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Rating:
It's 1980. Springsteen is now considered a hero of the American working class, the Reagan-era '80s was about to emerge after Carter's term ended, and during this time in America, chart pop dominated almost exclusively. Springsteen is in a particularly prolific moment and decides to take the gamble not attempted in "Darkness On The Edge Of Town," namely to release a double album. The result of this daring experiment is "The River."
The album perfectly combines the clean rock sound of "Darkness" with the wild street epic of "Born To Run." The lyrics are all in the first person, where Springsteen manages to immerse himself perfectly in the life of each of his characters. This time, the themes are more varied: love, nostalgia, memory, celebration, hope. Everything is imbued with a melancholic and on-the-road atmosphere, as if it were a journey with a beginning and an end, which is why the record can be considered a sort of concept album.
"The River" is full of symbols and elements of American culture: the river, the road, the Cadillac, the East Coast beaches, the bar, the highway. The work opens with the powerful and fast rock of "The Ties That Bind": existential reflection between the need to live in a community and the need to be alone. "Sherry Darling" has a festive seaside trip atmosphere formed by Bittan's piano, hand claps, background voices, and Clemons' usual cheerful sax. "Jackson Cage" is a dramatic portrait on the theme of those condemned to life imprisonment, supported by a western film organ and an atmosphere that screams freedom and life. "Two Hearts" is a short, wild rock and roll track with erotic and amorous hues. "Independence Day" is tinged with nostalgia and the difficult father-son relationship (an autobiographical element). The arrival of the long-dreamed independence and the farewell to parents is a farewell to a father who is dying. The cycle of parents-children-parents-children is a wheel that turns and can never stop (emblematic is the verse describing the empty house and deserted city). The piece has a twilight and bitter tone thanks to Federici's delicate organ and the gaps filled by Bittan's piano notes. Clemons' sax emerges to fill the heart of a crying son or father. Once again, the element of the lonely road returns, this time not a conduit of freedom, but an obligatory destination to be taken so as not to remain anchored to the past and be destroyed by pain. "Hungry Heart" is a serenade halfway between soul with gospel choirs and rhythm and blues, capable of evoking the feeling of anger and frustration of an entire generation of young people constantly living with an angry heart. "Out In The Street" is a rock song shouted at the top of your lungs and exudes freedom from every pore, it’s not a rebellious freedom against the rules, but in the joy of being able to go out on the street, hold hands, or just look into each other's eyes and be free from work clothes (melancholic portrait of a simple era that will never return). The track seems to have come out of "American Graffiti" and the protagonist seems to be one of the actors of Lucas' movie.
The entire album is actually a tribute to the adolescent times of Springsteen in the 1950s and '60s America. "Got A Crush On You" is a rock and roll track in a wild shouter style full of references (Rockefeller, Hong Kong, Venus de Milo). "You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)" is another twisted number and seems to be a tribute to Chuck Berry. "I Wanna Marry You" is a melancholic and sentimental serenade accompanied by a country organ. "The River" is probably the emblem of the whole album: the piece is a bitter parable of American life divided between love and pain. The river is a symbol of rebirth, but there can be no rebirth if the river is dry. The song includes all the symbolic elements of America: the valley, the river, the town, the worker. The song tells the life of a young couple undermined by the economic situation, which destroys their personal relationship as well as their social status. The youngster decides to cross the river anyway, knowing he can't make it, yet wanting to cling to the hope of the American dream, but his is more a desperate attempt to stay alive. "The River" is the bitter tale of millions of American lives, and not only. Lives destroyed by a ruthless machine that has no room for feelings or pity. It is among Springsteen's bitterest and most nihilistic tracks. The initial harmonica is a suffocated scream in the plain, a scream of hope about to die out. The piano notes seem to accompany the tears of the young, and the church organ along with the final choirs make the atmosphere sadder and like a requiem.
The second disc opens with the melancholic soul of "Point Black": a bitter reflection on innocence that faced life too soon. The track maintains a slow rhythm accompanied by Bittan's jazzy piano. The atmosphere is chamber music-like, closed, claustrophobic (fueled by the distorted organ sound), from a nighttime bar, and Springsteen's voice is whispered and spoken in a dizzying crescendo. "Cadillac Ranch" returns to the primal and rockabilly meanderings of pure provincial rock and roll. The track highlights the myth of the American Cadillac: a '50s classic. Not surprisingly, the track also contains many references to American myths of the period: James Dean, Junior Johnson, Burt Reynolds. "I'm A Rocker" is an anthem of the frontman's icon, à la Elvis, always loved by Springsteen. The epileptic rhythm of the song combined with the choirs and the Boss's shouted voice transforms the piece into a breath-taking rock and roll number. "Fade Away" is among the most nostalgic and melancholic tracks on the album. The organ creates a desert-like backdrop where Springsteen's warm and stunned voice emerges. The song tells of a love story that ended and the impossibility of finding meaning in one's life. "Stolen Car" is a track about the losers and outcasts, marginalized by a society that doesn't understand them. The protagonist of "Stolen Car" is driven by his solitude to car thefts, hoping to get caught, but fearing only to vanish into nothingness. Essentially, he wants to get arrested just to prove he exists. The dramatic and psychological piece is linked to the failure of a marriage. The music is slow, almost absent, capable of creating a spectral and foggy climate. "Ramrod" is a slowed-down rockabilly with a juke box organ, Clemons' sax, hand claps, and party rock choirs. "The Price You Pay" is the biblical track of the album, with a frontier rhythm and a choral singing. Springsteen recalls the myth of the prophets to narrate how the promised land cannot be reached on earth due to the price we have to pay, that is, our sins. The track is undoubtedly among the most pessimistic of the album and connects with the themes touched in the title track. "Drive All Night" is a slow journey into the existential void of modern life, consternated with brief beats and few piano notes. Springsteen's voice is distressed, suffocated, and deliberately choked on the higher notes. Suddenly the angelic notes of Federici's xylophone emerge, capable of making the path less bitter, as Clemons' sax emerges in the dark of night creating a serenade for lonely hearts. "Wreck on the Highway" is the track that concludes "The River," and the melancholic sound seems to want to complete the journey. The song is supported by an organ and acoustic guitar. The lyrics describe a man who witnesses a fatal highway accident, who, thinking back to the episode during the night, decides to embrace his wife, reflecting on how short life is and how the good we possess can disappear at any moment. "The River" will be released in October 1980 and will be Springsteen's first album to reach number one in America, solidifying his place among the best American songwriters of all time.
RATING: 9
Tracklist Lyrics and Samples
01 The Ties That Bind (03:34)
You been hurt and you're all cried out you say
You walk down the street pushin' people outta your way
You packed your bags and all alone you wanna ride,
You don't want nothin', don't need no one by your side
You're walkin' tough baby, but you're walkin' blind
to the ties that bind
CHORUS
The ties that bind
Now you can't break the ties that bind
Cheap romance, it's all just a crutch
You don't want nothin' that anybody can touch
You're so afraid of being somebody's fool
Not walkin' tough baby, not walkin' cool
You walk cool, but darlin', can you walk the line
And face the ties that bind
The ties that bind
Now you can't break the ties that bind
I would rather feel the hurt inside, yes I would darlin',
Than know the emptiness your heart must hide,
Yes I would darlin', yes I would darlin',
Yes I would baby
You sit and wonder just who's gonna stop the rain
Who'll ease the sadness, who's gonna quiet the pain
It's a long dark highway and a thin white line
Connecting baby, your heart to mine
We're runnin' now but darlin' we will stand in time
To face the ties that bind
The ties that bind
Now you can't break the ties that bind
You can't forsake the ties that bind
02 Sherry Darling (04:03)
Your Mamma's yappin' in the back seat
Tell her to push over and move them big feet
Every Monday morning I gotta drive her down to the unemployment agency
Well this morning I ain't fighting tell her I give up
Tell her she wins if she'll just shut up
But it's the last time that she's gonna be ridin' with me
CHORUS
You can tell her there's a hot sun beatin' on the black top
She keeps talkin' she'll be walkin' that last block
She can take a subway back to the ghetto tonight
Well I got some beer and the highway's free
And I got you, and baby you've got me.
Hey, hey, hey what you say Sherry Darlin'
Now there's girls melting on the beach
And they're so fine but so far out of reach
Cause I'm stuck in traffic down here on 53rd street
Now Sherry my love for you is real
But I didn't count on this package deal
And baby this car just aint big enough for her and me
CHORUS
So you can tell her there's a hot sun beatin' on the black top
She keeps talkin' she'll be walkin' that last block
She can take a subway back to the ghetto tonight
Well I got some beer and the highway's free
And I got you, and baby you've got me.
Hey, hey, hey what you say Sherry Darlin'
Well let there be sunlight, let there be rain
Let the brokenhearted love again
Sherry we can run with our arms open before the tide
To all the girls down at Sacred Heart
And all you operators back in the Park
Say hey, hey, hey what you say Sherry Darlin'
Hey, hey, hey, what you say Sherry Darlin'
03 Jackson Cage (03:04)
Driving home she grabs something to eat
Turns a corner and drives down her street
Into a row of houses she just melts away
Like the scenery in another man's play
Into a house where the blinds are closed
To keep from seeing things she don't wanna know
She pulls the blinds and looks out on the street
The cool of the night takes the edge off the heat
In the Jackson Cage
Down in Jackson Cage
You can try with all your might
But you're reminded every night
That you been judged and handed life
Down in Jackson Cage
Every day ends in wasted motion
Just crossed swords on the killing floor
To settle back is to settle without knowing
The hard edge that you're settling for
Because there's always just one more day
And it's always gonna be that way
Little girl you've been down here so long
I can tell by the way that you move you belong to
The Jackson Cage
Down in Jackson Cage
And it don't matter just what you say
Are you tough enough to play the game they play
Or will you just do your time and fade away
Down into the Jackson Cage
Baby there's nights when I dream of a better world
But I wake up so downhearted girl
I see you feeling so tired and confused
I wonder what it's worth to me or you
Just waiting to see some sun
Never knowing if that day will ever come
Left alone standing out on the street
Till you become the hand that turns the key down in
Jackson Cage
Down in Jackson Cage
Well darlin' can you understand
The way that they will turn a man
Into a stranger to waste away
Down in the Jackson Cage
06 Hungry Heart (03:19)
Got a wife and kids in Baltimore, Jack
I went out for a ride and I never went back
Like a river that don't know where it's flowing
I took a wrong turn and I just kept going
Everybody's got a hungry heart
Everybody's got a hungry heart
Lay down your money and you play your part
Everybody's got a hungry heart
I met her in a Kingstown bar
We fell in love I knew it had to end
We took what we had and we ripped it apart
Now here I am down in Kingstown again
Everybody's got a hungry heart...
Everybody needs a place to rest
Everybody wants to have a home
Don't make no difference what nobody says
Ain't nobody like to be alone
Everybody's got a hungry heart...
08 Crush on You (03:10)
My feets were flyin' down the street just the other night
When a Hong Kong special pulled up at the light
What was inside, man, was just c'est magnifique
I wanted to hold the bumper and let her drag me down the street
CHORUS
Ooh, ooh, I gotta crush on you
Ooh, ooh, I gotta crush on you
Ooh, ooh, I gotta crush on you tonight
Sometimes I spot a little stranger standing 'cross the room
My brain takes a vacation just to give my heart more room
For one kiss, darling I swear everything I would give
Cause you're a walking, talking reason to live
CHORUS
Well now she might be the talk of high society
She's probably got a lousy personality
She might be a heiress to Rockefeller
She might be a waitress or a bank teller
She makes the Venus de Milo look like she's got no style
She make Sheena of the Jungle look meek and mild
I need a quick shot, Doc, knock me off my feet
Cause I'll be minding my own business walking down the street... watchout!
CHORUS
10 I Wanna Marry You (03:30)
I see you walking, baby, down the street
Pushing that baby carriage at your feet
I see the lonely ribbon in your hair
Tell me I am the man for whom you put it there
You never smile girl, you never speak
You just walk on by, darlin' week after week
Raising two kids alone in this mixed up world
Must be a lonely life for a working girl
CHORUS
Little girl, I wanna marry you
Oh yeah, little girl, I wanna marry you
Yes I do
Little girl, I wanna marry you
Now honey, I don't wanna clip your wings
But a time comes when two people should think of these things
Having a home and a family
Facing up to their responsibilities
They say in the end true love prevails
But in the end true love can't be no fairytale
To say I'll make your dreams come true would be wrong
But maybe, darlin', I could help them along
CHORUS
My daddy said right before he died
That true, true love was just a lie
He went to his grave a broken heart
An unfulfilled life, makes a man hard
Oh, darlin'
There's something happy and there's something sad
'Bout wanting somebody, oh so bad,
I wear my love darlin', without shame
I'd be proud if you would wear my name
11 The River (05:01)
I come from down in the valley
Where mister when you're young
They bring you up to do like your daddy done
Me and Mary we met in high school
When she was just seventeen
We'd drive out of this valley down to where the fields were green
We'd go down to the river
And into the river we'd dive
Oh down to the river we'd ride
Then I got Mary pregnant
And man that was all she wrote
And for my nineteenth birthday I got a union card and a wedding coat
We went down to the courthouse
And the judge put it all to rest
No wedding day smiles, no walk down the aisle
No flowers no, wedding dress
That night we went down to the river
And into the river we'd dive
Oh down to the river we'd ride
I got a job working construction for the Johnstown Company
But lately there ain't been much work on account of the economy
Now all them things that seemed so important
Well mister they vanished right into the air
Now I just act like I don't remember
Mary acts like she don't care
But I remember us riding in my brother's car
Her body tanned and wet down at the reservoir
At night on them banks I'd lie awake
And pull her close just to feel each breath she'd take
Now those memories come back to haunt me
They haunt me like a curse
Is a dream a lie if it don't come true
Or is it something worse
That sends me down to the river
Though I know the river is dry
That sends me down to the river tonight
Down to the river
My baby and I
Oh down to the river we ride
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Other reviews
By Massimof
To this day, it remains my favorite Springsteen album.
An album that, arriving at the right moment, becomes the soundtrack of one’s existence.
By VU
The Boss, 5 years after his first masterpiece Born To Run, has created his definitive masterpiece and one of the most beautiful CDs in rock history.
This is probably Bruce’s album that is closest to his live performances.
By Luck94
The River is a very reflective album, indeed the first disc starts with The Ties That Blind, a beautiful track that was originally supposed to give the album its title.
Ultimately, The River is probably the Boss’s best work ever, the sum of his abilities and the genres he traversed.
