The Ties That Bind: The River Collection

Die Box enthält 52 teils unveröffentlichte Songs. Ferner ist "The Ties That Bind" mit dem original "The River" Doppel-Album, dem "The River: Single Album", Studio-Outtakes, Live Rehearsals, einem Konzertfilm (Tempe Show vom 5. November 1980), der Dokumentation "The Ties That Bind" sowie einem 148seitigem Fotobuch ausgestattet.
 
Die Box wurde am 4. Dezember 2015 in zwei Versionen veröffentlicht: "4 CD + 3 DVD" oder "4 CD + 2 Blu-Ray".
  
Mitwirkende Künstler:
  Bruce Springsteen - Gitarre, Gesang
  Roy Bittan - Keyboards, Klavier
  Clarence Clemons - Saxophon, Percussion
  Danny Federici - Orgel
  Garry Tallent - Bass
  Steven Van Zandt - Gitarre, Background Vocals
  Max Weinberg - Schlagzeug, Percussion
  Howard Kaylan - Background Vocals
  Mark Volman - Background Vocals
 
Tracklist:
Disk 1:
The Ties That Bind
Sherry Darling
Jackson Cage
Two Hearts
Independence Day
Hungry Heart
Out In The Street
Crush On You
You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)
I Wanna Marry You
The River
  
Disk 2:
Point Blank
Cadillac Ranch
I'm A Rocker
Fade Away
Stolen Car
Ramrod
The Price You Pay
Drive All Night
Wreck On The Highway 
  
Disk 3:
The Ties That Bind
Cindy
Hungry Heart
Stolen Car
Be True
The River
You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)
The Price You Pay
I Wanna Marry You
Loose Ends 
  
Disk 4:
Meet Me In The City
The Man Who Got Away
Little White Lies
The Time That Never Was
Night Fire
Whitetown
Chain Lightning
Party Lights
Paradise By The C
Stray Bullet
Mr. Outside
Roulette
Restless Nights
Where The Bands Are
Dollhouse
Living On The Edge Of The World
Take 'em As They Come
Ricky Wants A Man Of Her Own
I Wanna Be With You
Mary Lou
Held Up Without A Gun
From Small Things (Big Things One Day Come) 
  
Disk 5 und Disk 6 beinhaltet das Live Konzert vom 5. November 1980 in Tempe, AZ sowie die 60minütige Dokumentation "The Ties That Bind". Besagter Film wurde vom Emmy-Preisträger Thom Zimny produziert und enthält ausführliche Interviews mit Bruce Springsteen.
 


The Ties That Bind - Interviews

 

The River - Das Original Album:
 
Bruce Springsteens fünftes Studioalbum "The River" wurde am 17. Oktober 1980 erstveröffentlicht.
Die ersten Proben für das Nachfolgealbum von "Darkness on the Edge of Town" begannen im April 1979 in Freehold und Holmdel, NJ. Unter anderem wurden "Chevrolet Deluxe", "You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)" und "The Ties that Bind" eingespielt.

Mitte 1980 zog sich Springsteen mit der E Street Band in die "Power Station Studios", New York City, NY zurück, um ein 10 Songs umfassendes Single-Album namens "The Ties That Bind" aufzunehmen. Aber durch das viele Material entschloss man sich, ein Doppel-Album zu veröffentlichen und es "The River" zu taufen.


Hungry Heart (Single, 1980)

Das Werk wurde bis Weihnachten 1980 mehr als eineinhalb Millionen Mal verkauft. Die vier Tage nach dem Album releaste Single "Hungry Heart" wurde im ganzen Land im Radio gespielt und kletterte bis auf Platz fünf der Singlecharts.

"The River" wurde in den Vereinigten Staaten auf Platz 1 der Billboard Charts gelistet. Auch in England (Platz 2) und Deutschland (Platz 31) wurde das Album zu einem Überraschungserfolg.
 
The River - Single Album:
 
Nach den Arbeiten zu "Darkness On The Edge Of Town" wollte Bruce Springsteen ein Rock'n Roll Album aufnehmen. In den kommenden 18 Monaten entstanden 10 Songs, von denen es letztendlich 7 Kompositionen auf "The River" schafften. Auf dem ursprünglichen Single Longplayer sollten ausserdem eine Rockabilly Version von "You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)", "Cindy" und "Be True" gepresst werden.

Ursprüngliche Songliste des Single-Albums:

01. The Ties That Bind
02. Cindy
03. Hungry Heart
04. Stolen Car
05. Be True
06. The River
07. You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)
08. The Price You Pay
09. I Wanna Marry You
10. Loose Ends 
 


The Ties That Bind - The River Collection (2015)

The River - Outtakes:

Auf der vierten CD der "The Ties That Bind: The River Collection" findet man 22 Songs, die zwischen 1979 und 1980 entstanden sind. 11 Kompositionen wurden bisher noch nie veröffentlicht.

Bisher unveröffentlichte Songs:
 
- Meet Me In The City
- The Man Who Got Away
- Little White Lies
- The Time That Never Was
- Night Fire
- Whitetown
- Chain Lightning
- Party Lights
- Paradise By The C
- Stray Bullet
- Mr. Outside
  
Konzertfilm - Tempe, AZ (5. November 1980):
 
Die "River Tour" startete am 3. Oktober 1980 in der "Crisler Arena" in Ann Arbor, MI.
Bruce und die E Street Band begannen die Show mit "Born to Run" und absolvierten bis zum 14. September 1981 insgesamt einhundertvierzig Konzerte.

Ab dem 7. April 1981 stand Bruce Springsteens erste grosse Europa-Tournee auf dem Plan. Ursprünglich sollte die Konzertreise in England beginnen, doch Springsteen fasste den Entschluss, seinen Fans zuerst 17 Shows auf dem Festland zu präsentieren. Schlussendlich fiel der Startschuss zur umjubelten "The River Europe Tour 1981" am Abend des 7. April 1981 im "Congress Center" in der Hansestadt Hamburg.

Auf "The Ties That Bind: The River Collection" ist ein digital überarbeiteter Konzertfilm des Bruce Springsteen Auftritts vom 5. November 1980 in der "State University, Tempe, AZ" zu finden:

Setlist:
Born to Run, Prove it All Night, 10th Avenue Freeze-Out, (Darkness on the Edge of Town), (Independence Day), (Factory), Jackson Cage, Two Hearts, The Promised Land, Out in the Street, (Racin‘ in the Street), The River, Badlands, Thunder Road, No Money Down, Cadillac Ranch, Hungry Heart, Fire, (Candy’s Room), Sherry Darling, Here She Comes, I Wanna Marry You, (The Ties That Bind), Stolen Car, (Wreck on the Highway), (Point Blank), Crush On You, Ramrod, You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch), Drive All Night, (Backstreets), Rosalita (Come Out Tonight), I’m a Rocker, Jungleland, Detroit Medley

Der 160minütige Konzertfilm wurde mit vier Kameras und einem Multitrack-Audiorecorder aufgenommen. 2015 wurde das Material aufwendig restauriert. Darüber hinaus findet man auf der Disk ausserdem einen Mitschnitt einer Probesession in Lilitz, PA vom September 1980.
 
Rehearshal Lilitz, PA:
Ramrod, Cadillac Ranch, Fire, Crush On You, Sherry Darling
  

 

  

Zu Weihnachten wurde auf live.brucespringsteen.net eine zehn Songs umfassende Kompilation des Tempe-Auftritts zum Download bereit gestellt.

To celebrate the holidays and a year of Live Bruce Springsteen releases, an hour of previously unreleased live music from The River Tour in Tempe, AZ Nov. 5, 1980 is now available as free MP3s.
The 10 songs featured here are the songs that were not captured on video on Nov. 5, 1980. The video of this show is available as part of The Ties That Bind: The River Collection. Mixed from the multitrack tapes by Bob Clearmountain, December 2015 for release on Live.BruceSpringsteen.net. Mastered by Adam Ayan at Gateway Mastering. HD Files are 24 bit / 96 kHz

Tracklist:
Darkness On The Edge Of Town, Independence Day, Factory, Racing in the Street, Candy’s Room, The Ties That Bind, Stolen Car, Wreck on the Highway, Point Blank, Backstreets


Arizona State University, Tempe 1980

Die Dokumentation "The Ties That Bind":

 
Die von Emmy-Preisträger Thom Zimny gestaltete Dokumentation "The Ties That Bind" feierte am 14. November 2015 anlässlich des New Yorker "DOC Festivals" im SVA Theatre, New York, NY seine Premiere:
  
WORLD PREMIERE – In 1980, Bruce Springsteen released his pivotal double album “The River.” In “The Ties That Bind,” Grammy and Emmy winning director Thom Zimny focuses on the making of the album. In an intimate interview, Springsteen reflects on the tumultuous, extended period of writing and recording. The film transitions between Springsteen telling the stories behind the music — and illustrating them with solo acoustic guitar performances — interspersed with period concert footage and rare photos. Zimny previously directed “The Promise: The Making of Darkness on the Edge of Town” during many years of collaborating with Springsteen on film projects. This special DOC NYC screening will also include a preview clip of the new concert film “Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band: The River Tour, Tempe 1980.”

Director: Thom Zimny
Producer: Bruce Springsteen, Jon Landau, Barbara Carr, Thom Zimny, Zachary Russo, Glen Zipper
Cinematographer: Antonio Rossi
Editor: Thom Zimny
Music: Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band
Running Time: 70
Language: English
Country: USA
Year: 2015

Die offizielle Pressemeldung vom 16. Oktober 2015:
 
Columbia Records will release Bruce Springsteen’s ‘The Ties That Bind: The River Collection’ on December 4th. A comprehensive look at ‘The River’ era, the set contains 52 tracks on 4 CDs with a wealth of unreleased material, and 4 hours of never-before-seen video on 3 DVDs. It is comprised of the original ‘The River’ double album; the first official release of ‘The River: Single Album;’ a CD of 1979/80 studio outtakes; a two-DVD film of never-released, newly edited multi-camera footage from Springsteen’s famed 1980 show in Tempe, AZ, long rumored but never-before-seen; rare tour rehearsal footage; a brand new documentary “The Ties That Bind” about ‘The River;’ and a coffee table book of 200 rare or previously unseen photos and memorabilia with a new essay by Mikal Gilmore.

‘The River,’ Springsteen’s fifth album, was released on October 17, 1980 as a double album and reached #1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart. In his notes, Gilmore calls ‘The River’ Springsteen’s “pivotal album—[the] hinge between the ambitious commotions that had preceded it and the more succinct musical riots, and sometimes terrifying storytelling, that followed.”

‘The River: Single Album’ is the 10-track album that Springsteen recorded in 1979 as a follow up to 1978’s ‘Darkness On The Edge Of Town’ but never released. “The songs lacked the kind of unity and conceptual intensity I liked my music to have. So we went back in the studio,” he wrote in the lyrics/photo book “Songs.” The early sessions marked the beginning of a prolific 18-month long journey of writing and recording. Seven of the 10 titles on ‘The River: Single Album’ eventually appeared on ‘The River,’ some with alternate lyrics and arrangements, with outtakes like “Cindy” and a rockabilly version of “You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)” never released. Now for the first time ‘The River: Single Album’ will be officially available.

The fourth CD on the box set is ‘The River: Outtakes,’ which spans the entire ‘The River’ sessions in 1979 and 1980 and illustrate the depth and variety of Springsteen’s work during this period. Eleven songs are rarities that have never been released before, and for the most part are completely unheard and unknown even to fans, who have long considered Springsteen’s outtakes to be treasured secrets.

“The Ties That Bind” is a brand new 60-minute documentary produced and directed by Grammy and Emmy-winning filmmaker Thom Zimny that features an intimate interview with Springsteen as he reflects on the tumultuous, extended period writing and recording ‘The River.’ The film transitions between Springsteen telling the stories behind the music — and illustrating them with solo acoustic guitar performances — interspersed with period concert footage and rare photos of Bruce and the band in and out of the studio.

The final video component is “Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band: The River Tour, Tempe 1980,” a new film produced from footage professionally filmed in 1980 using four cameras and recorded in multitrack audio. The film features 24 songs — 2 hours, 40 minutes — on 2 DVDs from Springsteen’s November 5, 1980 concert at Arizona State University in Tempe, AZ. Widely regarded as one of Springsteen’s finest performances, this intense show features early live versions of over half of ‘The River’ songs. Also included is 20 minutes of footage from the late September, 1980 River Tour rehearsals held in Lititz, PA, showing Springsteen and The E Street Band working through live arrangements of what was then unreleased material from the upcoming album.

‘The Ties That Bind: The River Collection’ is packaged in a 10” x 12” box with a hardcover 148-page coffee table book containing 200 studio and live photographs — most of which have never been seen before — plus pages from Springsteen’s notebooks, single covers, images and outtakes from the original album package, and other memorabilia documenting the album.

‘The Ties That Bind: The River Collection’ is available for pre-order at Amazon (4CD/3DVDs or 4CD/2Blu-ray) and iTunes.
 

Charterfolge:

Zum Jahresende belegte die "The Ties That Bind - The River Collection" Platz 5 der schwedischen Albumcharts. Auch in Norwegen (Platz 8), Deutschland (Platz 12), Belgien (Platz 13), Holland und Italien (jeweils Platz 14) sowie der Schweiz (Platz 20) fand sich die Box unter den Top 20 wieder. In England wurde die River Collection auf dem 49. Rang der "UK Album Charts" geführt. Billboard.com listete die River Box auf Platz 31 der "Top 200 Charts".