Despite the acclaim accorded Born to Run and Darkness on the Edge of Town, this is the album that broke Springsteen into the big leagues, thanks to ˝Hungry Heart,˝ then his most pointedly commercial song; it had new fans swooning but some old ones grumbling for the ˝poetic˝ Springsteen of days gone by.
Not to worry-though more economical lyrically, The River had something to offer nearly everyone:
There’s old-time frat rock (˝Sherry Darling˝), empathetic character studies (˝The River,˝ ˝Stolen Car,˝ ˝Independence Day˝), passionate rockers (˝Out in the Street˝), dramatic ballads (˝Point Blank˝), and even a couple of good-natured goofs (˝Cadillac Ranch,˝ ˝Crush on You,˝ ˝Ramrod˝).
A sprawling double-disc set, The River offers proof that Springsteen could do it all and could do it better than virtually anyone else.
(Daniel Durchholz)