THE RIVER

Commercially Released: Oct 17, 1980

Produced by Bruce Springsteen, Jon Landau and Steve Van Zandt
Recorded by Neil Dorfsman

Springsteen finished the Darkness Tour on Jan 1, 1979. For the next few months he kept a low profile and focused his attention on composing new material for his next album. Recording sessions for what became The River album began in late March 1979 and finished in May 1980 - but were to some extent extended into August due to Springsteen & The E Street Band’s involvement with Gary US Bonds on his Dedication LP (released April 1981).

All formal studio sessions (including the US Bonds sessions) took place at The Power Station in New York City. However there were extensive song rehearsal sessions with the E Street Band throughout the making of the album that didn’t take place at The Power Station. These rehearsals took place in a converted barn on Springsteen’s Telegraph Hill Road property in Holmdel, NJ – the so-nicknamed “Telegraph Hill Studios”. However it wasn’t a true studio. A significant amount of the River session audio that has surfaced comes from these Telegraph Hill sessions. Unfortunately the audio quality from Telegraph Hill leaves much to be desired. It sounds as if a single boom recording mike was used. Springsteen’s vocals are buried under the instruments on virtually all these recordings.

According to engineer Neil Dorfsman about 50 songs were recorded to a completed state during the River sessions. However The River, despite being a 2-LP set, only included 20 songs…so about 30 finished songs remained in the vaults. About half of those 30 “missing” recordings have now been officially released via b-sides and official anthology sets. Of the 15 or so songs still unofficially released only one (“Cindy”) is circulating in finished form. Another (“White Lies”) that Max Weinberg rates as one of his favorites is circulating as a Power Station outtake but short of its finished state. The other songs are circulating only as poorly recorded band rehearsals from Telegraph Hill, though it is likely most of them exist as completed takes from The Power Station. The following is a list of the 52 known songs of this period that were recorded or are most likely to have been recorded and completed during The River/Bonds sessions.

PART 2 – RIVER SESSION DETAILS

The studio sessions for The River can be broken down into two phases. The 1st Phase was from late March to late August 1979 and it produced a projected single album – THE TIES THAT BIND. There was then an informal break of 3-4 weeks (during which Bruce and the band gave a benefit performance for MUSE). Following that MUSE benefit gig the original album was scrapped and then a 2nd Phase Session (not originally planned) commenced in early October and went through summer 1980. The combined sessions produced the double album THE RIVER that was released in Oct 1980.

THE “1ST PHASE” RIVER SESSIONS
Those titles marked with an asterisk (*) are Telegraph Hill band rehearsal recordings, not Power Station recordings.

Note: Two different recordings, both recorded on April 3, 1979 – this was the first song completed at the River Sessions. One of Bruce and the band’s greatest studio achievements. V1 contains some interesting alternate words and many consider it to be even more powerful than the stunning officially available versions. V2 is circulating in 6 different mix variations. The TRACKS mix features more snare drum but less guitar than the 1988 b-side. Springsteen injured his leg in an off-terrain vehicle accident a few days after this, which delayed further sessions at The Power Station for 3 to 4 weeks.

Note: Recorded at The Power Station sometime late April-June 1979. Also known by the title “Don’t Do It To Me’. In this lone circulating version the song bears a resemblance to both “Mary Lou” and “Be True”. Comments made by Max Weinberg would suggest there is a differently arranged and complete take of the song, one that has never circulated.

Note: These all appear to be different mixes of the same basic performance that are also running at widely varying tape speeds. The version released on The River is the best. V1a is the backing track only. V1f has heavy echo added. Recorded at The Power Station in June 1979, probably on or shortly before June 20.

Note: V1 is a rehearsal take from Telegraph Hill sometime late March 1979. V2 (three different mixes) was recorded at The Power Station sometime May-June, 1979.

Note: Two different performances, both from the Telegraph Hill rehearsal in late March 1979. A gem. No Power Station recording is circulating.

Note: Two different performances, both from a Telegraph Hill rehearsal in late March 1979. No Power Station recording is circulating. This track is a rewrite of the track "Tonight" done in the rehearsal of October 1978.

Note: Three different performances, all from a Telegraph Hill rehearsal in late March 1979. No Power Station recording is circulating. This track recycles the main riff from 1977's "Don't Say No"

Note: V1 thru V7 are all different performances from the Telegraph Hill rehearsals on March 25, 1979. Also known by the title “In The City Tonight”. No Power Station recording is circulating.

Note: From the Telegraph Hill rehearsals on March 30, 1979. Tremendous song. No Power Station recording is circulating.

Note: From the Telegraph Hill rehearsals on March 30, 1979. No Power Station recording is circulating.

Note: All four are different performances from the Telegraph Hill rehearsals. V1 thru V3 are probably from late March 1979. V4 is from March 30, 1979. Another stirring song. No Power Station recording is circulating.

Note: All five are different performances from the Telegraph Hill Rehearsals on March 30, 1979. No Power Station recording is circulating.

Note: V1 thru V6 are different performances from the Telegraph Hill rehearsals on May 14, 1979. V7 (4 different mixes) was recorded at The Power Station on May 30, 1979 with V7d (the official release) being the superior sound quality. V8 is a surprising Telegraph Hill rehearsal from months later (Sept 16, 1979) seemingly undertaken because Bruce was considering revamping the song.

Note: Two different performances, both from the Power Station. V1 recorded in April or May 1979. V2 was recorded at The Power Station on May 31, 1979.

Note: V1 & V2 are band performances from the Telegraph Hill rehearsals on May 14, 1979. V3 is an early alternate take from the Power Station. V4 recorded at The Power Station on June 13, 1979.

Note: These all appear to be mixing variations of the same performance. Recorded at The Power Station in June or July 1979.

Note: Three different performances. All three versions recorded on or shortly before June 21, 1979. V2 contains an additional lyric verse not found on the released version. Many consider V2 to be the definitive studio take.

Note: V3 recorded July 16, 1979. V1 and V2 also recorded around this time. Similarly arranged versions, with some slight lyric differences between each.

Note: Recorded at The Power Station on July 18, 1979. These are all different mixes of the same basic recording.

Note: Two different performances, both recorded at The Power Station on or just prior to July 20, 1977. All three are excellent. This is the only unreleased River session composition that is circulating among collectors in finished form and in excellent quality.

Note: Recorded at The Power Station on or shortly before July 20, 1979. These are all different mixes of the same basic recording, with some significant tape speed variations. 

Note: Recorded at The Power Station on July 21, 1979. These are all different mixes of the same basic recording.

Note: V1 is longer and contains 3 additional verses and is the most interesting of all these. All recorded during July 1979. V4 recorded on July 26, 1979. Despite the song being completed at this point Bruce, seemingly unsatisfied, decided months later to radically alter the musical arrangement. The session history/details for the “revised” version of “Stolen Car” can be found in the 2nd Phase Session listings below.

Note: Recorded at The Power Station sometime in July or August 1979. Both versions are different mix takes of the same basic recording.

Note: Two different performances. V1, which is done in rockabilly style, was recorded at The Power Station Studios sometime from June-Aug 1979. V2 dates from much later in the sessions, possibly even the early 1980 2nd Phase session period.

Note: Recorded at The Power Station on Aug 29, 1979

Note: V1 thru V4 were recorded on the same night at The Power Station in May or June 1979 and are Takes #12, #11, #9 and #3 respectively. V5, which contains a newly written, extended narrative middle section, was recorded some months later, no sooner than early September but possibly as late as the final stages of the sessions in 1980.

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By the end of August enough quality material had been recorded over the course of the previous 5 months that it was looking like an album might be released for Christmas 1979. A title (The Ties That Bind) and tracks were selected and wheels put in motion to produce artwork for the cover. But it wasn’t to be. Springsteen & The E Street Band performed in New York City at the star-studded MUSE benefit shows on Sept 21 and 22, 1979. Soon after these MUSE shows Springsteen had a change of heart about the album concept. He wanted to include a wider variety of musical styles. The single LP (The Ties That Bind) was shelved. Springsteen began a new series of studio sessions in October 1979, more songs flowed forth and the sessions continued well into the spring of 1980. At some point in early 1980 a decision was made to release a double album. 

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THE 2ND PHASE RIVER SESSIONS
Those titles marked with an asterisk (*) are Telegraph Hill band rehearsal recordings, not Power Station recordings.

Note: a rehearsal workout at Telegraph Hill on Sept 16, 1979. The completed Power Station studio take is uncirculating.

Note: All three are different recordings from The Power Station. V1 (take #4) and V2 (take #6) are performed in the 3rd person (“She’s A Rocker”) and date from late 1979. V3 is a later take that dates from 1980.

Note: Two slightly different mixes. Recorded at The Power Station Studios on Oct 9, 1979.

V1 and V2 are rehearsal workouts at Telegraph Hill on Nov 15, 1979. The completed Power Station studio take of this stunning song is uncirculating.

Note: V1 thru V3 are rehearsal workouts at Telegraph Hill” on Nov 15, 1979. V4 recorded at The Power Station on Dec 7, 1979.

Note: these are alternate mixes of the same basic performance. V1a contains different party noises. Recorded at The Power Station in late 1979.

Note: Two slightly different mixes. Recorded at The Power Station in late 1979.

Note: Although it’s a cover of Moon Mullican’s Cajun classic this song was considered for the album once it became a 2LP set. All three performances are from the Telegraph Hill rehearsals on Jan 11, 1980. A Springsteen vocal rendition from The Power Station likely exists, either as recorded during The River sessions or the US Bonds session that immediately followed.

Note: V1 thru V7 are rehearsal workouts at Telegraph Hill on Jan 10, 1980. V8 thru V13 are rehearsal workouts from Telegraph Hill the following evening - on Jan 11, 1980. V14a and V14b and different mixes of the same performance recorded at The Power Station on April 11, 1980.

Note: V1 thru V9 are band rehearsal workouts at Telegraph Hill.  V2 thru V9 were recorded on January 16, 1980 and feature revised arrangements from that of the version recorded and completed 6 months earlier (see 1ST Phase listing above). V1 is an oddity - it features Bruce experimenting and singing the song over a pre-recorded tape of the band’s Jan 10th Telegraph Hill rehearsal of “Restless Nights”. The end result of all this was V10, which was recorded at The Power Station in Feb-March, 1980.

Note: V1 is a rehearsal version from Telegraph Hill on Jan 16, 1980, which is interesting because it’s done in a country arrangement. V2 was recorded at The Power Station Studios sometime Mar-April 1980

Note: V1 is a brief snippet that features Springsteen singing over a Jan 11, 1980 Telegraph Hill band rehearsal of “Restless Nights”. V2 and V3 are rehearsal workouts at Telegraph Hill on Feb 5, 1980. V4 was recorded at The Power Station in Feb or March 1980.

Note: V1 is from early 1980, with Springsteen singing over what sounds like a pre-recorded Telegraph Hill band backing. V2 was recorded at The Power Station sometime from Feb to April 1980.

Note: V1 thru V6 are rehearsal workouts at “Telegraph Hill” on Feb 5, 1980. The Power Station studio take of this wonderful song is uncirculating.

Note: V1 thru V8 are rehearsal workouts at Telegraph Hill on Feb 22, 1980 (with Miami Steve on lead vocals on V4). V9a and V9b are different mixes of the same performance, recorded at The Power Station Studios in March or April 1980.

Note: V1 thru V8 are rehearsal workouts at Telegraph Hill on Feb 22, 1980. V9 was recorded at The Power Station Studios in March or April 1980

Note: This is merely a band warmup exercise from Telegraph Hill on Feb 22, 1980.
It’s a cover of The Chantay’s 1963 surf-instrumental, sometimes mistakenly listed as The Ventures “Walk Don’t Run”. Included here for completeness but this was never considered for the album.

Note: V1 and V2 are both early 1980 Telegraph Hill band rehearsals of the song in an embryonic form, sometimes noted by the alternate title “I’m Gonna Be There Tonight”. V3 are all Power Station mix permutations of the same basic recording. Recorded sometime from Mar to May 1980 – among the final batch of songs completed.

Note: Two different recordings, although they’re similarly arranged. V2 has some alternate lyrics in the last two verses and was recorded at The Power Station on April 10, 1980. V1 was likely recorded around the same time.

Note: Recorded at The Power Station Studios sometime from Feb to May 1980.

Note: These are all mix permutations of the same basic recording. Recorded at The Power Station sometime from April to June 1980.

Note: All appear to be different mix permutations of the same basic recording. Recorded at The Power Station Studios sometime from March to June 1980.

Note: These are all mix permutations of the same basic recording. Recorded at The Power Station Studios sometime from April to June 1980.

Note: Recorded at The Power Station sometime June to Aug 1980 during sessions for Gary US Bonds. According to comments by Bonds, Bruce brought him this song as something from The River session arsenal that Bruce felt suited Bond’s style. A Springsteen vocal rendition from these sessions is likely to exist, from ether the River session or the Bonds session.

Note: Recorded at The Power Station sometime July to Aug 1980 during sessions for Gary US Bonds. A Springsteen vocal rendition from these sessions is likely to exist.

Note: Recorded at The Power Station sometime June to Aug 1980 during sessions for Gary US Bonds. A Springsteen vocal rendition from these sessions is likely to exist.

Note: Known from circulating audio of a 2nd leg Darkness Tour rehearsal at Telegraph Hill Studio on Oct 26, 1978. Whether this was recorded during the River sessions is unknown.

Note: Known from circulating audio of a 2nd leg Darkness Tour rehearsal at Telegraph Hill Studio on Oct 26, 1978. Whether this lovely Buddy Holly-ish song was recorded during the River sessions is unknown. Also known by the title “Wild Kisses”.

Page updated March 21, 2007

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