Sherry Darling
3 Jackson Cage
4 Two Hearts
5 Independence Day
6 Hungry Heart
7 Out In the Street
8 Crush on You
9 You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)
10 I Wanna Marry You
11 The River
Disc: 2
1 Point Blank
2 Cadillac Ranch
3 I'm a Rocker
4 Fade Away
5 Stolen Car
6 Ramrod
7 The Price You Pay
8 Drive All Night
9 Wreck on the Highway

The pressing is not bad, it’s just not one that will impress, especially if played on an audiophile system. 💵

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