The Bruce Springsteen legacy is explored once again with the upcoming new multi-disc set collection of anything to do with The River. The River was Springsteen’s much-loved follow-up to his exemplary Darkness On the Edge Of Town. (I’m famous, if for no other reason, for the dislike of The River in its released form. I’ve always believed that it could have been distilled to a single album.) The River was originally released on October 17, 1980.
On December 4, Columbia and Legacy Recordings will unleash a much-desired 4CD/3DVD(!) Box completing a full journey in the creation of The River. It is called The Ties That Bind: The River Collection. Much of it is unreleased material that will put the album in a perfect perspective. The will be a 4CD/2BD set as well.
The box will contain the original album with a new remaster. What will make it quite interesting is the original intent of The River, once set to have been titled The Ties That Bind. (It was planned to have been a single album.) That disc will be labeled The River: Single Album. The additional CD discs include a CD of studio outtakes from the 1979/1980 sessions. Of the three DVDs, there will be a 2DVD film of never before released footage from Springsteen’s 1980 Tempe, AZ show. The remaining DVD will contain a documentary, The Ties That Bind, a documentary of Th River (that might help me to understand it’s present incarnation).
Curiously, it is written that seven of the ten songs on The River: Single Album eventually ended up on The River, albeit some with alternate lyrics and arrangements. I’ll be glad to have it although, again, I may be dissatisfied with what was planned given the fact that an entire 2LP album is in existence with a wealth of tracks to choose from.
The box will be beautifully housed in a 10″ x 12″ box with a hardcover book containing a richly completed 148 pages hardcover book. It will provide pages and pages of notebook entries, single covers, photos, and memorabilia as well as a ton of written essays, notations, and credits. There is also a replica composition booklet.
You can now pre-order this historic set at Amazon!
The Ties That Bind: The River Collection – Bruce Sprinsteen
Track List
CD1:
The River – Record One
01. “The Ties That Bind”
02. “Sherry Darling”
03. “Jackson Cage”
04. “Two Hearts”
05. “Independence Day”
06. “Hungry Heart”
07. “Out In The Street”
08. “Crush On You”
09. “You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)”
10. “I Wanna Marry You”
11. “The River”
CD2:
The River – Record Two
01. “Point Blank”
02. “Cadillac Ranch”
03. “I’m A Rocker”
04. “Fade Away”
05. “Stolen Car”
06. “Ramrod”
07. “The Price You Pay”
08. “Drive All Night”
09. “Wreck On The Highway”
CD3:
The River: Single Album
01. “The Ties That Bind”
02. “Cindy”
03. “Hungry Heart”
04. “Stolen Car” (Vs. 1)
05. “Be True”
06. “The River”
07. “You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)” (Vs. 1)
08. “The Price You Pay”
09. “I Wanna Marry You”
10. “Loose End”
CD4:
The River: Outtakes
Record One
01. “Meet Me in the City”
02. “The Man Who Got Away”
03. “Little White Lies”
04. “The Time That Never Was”
05. “Night Fire”
06. “Whitetown”
07. “Chain Lightning”
08. “Party Lights”
09. “Paradise By The “C””
10. “Stray Bullet”
11. “Mr. Outside”
Record Two
12. “Roulette”
13. “Restless Nights”
14. “Where The Bands Are”
15. “Dollhouse”
16. “Living On The Edge Of The World”
17. “Take ’em As They Come”
18. “Ricky Wants A Man Of Her Own”
19. “I Wanna Be With You”
20. “Mary Lou”
21. “Held Up Without a Gun”
22. “From Small Things (Big Things One Day Come)”
DVD1:
The Ties That Bind (Documentary)
DVD2:
The River Tour, Tempe 1980
Concert – Part 1
01. “Born to Run”
02. “Prove It All Night”
03. “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out”
04. “Jackson Cage”
05. “Two Hearts”
06. “The Promised Land”
07. “Out in the Street”
08. “The River”
09. “Badlands”
10. “Thunder Road”
11. “No Money Down”
12. “Cadillac Ranch”
13. “Hungry Heart”
14. “Fire”
15. “Sherry Darling”
16. “I Wanna Marry You”
17. “Crush on You”
18. “Ramrod”
19. “You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)”
DVD3:
The River Tour, Tempe 1980
Concert – Part 2
01. “Drive All Night”
02. “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)”
03. “I’m A Rocker”
04. “Jungleland”
05. “Detroit Medley”
06. “Where The Bands Are (Credits)”
BONUS: The River Tour Rehearsals
– Ramrod
– Cadillac Ranch
– Fire
– Crush On You
– Sherry Darling
Blu-Ray Content:
Blu-ray Disc 1
The Ties That Bind (Documentary)
Blu-ray Disc 2
The River Tour, Tempe 1980
Concert Part 1
The River Tour, Tempe 1980
Concert Part 2