The Ties That Bind

The Ties That Bind (2015)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Here's another very good documentary that came with the Special Edition release of Bruce Springsteen's The River album. There's no doubt that The Boss knows how to deliver a deluxe album and this documentary has the singer/songwriter sitting down with his acoustic guitar and talking about the album.

Obviously if you're a fan of Springsteen then this is going to be a must-watch because he goes into pretty good details about the production of the album and what he was trying to do with it. He talks about where he was living at the time, what music he was listening to and what he wanted to get into the album. There's also talk about the original one disc version that he turned in as well as how it ended up becoming a two LP set. Other subjects include some of the songs that didn't make the cut as well as what it was like taking the album out on tour.

At less than a hour it's mainly just Bruce talking and with the guitar in hand he does a couple of the songs from the album. There's some behind-the-scenes footage, concert footage and home movie footage shown as well, which is another great thing. None of the other band members are interviewed, which some might see as a negative thing but it's clear this documentary was just meant to capture Springsteen's feelings on the album.