Thirty years ago today, Bruce Springsteen released his double album, The River. This is a important and unique milestone because as far as Springsteen's career goes, he may very well have hit his creative crest during this period. It's the one album that specifically houses the best of the dour ballads, depressing ballads and discordant garage rock anthems. Sure Born in the USA is the more commercial album but it doesn't have the epic ballads The River has.
I didn't officially own The River until nearly 15-years after it was released. I went through a period where I bought every Springsteen album I could get my hands on and with The River being a 2-CD collection, it was a tough find, but I eventually secured it. I often felt the album was a bit of a mess never working as well as people thought it did and my feelings were only exemplified when Tracks was released in 1998 where The River outtakes were the highpoint of the set. It was the one album whose outtakes stood above their released counterparts and in fact, the second set of the box set is a 5-Star disc.Over time, The River has become one of my favorite records, warts and all ("Crush on You", "I Wanna Marry You") specifically because like Exile on Main Street it's full of such audacity and immediacy. I don't just hear confidence but a band firing on all cylinders.
If you really want to read more about the record, go HERE where I did a huge review for Bruce Springsteen month back in January 2009.It may not be Springsteen's most talked about record, his most controversial or even his best-selling record...but over time, I think it may be its best. Here's to hoping they do a big reissue of this album in the not too distant future.
Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer and Special Features Editor for the antiMusic Network. His daily writings can be read at The Screen Door. He can be contacted at thescreendoor AT gmail DOT com and can be followed on Twitter
