Springsteen The River Analysis

Originally scheduled for release in the fall of 1979, The River was held back by Springsteen who felt it needed something more. The first version of the album, titled The Ties That Bind, was recorded and produced as an album of normal length by Springsteen and the E Street Band. However because Springsteen was writing with fervor during his last tour and while working on this new album, he had over thirty new compositions and he decided that the newly titled The River would be a double album. This vastness and variety found on The River make it one of Springsteen’s most compelling albums. The album shifts between tracks that illustrate dreams and nightmares. For every downtrodden and troubled tune, there is a joyous song that brings a renewed

Despite the lack of thematic consistency on The River, the unique and innovative nature and sequencing give the album a rare grace. It highlights lightness and darkness equally, finding middle ground between the desperation of Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978) and the triumphant glee of Born to Run (1975). The album weaves the nighttime escapism and adventures in the city with brutal and fatalistic truths. It explores the juxtaposition between past and present, laughter and longing, death and glory, forcing listeners to view themselves at different and crucial periods in their lives. Springsteen’s combination of these very different ideas can be attributed to his growth and maturation as a person and artist. As he aged he wrote about his experiences, creating a guide for younger listeners to further grasp many of his songs with each year that passes. At first glance The River has two very distinct and divided personalities: driving and aggressive rock and stark declarations of failure, despair, and death. However upon delving further into the album, it is clear that this disjointed array of songs follows the emotions and experiences of a person growing

Folk balladry and folk rock, soul singing and shouting from R&B, country music, partying rock and roll anthems, and rockabilly all make an appearance on the album. Lyrically, The River is deeply concerned with the lives of working class men and women in troubled times. Springsteen is morally (his belief that nobody wins unless everyone does) and historically (growing up in a factory-centered town) committed to the importance of the working class, and portrays this in the directness and honesty found in his work on The River. The artist is acutely aware of his music’s relevance to the types of people he describes and worked to make this album meaningful and useful to them. Through the dichotomy of lightness and darkness, Springsteen creates a world of emotions and experiences that are universally relatable. The River is a treacherous and triumphant journey full of heartbreaking, misleading, and passionate music whose overall effect provides the listener with a view of life from multiple angles. Although not the most cohesive of Springsteen’s albums, The River is by far the most relatable, acknowledging numerous emotions and experiences in twenty short