I have been a huge Springsteen fan since before his first album was released in 1973.  I have watched him mature into the poet of his generation, and a showman beyond compare.  I believe The River, his fifth studio album,  was a transformational period for him personally, and whatever was going on inside him allowed him to produce some of his finest work.  If you have the original The River release from late 1980, you have heard all these songs.  They have all been meticulously remastered, however, and now sound better than they ever have.

My favorites are The River, Hungry Heart, Point Blank, and Fade Away, but there are a total of 20 superb recordings on these 2 CDs that continue some of the stories he has told before, and Bruce has started some new ones.  His writing is heartfelt and masterful.  I am hard pressed to think of another recording artist who possesses the Boss's combination ow lyric writing talent (the poetry part), music writing ability, musicianship, and showmanship.

There is no mistaking Bruce has really refined his vocal performances over the decades. I have no idea who his vocal coach is, but he or she is performing an awesome job.  I think The River album marked the onset of the progressive improvements I noted in his vocals.  In case you were wondering, Rolling Stone Magazine has ranked The River as the 250th greatest album ever recorded.

The only downside of this remastered masterpiece is that the boxed set, The Ties That Bind: The River Collection, will be released in time for the holiday season of 2015.  That means anyone owning this double CD and wishing to purchase that boxed set will already possess the heart of it.  I guess this is the doing of the "record machine" Bruce has warned us of in the past.

Anyway, if you haven't purchased this yet, you might think about waiting a few weeks and buy The Ties That Bind: The River Collection when it is released.  You will get all these marvelously remastered songs, much more never previously released music (a total of 4 CDs), and 3 DVDs or 2 Blu-Ray discs containing 4 hours of never before seen video including a the River Tour concert from Tempe, AZ.  Sounds like too much fun!
I have been a huge Springsteen fan since before his first album was released in 1973. I have watched him mature into the poet of his generation, and a showman beyond compare. I believe The River, his fifth studio album,  was a transformational period for him personally, and whatever was going on inside him allowed him to produce some of his finest work. If you have the original The River release from late 1980, you have heard all these songs. They have all been meticulously remastered, however, and now sound better than they ever have. My favorites are The River, Hungry Heart, Point Blank, and Fade Away, but there are a total of 20 superb recordings on these 2 CDs that continue some of the stories he has told before, and Bruce has started some new ones. His writing is heartfelt and masterful. I am hard pressed to think of another recording artist who possesses the Boss's combination ow lyric writing talent (the poetry part), music writing ability, musicianship, and showmanship. There is no mistaking Bruce has really refined his vocal performances over the decades. I have no idea who his vocal coach is, but he or she is performing an awesome job. I think The River album marked the onset of the progressive improvements I noted in his vocals. In case you were wondering, Rolling Stone Magazine has ranked The River as the 250th greatest album ever recorded. The only downside of this remastered masterpiece is that the boxed set, The Ties That Bind: The River Collection, will be released in time for the holiday season of 2015. That means anyone owning this double CD and wishing to purchase that boxed set will already possess the heart of it. I guess this is the doing of the "record machine" Bruce has warned us of in the past. Anyway, if you haven't purchased this yet, you might think about waiting a few weeks and buy The Ties That Bind: The River Collection when it is released. You will get all these marvelously remastered songs, much more never previously released music (a total of 4 CDs), and 3 DVDs or 2 Blu-Ray discs containing 4 hours of never before seen video including a the River Tour concert from Tempe, AZ. Sounds like too much fun!