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The River (Bruce Springsteen album)

The River
A closeup headshot of a man with his face tilted to the right.
Studio album by
Bruce Springsteen
ReleasedOctober 17, 1980 (1980-10-17)
RecordedMarch 1979 – August 1980
StudioPower Station (New York City)
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 1981
  4. "The River"
    Released: April 1981 (UK)
  5. "Cadillac Ranch"
    Released: August 1981 (UK)
  6. "Point Blank"
    Released: 1981 (Netherlands)
  7. "I Wanna Marry You"
    Released: 1981 (Japan)

The River is the fifth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released as a double album on October 17, 1980, by Columbia Records. The album was Springsteen's attempt at making a record that captured the E Street Band's live sound. Co-produced by Springsteen, his manager Jon Landau, and bandmate Steven Van Zandt, the recording sessions lasted 18 months in New York City from March 1979 to August 1980. Springsteen originally planned to release a single LP, The Ties That Bind, in late 1979, before deciding it did not fit his vision and scrapped it. Over 50 songs were recorded; outtakes saw release as B-sides and later on compilation albums.

Musically, The River is a heartland rock and rock and roll record with a live garage-band sound, combining party songs with introspective ballads. The lyrics expand on the themes of Springsteen's previous albums Born to Run (1975) and Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978) and mainly focus on love, marriage, and family. Springsteen took inspiration from the writer Flannery O'Connor for the characterizations. The cover photograph of Springsteen was taken by Frank Stefanko, who also took the front cover photograph of Darkness.

The River became Springsteen's first album to top the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart in the U.S. and was his fastest-selling album yet. It was also a commercial success elsewhere, topping the chart in Canada and Norway, and reaching number two in the U.K. It spawned several singles, including "Hungry Heart", a U.S. top ten, "Fade Away", and "The River". Springsteen and the E Street Band supported the album on The River Tour from October 1980 to September 1981.

The River received varying critical responses on release. Positive reviews praised the songwriting, performances of the E Street Band, and lyrical evolution, while negative reviews believed Springsteen was recycling old material and lacking in creativity. In later decades, The River is regarded as one of Springsteen's finest works, although many critics were divided on the album's consistency. It has appeared on several best-of lists, while several songs foreshadowed the direction Springsteen took on his next album, Nebraska (1982). The River was reissued as an expanded box set in 2015, featuring the scrapped single LP and a documentary detailing the album's making.

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