Bruce Springsteen will release a discarded 1979 album in its entirety for the first time as part of a box set for his influential work "The River."

The rock legend on Friday announced a December 4 release for the long-awaited collectors' edition, which will include four CDs and three DVDs.

"The River," released in October 1980, was Springsteen's first album to reach number one on the US chart.

The double-length album foreshadowed much of Springsteen's later work, moving beyond energetic rock tunes to offer darker thoughts about the future of the working class in the United States.

"The River" featured the title song -- a bleak tale of a worker, based on Springsteen's brother-in-law, who on his 19th birthday "got a union card and a wedding coat" -- as well as the pop hit "Hungry Heart."

The previous year, Springsteen recorded a standard-length album but discarded it, explaining later that it "lacked the kind of unity and conceptual intensity I liked my music to have."

The box set will mark the first time the 1979 album is released as it was recorded, although seven of the tracks were incorporated in some form in the double album of "The River."

The box set will also include a video of a Springsteen concert during his tour for "The River" on November 5, 1980 at Arizona State University.

Long described as one of the most intense performances by the famously energetic artist, Springsteen took the stage under a cloud after Ronald Reagan's sweeping victory a night earlier in the presidential election.

Springsteen has since become open about his left-leaning politics but in the 1980s was a subtle critic of Reagan, with albums "Nebraska" and "Born in the U.S.A." focusing on the plight of workers.

Springsteen, 66, remains active both in the studio and on the road, releasing his 18th studio album last year.
Source: AFP