Bruce Springsteen Reveals 'The River' Box Set

BY Gregory AdamsPublished Oct 16, 2015

Bruce Springsteen is taking us to The River again, having announced plans to collect the classic double LP of desire and despair with a bunch of rarities for a new box set release. The extras-loaded The Ties That Bind: The River Collection arrives December 4 via Columbia Records.

The original 20 song album, which celebrates its 35 birthday tomorrow (October 17), takes up the first two discs of the four-CD/three-DVD box set.

From there, the Boss is offering up a previously unissued 10-song version of the song cycle that he had laid down in 1979, which had originally gone by the name of The Ties That Bind. The box also includes a disc of outtakes and B-sides from the 1979 and 1980 sessions called, fittingly, The River: Outtakes.

Also part of the package is a full-length documentary behind the making of the album, and two DVDs covering a River tour stop from 1980 in Tempe, AZ, which also includes some behind-the-scenes footage.

Further explaining the prolific period will be a coffee table featuring 200 rare photos, liner notes from Springsteen, an essay by Mikal Gilmore, Rolling Stone's original review of the record and more.

Down below, you'll find a full breakdown of the massive collection, as well as a stream of B-side "Meet Me in the City."

Springsteen had last reissued The River as part of a 2014 vinyl box set that collected his first seven full-length albums.

The Ties That Bind: The River Collection:

Disc one:  The River - Record One:

1. The Ties That Bind
2. Sherry Darling
3. Jackson Cage
4. Two Hearts
5. Independence Day
6. Hungry Heart
7. Out In The Street
8. Crush On You
9. You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)
10. I Wanna Marry You
11. The River

Disc Two: The River - Record Two:

1. Point Blank
2. Cadillac Ranch
3. I'm A Rocker
4. Fade Away
5. Stolen Car
6. Ramrod
7. The Price You Pay
8. Drive All Night
9. Wreck On The Highway

Disc Three: The River - Single Album:

1. The Ties That Bind 
2. Cindy                      
3. Hungry Heart          
4. Stolen Car (Vs. 1)             
5. Be True
6. The River
7. You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch) (Vs. 1)
8. The Price You Pay  
9. I Wanna Marry You
10. Loose End

Disc Four: The River - Outtakes:

1. Meet Me in the City
2. The Man Who Got Away   
3. Little White Lies  
4. The Time That Never Was           
5. Night Fire 
6. Whitetown   
7. Chain Lightning    
8. Party Lights   
9. Paradise By The C
10. Stray Bullet   
11. Mr. Outside           
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)

DVD One:

The Ties That Bind (Documentary)

DVD Two: The River Tour, Tempe 1980:

1. Born to Run
2. Prove It All Night
3. Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
4. Jackson Cage
5. Two Hearts
6. The Promised Land
7. Out in the Street
8. The River
9. 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)

DVD Three: The River Tour, Tempe 1980:

1. Drive All Night
2. Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
3. I'm A Rocker
4. Jungleland
5. Detroit Medley
6. Where The Bands Are (Credits)

​BONUS: The River Tour Rehearsals:

- Ramrod
- Cadillac Ranch
- Fire
- Crush On You
- Sherry Darling

 

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