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And Into the River We Dive

The Ties That Bind

5 votes

Sherry Darling

4 votes

Jackson Cage

1 votes

Two Hearts

2 votes

Independence Day

4 votes

Hungry Heart

6 votes

Out in the Street

5 votes

Crush on You

2 votes

You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)

1 votes

I Wanna Marry You

2 votes

The River

7 votes

Point Blank

5 votes

Cadillac Ranch

3 votes

I'm a Rocker

1 votes

Fade Away

6 votes

Stolen Car

2 votes

Ramrod

1 votes

The Price You Pay

4 votes

Drive All Night

5 votes

Wreck on the Highway

3 votes

John Cougar Lunchbucket Aug 06 2010 12:20 PM

There's been a vinyl shortage, and the record company has called you in to reduce Springsteen's bloated 1980 double-album "The River" into a single album. Which 11 of the original 20 songs make the cut? A1 The Ties That Bind A2 Sherry Darling A3 Jackson Cage A4 Two Hearts A5 Independence Day B1 Hungry Heart B2 Out in the Street B3 Crush on You B4 You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch) B5 I Wanna Marry You B6 The River C1 Point Blank C2 Cadillac Ranch C3 I'm a Rocker C4 Fade Away C5 Stolen Car D1 Ramrod D2 The Price You Pay D3 Drive All Night D4 Wreck on the Highway

Edgy DC Aug 06 2010 12:34 PM Re: And Into the River We Dive

I'm a big fan of "Fade Away," and a sucker for second singles in general. "Cadillac Ranch" has all the tastey but empty calories of a third single, and so I left if off.

Gwreck Aug 06 2010 12:35 PM Re: And Into the River We Dive

Fun fact: he had a single album ready to go at the end of 1979 (10 tracks) to be titled "The Ties That Bind" but pulled it back at the last minute and instead put out the double album a year later.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Aug 06 2010 12:36 PM Re: And Into the River We Dive

I'd heard that before. I also heard he chickened out of making The River a triple album.

Vic Sage Aug 06 2010 12:37 PM Re: And Into the River We Dive

great question. There was alot of padding and emotional redundancy, but the good stuff here is as good as he gets.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Aug 06 2010 12:52 PM Re: And Into the River We Dive

Answering this question was harder than asking it. I feel like I was either making too morose a record or too lighthearted of one. My 11 for now are: Ties that Bind Jackson Cage Two Hearts Hungry Heart (not my fave by a long shot but had to include a hit single) Out in the Street The River Point Blank Cadillac Ranch Fade Away Drive All Night Wreck on the Highway I could be convinced to drop 'Street' and add something else. But what?

Edgy DC Aug 06 2010 12:59 PM Re: And Into the River We Dive

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: I feel like I was either making too morose a record or too lighthearted of one. Yeah, I was strangely self-conscious about that also. My disc includes: [list][*]"Sherry Darling"[/*:m] [*]"Independence Day"[/*:m] [*]"Hungry Heart"[/*:m] [*]"Out in the Street"[/*:m] [*]"Crush on You"[/*:m] [*]"I Wanna Marry You"[/*:m] [*]"The River"[/*:m] [*]"Fade Away"[/*:m] [*]"The Price You Pay"[/*:m] [*]"Drive All Night"[/*:m] [*]"Wreck on the Highway"[/*:m][/list:u]

Gwreck Aug 06 2010 01:17 PM Re: And Into the River We Dive

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: I'd heard that before. I also heard he chickened out of making The River a triple album. Nah, that was never really considered. But he certainly had the material to do it. There's at least an album+ worth of material recorded at the time that was under consideration.

Willets Point Aug 06 2010 01:21 PM Re: And Into the River We Dive

Ooh, can we do this for The Beatles "White Album" next.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Aug 06 2010 01:29 PM Re: And Into the River We Dive

Yes

Edgy DC Aug 06 2010 01:40 PM Re: And Into the River We Dive

I dd that once. Some A/A-type thread back in the MOFo days, if you believe it.

Frayed Knot Aug 06 2010 02:03 PM Re: And Into the River We Dive

Then there was the time at the old MoFo when we made the "final" Beatles album out of early solo stuff. IIRC we named it 'Plastic Rams Must Pass' or something like that.

Frayed Knot Aug 06 2010 02:10 PM Re: And Into the River We Dive

The Ties That Bind Sherry Darling Independence Day Out in the Street I Wanna Marry You The River Point Blank Fade Away Stolen Car The Price You Pay Drive All Night

Edgy DC Aug 06 2010 02:22 PM Re: And Into the River We Dive

It appears not all folks are voting 11, which I guess is OK. But at least one person has voted for a version of The River that doesn't include "The River."

Ashie62 Aug 06 2010 02:41 PM Re: And Into the River We Dive

Would not listen to Springsteen if stranded on a desert Island.

Gwreck Aug 06 2010 06:18 PM Re: And Into the River We Dive

The River was never my favorite Bruce album but after hearing him do it live, in its entirety last November (one of the more amazing live shows I've seen, by anyone, ever) I've come to better appreciate that the premise ("bloated") of the poll is flawed. Also, at the risk of getting totally geeky on everyone here, if forced to do an alternate-River, I'd want to include several of the songs that never made it to record, including "Be True," "Take 'Em As They Come" and maybe "Where the Bands Are." That being said, my 11 song list is: The Ties That Bind Sherry Darling Independence Day Hungry Heart The River Point Blank Cadillac Ranch I'm a Rocker Fade Away Stolen Car The Price You Pay

Vic Sage Aug 06 2010 08:08 PM Re: And Into the River We Dive

I think i lean more to the Woody Guthrie sides than the Buddy Holly cuts, but its got some rockin' too The Ties That Bind Two Hearts Independence Day Hungry Heart Out in the Street The River Point Blank Fade Away The Price You Pay Drive All Night Wreck on the Highway If i could add a 12th cut, it would probably be "Sherry Darling", to lighten it up a bit more. I hate "Cadillac Ranch".

Vic Sage Aug 06 2010 08:19 PM Re: And Into the River We Dive

Ashie62 wrote: Would not listen to Springsteen if stranded on a desert Island. That makes him sad, i'm sure.

sharpie Aug 06 2010 09:36 PM Re: And Into the River We Dive

I asked the question on the answer-ask that Edgy answered about The White Album.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Aug 07 2010 07:09 AM Re: And Into the River We Dive

The premise was a vinyl shortage, not album bloat. With one exception, we all are big admirers of this record.

Edgy DC Aug 07 2010 07:25 AM Re: And Into the River We Dive

I'd probably tell the label to instead take a few DeBarge albums out of circulation or something. "The Ties That Bind" and "Out on the Street" kind of hit me the same way. I'm guessing those two and "Cadillac Ranch" are all int eh same key and with similar changes and he can easily segue from one to the other.

metirish Aug 07 2010 07:44 AM Re: And Into the River We Dive

Haven't heard the entire album in years, and I don't have it, had it in Ireland......just bought it from iTunes for $16:99......I'll be back in here in a few days.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Aug 07 2010 07:53 AM Re: And Into the River We Dive

Been thinking about this. May have to spend the weekend with it.

Edgy DC Aug 07 2010 08:00 AM Re: And Into the River We Dive

So this weekend I decided to dig through some old songs I hadn't finished. I stumbled upon a fragment that I hadn't previously realized was highly --- highly --- derivative of River-era Springsteen material. I was ashamed for a few moments, but realizing this was liberating, because once I realized I was workign on a knockoff, I was able to finish it in 10 minutes because at each turn I asked myself, "Self (heh-heh), what would River-era Springsteen do here?"

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Aug 07 2010 08:04 AM Re: And Into the River We Dive

Funny. I'm not sure, but I always assumed Ashie was doing the same with his posts/the Jefferson-Adams letters.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Aug 10 2010 11:40 AM Re: And Into the River We Dive

"Sherry Darling" "Jackson Cage" "Independence Day" "Hungry Heart" "I Wanna Marry You" "The River" "Fade Away" "Stolen Car" "The Price You Pay" "Drive All Night" Easiest cuts: don't know if I ever liked "Wreck on the Highway" so much (a lot too on-the-nose, like a Springsteen parody); "You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)" always seemed a sketch of a rave-up, more than a realized work. Toughest cuts: "Point Blank" always struck my ear like a favorite B-side; " I like "Out In the Street," but I like it a lot more as "Oliver's Army."