Imbedded within the double-disc running time of
The River is a single-disc album that follows up on the themes and sound of
Darkness on the Edge of Town -- wide-screen, midtempo
rock and stories of the disillusionment of working-class life and the conflicts within families. In these songs, which include the title track,
"Independence Day," and
"Point Blank," Bruce Springsteen's world-view is just as dire as it had become on
Darkness, but less judgmental.
"Independence Day," for example, is a father-and-son
ballad that has little of the anger of its
hard rock counterpart on
Darkness,
"Adam Raised a Cain." Springsteen's heroes again seek to overcome their crushing troubles through defiance and by driving around, and though
"The River" repeats the soured love theme of
"Racing in the Street," he also posits romance as a possible escape, sometimes combining it with one of the other solutions, as on the eight-plus-minute
"Drive All Night." But there is also another album lurking within
The River, and it is a more lighthearted
pop/rock collection of short, sometimes humorous songs like
"Sherry Darling" and
"I'm a Rocker." At times
Springsteen combines elements of the two, as on
"Out in the Street," perhaps the album's quintessential song, a catchy, uptempo number that sounds like something from the early '60s and echoes the theme of
the Vogues' 1966 hit
"Five O'Clock World." "Hungry Heart," which became
Springsteen's first Top Ten hit, combines a rollicking musical track with a more sober lyrical theme that emphasizes longing over disappointment. But a better guide to
Springsteen's development are the songs
"Stolen Car" and the album-closing
"Wreck on the Highway," gentle, moody
ballads imbued with a sense of hopelessness that anticipate his next record,
Nebraska. ~ William Ruhlmann
![Desire [Remastered]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0827969239322_p0_v2_s90x140.jpg "Desire [Remastered]")
![Peter Gabriel [2]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0180030000628_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg "Peter Gabriel [2]")
![52nd Street [Enhanced CD]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0886978867421_p0_v3_s90x140.jpg "52nd Street [Enhanced CD]")
![Tattoo You [Deluxe Edition]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0602438349418_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg "Tattoo You [Deluxe Edition]")
