Product Description

A studio album with the E-Street Band, the first since 1984's 'Born In The USA'. It features the single and title track'The Rising' and 'My City Of Ruins' a full band version of the song debuted at the America: Tribute To Heroes concert.

Track Listing

1. Lonesome Day
2. Into The Fire
3. Waitin' On A Sunny Day
4. Nothing Man
5. Countin' On A Miracle
6. Empty Sky
7. Worlds Apart
8. Let's Be Friends (Skin To Skin)
9. Further On (Up The Road)
10. Fuse
11. Mary's Place
12. You're Missing
13. Rising
14. Paradise
15. My City Of Ruins

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3790 in Music
• Released on: 2002-07-29
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
The Rising is Bruce Springsteen's much-anticipated first full-length album with the E Street Band in 18 years. Although it seemed the Boss had put writing rock anthems behind him following Born in the USA, his long-time fans knew if any artist could write anthems addressing September 11, 2001 and not make them sound jingoistic, it would be Bruce Springsteen. The numerous anthems on The Rising are subtler than those of the Born to Run era. But the elements are all there--be it the joyous rocking strains of "Countin' on a Miracle", "Mary's Place" and "Waitin' on a Sunny Day"; the dark overtones of "Further on Up the Road"; or the stunning guitar solo that closes "Worlds Apart", a dramatic Arabic-tinged piece detailing star-crossed love between a Muslim and an "infidel." While most of these songs deal with death and tragedy, they still inspire. But while the lyrics are intriguing, what's more remarkable is how well The Rising works as epic rock & roll as it draws from rockabilly, soul, doo-wop hard rock, country and even industrial. To skewer an old cliche, when The Rising is good, it's great. And even when it's not great, it’s still awfully good. --Bill Holdship

Customer Reviews

One of Bruce's best
A lot of fans and critics enjoy using the term `the Springsteen canon' when it comes to discussing the highs and (very few) lows in The Boss' career. When it comes to The Rising, the canon is very much filled with some of the finest gunpowder around.
Simply put, this is one of Springsteen's best.

The hype that surrounded the album's release focused on his first full recording with the equally legendary E-Street band and of course, the fall-out from 9/11. I bought this album with an open mind, because all the Springsteen albums I own (Born in the USA, Devils and Dust, Magic, The Essential, Lucky Town, Tunnel of Love, Born to Run, The River, Greetings from Asbury Park) have never left me disappointed. I fell in love with the music immediately: Lonesome Day, Further on up the road and Mary's Prayer are Bruce and the E-Street band playing at their best, and a throw-back to the old days.

Having said that, it's always going to be unfair to compare a record like The Rising to the earlier records in the 80's and up till Born In The USA. Not only has the artist moved on, but times have radically changed and if you were completely honest, so have you. What we have with this album is Springsteen addressing familiar themes, but all the same being relevant to life today. The sorrow of losing loved ones in Empty Sky, Paradise and the hauntingly beautiful You're Missing illustrates that. But there is also the theme of tolerance and respecting differences amongst people, and of an inter-racial relationship in World's Apart, with some striking and poignant lyrics (`In your skin upon my skin in the beating of our hearts/May the living let us in before the dead tear us apart').

My City of Ruins, Nothing Man and The Rising can all lay claim to having 9/11 written all over them, yet one can also derive something different from them too. Taken on their own, they bring to light the loss of a loved on (City), loneliness and finding yourself in this world (Nothing Man) and The Rising seems to have Biblical undertones to it too. My favourite track is the glorious Waiting on a Sunny Day. It is just sublime and one of the most feel-good pieces of work I've ever had the privilege of listening to.

The E-Street band are fully evident on this album, even if at times the songs don't always sound the way you expect them to. This is one of the strengths of the album, as it took me by surprise yet just helped shoot this album to another sphere. You won't be disappointed. It's been a while now and I'm still enjoying this offering from The Boss.

awesome springsteen
This album is my favourite by Bruce as the tracks pull you up and down with the sentiments of the words and the amazing riffs. Your Missing is amazing - if you ever lost someone you will know what I mean as the eerie quality of the music provokes thoughts of lonliness and loss. The Rising and Mary's Place are stunning live. Bruce always has somethingto say.. and boy how he tells them!!

Not the return to form it was claimed to be...
This was supposed to be Bruce Springsteen's triumphant "return to form" with the E St Band once again in harness. It was anything but. As a fellow reviewer has said, musicians such as Roy Bittan, Steve Van Zandt, Clarence Clemons and Danny Federici are often buried so far down in the mix as to be virtually inaudible. The production of Brendan O'Brien is, in my view, unforgivable. Max Weinberg's trademark powerhouse drum sound that so characterised the E St Band is mushy and muddy, a drum machine is used occasionally, for Heaven's sake !

Springsteen's voice is still acceptable on this album, however, as opposed to being barely comprehensible as on "Magic" or a fearful whine as on the ludicrous falsetto cuts of "Devils And Dust". Lyrically, this is quoted as being his "9/11" album so many times it has now become tedious. Most of the songs were written before that event (although "Nothing Man" is uncannily apt for the day). Some are written about the day though and Springsteen's one triumph on this often terminally dull album is his ability to never allow his lyrics on the subject to sound mawkish in the style of "God Bless America". They are human and very perceptive, often brutally honest. Trouble is, while I do not attempt to deny the heroism of the charcter featured in "Into The Fire" I find it difficult to have a good time listening to an upbeat song about a man going to "his smoky grave". I have a memory of fans at a live performance punching the air during "Into The Fire"and singing along which I found slightly disconcerting. Furthermore, "You're Missing" is heartbreaking but nigh on unlistenable due to its desperate subject matter.

When Springsteen is not talking about solemn matters he tries so hard to be seen to be "having fun" such as on the excruciating "Waiting On A Sunny Day" and the appalling cod-soul of "Let's Be Friends". Unfortunately much of the other material on here are simply lumpen pedestrian rock-by-numbers "fillers" such as "Further On Up The Road" and "Counting On A Miracle". "Worlds Apart" is both musically and lyically brave but basically it cannot paper of the cracks on this very dull album. I will wager very few Springsteen fans are still playing this album much at all, five years on.

For me, this is not, and never will be, an E St Band album. It sounds like a session-played piece of work, save for a few moments, such as Federici's organ break in the mighty "My City Of Ruins". "The Rising" is a stirring title track it has to be said, but the E St wannabe track "Mary's Place" is a mess.

I don't actively dislike this album and, every now and then, it is a good listen. However, it is, unfortunately, a really overrated piece of work. A mature and reflective product in places, but over-hyped tedium in others.