Bruce Springsteen: The River (Columbia)

A SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE sketch of a few seasons back poked fun at Roy Orbison by reducing him to a caricature: motionless stance and ever-present shades. With this overdue collection — given added weight by being a double album — Bruce Springsteen has proven himself to be equally typecast. Unable or unwilling to cast off the cliches of his past records, The River's attempt to Make a Statement is buried in an avalanche of repetition and evident lack of inspiration.