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From the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

The Rising

Bruce Springsteen

2002

Buy At Rough Trade
The Rising
Album Summary

The Rising is the twelfth studio album by American recording artist Bruce Springsteen, released on July 30, 2002, on Columbia Records. In addition to being Springsteen's first studio album in seven years, it was also his first with the E Street Band in 18 years. Based in large part on Springsteen's reflections during the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks, the album predominantly centers upon themes of relationship struggles, existential crisis and social uplift. Upon its release, The Rising was a critical and commercial success, being hailed as the triumphant return for Springsteen. The album became Springsteen's first to top the US Billboard 200 since Tunnel of Love in 1987. It also garnered a Grammy Award for Best Rock Album in 2003; although nominated for the Album of the Year award as well, it was beaten by Norah Jones's debut album Come Away with Me. The title song "The Rising" was also a Grammy recipient.

Wikipedia

Rating

3.05

Votes

10169
Genres
Rock
Singer Songwriter

Reviews

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Wed Mar 31 2021
2

I'm big on Bruce Springsteen up through "Tunnel of Love" but after that there really isn't much that I've been able to get into, including this album. To me this is a good example of where this list of 1001 albums starts to show some cracks: why put the 12th album by a well established artist on the list rather than make way for a younger artist who was truly in their prime during this time period? Don't like many of the production choices. And to top it off, it's too long.

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Tue Apr 13 2021
3

“The Rising” by Bruce Springsteen (2002) Nothing subtle about the marketing eroticism of the album title and cover. At the age of 53, he might have more truthfully pitched “The Falling”, or “The Unending Search for Relevance”. This album is almost entirely a collection of songs of love’s longing, with plenty of images of bells, blood, empty spaces, and anticipated journeys. A quintessentially American album. Released six months after 9/11, there are several references to what was on every American’s mind. In the aftermath of catastrophe, Springsteen endeavors to focus our passions on edifying affections, and he’s mostly successful. Musically, the album is well composed, arranged, and produced, even if the vocal and instrumental performances are less than stellar. I think I’ll always be put off by New Jersey native Springsteen’s poorly affected Southern accent and weak, overused falsetto. Melodies are all very typically Springsteen. On “Lonesome Day”, the post-9/11 sentiment of “A little revenge and this too will pass” was ok for the moment, but then the sad history of war in Afghanistan, the Iraq War, and the excesses of the USA Patriot Act emerged, and, well, we all needed some loving. Still do. Also, “Into the Fire” is inspiring, even if it borders on exploitation. Meaningful, nevertheless. So this album has some enduring satisfaction. Overall, a good album from an America worth loving, then and now. 3/5

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Mon Jan 25 2021
1

First couple of tracks I was into. Then it became massively middle of the road dad rock.

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Sun Mar 07 2021
1

I got 3.5 songs in. I just couldn’t. I like his earlier stuff, but this didn’t do anything for me

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Wed Apr 14 2021
5

Wonderful. This was Bruce's album after a long hiatus from music and even longer one from the E Street Band. It appears quite light hearted but there are some quite meaningful and clever songs in there such as the Rising, You're Missing and Mary's Place. I feel that these great songs are lost a bit in the more 'party songs' such as Waiting on a Sunny Day, especially for first time listeners. Nevertheless, I love this album but I did hope that the first Bruce album on this list would have been one of the earlier more accessible ones.

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Tue Feb 23 2021
5

My favorite album so far. The fact that this was in response to 9/11 is impressive. The songs were honest in dealing with the complicated emotions from that event. Not like some other music, say from Toby Keith which was just "America F' YA!"

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Tue Jul 20 2021
4

This album could have easily been an angry attack, but instead Springsteen sings about complex, nuanced emotions. I also love how a couple of songs have are inspired by Middle Eastern Music. Springsteens singing is also a lot clearer and less mumbled on this album. Great variety, mature lyrics, and powerful music. Overall, my favorite Springsteen album so far.

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Sun Nov 07 2021
3

L'album débute à ma grande surprise par une confession de Bruce: il deteste la parodie de lui même qu'il est devenue, et c'est la la principale information à retenir de cet album. En effet, depuis maintenant des années, Bruce nous explique être enfermé dans une spirale infernale, le forçant par exemple à déblaterer des atrocités mysogines et à diffuser des pets de façon importune. C'est sur une note d'espoir que cet album débute, puisque Bruce explique vouloir changer, pas seulement mentalement mais également physiquement, puisqu'il a pris la décision de raser sa coupe mullet depuis l'épisode de la guitare (voir review sur Nebraska). Malheureusement, le côté obscur de bruce va rapidement reprendre le dessus. Tout d'abord par le biais de courtes interjections au milieu de ses textes: "La bite !", "grognasse !", "pastis !". Ces cris parasites vont venir destabiliser l'auditeur. Puis plus on approche de la fin de l'album, plus le Dark Bruce devient dominant, jusqu'au climax, l'outro de l'album. Ici, Bruce, arborrant un marcel laissant apercevoir une touffe de poil sur son torse, va tout simplement lacher une enorme caisse dans son micro, avant de partir dans un fou rire gras. Bruce est malheureusement malgré toute sa bonne volonté probablement irrecuperable.

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Tue Oct 13 2020
2

The Bruce Springsteen 9/11 album. Goes pretty much how you’d expect. It was a commercial revitalization for The Boss, but to me it sounds pompous, a checklist of every bad 00s (rock) production technique, and without a hook in sight.

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Thu Mar 11 2021
2

Long, boring, and corny. America did not need this album post-9/11, I don't care what anyone says.

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Mon Dec 06 2021
2

Springsteen has some good albums. This is not one of them.

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Fri Jun 09 2023
2

9/11 had a profound effect on the music industry, and I don't think any of it was good. This is a prime example. Its awash with patriotism and self-pride. The music is simple and uninspired while being littered with a bunch of over complicated melismatic strings. It feels lazy overall. It's the shadow of albums like Born to Run and Wild, Innocent, E-Street band. I love Bruce, but this is not the version of him I love. If anything I feel like this still belongs on the list to show the significance of 9/11 in music

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Wed Jul 26 2023
2

This is the Springsteen version of the shitty country that came out after 9/11. Obvious hard rhymes, predictable tropes in lyrics and instrumentation, corny turns of phrase. Further On even has him faking a country twang. _(´ཀ`」 ∠)_. A name for this genre could be "Boomer Chants" or "Boomer Feel Good".

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Tue May 18 2021
1

Springsteen's success is based on schlocking his ass off and miraculously not failing--half the time. This is not the good half. The music is so excessively bombastic it's bland and the lyrics so general they mean nothing. The man has four or five albums that should be on this list. Picking a bad one deserves extra punishment.

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Mon Mar 13 2023
1

Brucey usually goes down like plain oatmeal. This, however, went down like plain, dry, oatmeal.

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Thu Jul 28 2022
5

In my opinion his best album of the 21st Century. I acknowledge that not every single song is great but there are some classics starting with The Rising. Should have won the Grammy for Album of the Year but Norah Jones robbed him!

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Sat Apr 24 2021
4

Powerful album; especially the context of 9/11. The length of the album/songs keeps it from being 5 stars, but it's a great album.

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Sun Nov 07 2021
3

Quelle magnifique ode à l'optimisme que cet album... Bruce Springsteen se présente sous un jour nouveau et nous dit vouloir changer. C'est sa résolution pour le troisième millénaire. Et en effet, quel bonheur d'assister à cette métamorphose pleine d'espoir et de bonne volonté. Finis les coupes mulet, les ailerons à l'arrière des voitures, les blagues misogynes ou encore les comparaisons douteuses entre ses selles et des taupes : Bruce est déterminé à faire table rase du passé et veut que la terre entière soit mise au courant. C'est du moins sur cette note positive que s'achève la face A du CD. La face B, quant à elle, nous fait rapidement craindre une rechute. On entend d'abord un "vroum vroum" discret en arrière-plan qu'on soupçonne provenir d'un de ces fameux "concours d'accélération" auxquels Springsteen s'adonnait autrefois. On distingue ensuite un "clap clap" que l'on rapproche immédiatement d'un mariage indésirable entre claquettes et chaussettes. On est enfin stupéfait de tomber sur un morceau caché en toute fin d'album, soixante-neuf secondes de silence après la fin de la dernière chanson. "Vous y avez cru mes couillasses ?" s'écrie le chanteur dans un français parfait avant d'embrayer sur un condensé de flatulences et de propos inappropriés. Retour à la case départ pour Bruce.

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Fri Oct 21 2022
3

Listens: 4 Enjoyed: Meh It just feels disgustingly American, from the hope to the mourning. It feel like Springsteen just did a massive line of eagle blood. The fact it's inspired by 9/11 just makes it even worse, sorta just inappropriate. There are a few decent standalone songs that may be added to my playlist but the project as a whole gives a very weird vibe Would be a very low 3

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Sun Jun 11 2023
3

This was after The Boss lost me. It's almost like he was profiting off of 9/11. He got something of a pass because he's the Jersey Golden Boy who was painted as the poet laureate of the working class folk. He has three timeless 5 star albums on this list, and another one that's close. The world over praised this one as something of a return to form because it was released (and for the most part, written) in the aftermath of 9/11. Don't get me wrong. I ride hard for Springsteen, even to the point of defending some of his work released AFTER this album. And this one is just nowhere near the upper echelon of his catalog.

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Thu Mar 25 2021
1

Vi Springsteen... Se me hizo raro por qué un disco del 2002... Lo escuche de fondo... Rock totalmente indistinto, tipo estadio como lo que ha hecho toda su vida... Esto no suena absolutamente a nada interesante... ¿Qué hace esto en la lista? Lo escuche de nuevo poniendo atención. Todo hizo clic. El disco está en la lista solo por que es en memoria del 11 de septiembre y, al parecer, se ha vuelto hasta emblemático en EE.UU. en eventos y cosas relacionadas. En mi opinión, ni como disco de Springsteen ni como memorial funciona. Las letras más clichés y melodramáticas, con la sutileza de un marro se sienten prefabricadas para cantarse en un estadio y sacar una lagrimita mientras todos sacan su encendedor (Woke up this morning to an empty sky... empty sky... (◔_◔) ). Hacer un album de canciones tipo himno estadio sobre temas así son ejercicios vacíos. Una situación así nos recuerda el miedo , el entumecimiento, la confusión, corazones rotos. Ese es el territorio que The Rising, o cualquier álbum que busque hacer justicia a ese día tal como se vivió, en contraposición a cómo fue televisado, debería aspirar. En su lugar esto se siente impersonal y vacío.

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Tue Apr 27 2021

Es un álbum disfrutable. Lento y plano para mi gusto. Los cambios entre canción y canción son muy similares, volviéndolo repetitivo. Pude llegar a la última canción, pero rogaba porque terminara.

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Thu Mar 11 2021
5

Gotta say, there's not a great excuse for have a 72 minute Springsteen Album. But this album is an okay one, though there are several songs that are longer than they need to be, and have a bit of a dull premise that gets drawn out. Also not a huge fan of the use of backup singers, and I feel like his earlier albums have more emotion in the singing. Worlds Apart was interesting, but didn't quite work, which was disappointing. All that said, I listened to a lot of these songs growing up which has made me rather fond of them, and Mary's Place and The Rising were great, I especially liked how the latter tied back in with Empty Sky a bit. Overall scrapes a five, from me, though I doubt I'll give it another close listen.

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Wed Apr 14 2021
5

One of my all time fave albums ❤️

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Tue Aug 24 2021
5

Rating: 9/10 Best songs: Lonesome day, Into the fire, Worlds apart, Mary’s place, The rising, Paradise

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Fri Jan 07 2022
5

I can excuse a little of Springsteen's cheese because of this one's timing and sentiment.

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Fri Feb 11 2022
5

Predivno, ovaj album + šetnja na suncu liječi sve!!

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Wed Mar 23 2022
5

Even though not every song here was written in the aftermath of 9/11, this is Springsteen's 9/11 album. It was also his first great album in about 15 years (since 1987's "Tunnel of Love") and as of now his last truly great album of original material. I've liked his stuff since then (and I liked the a lot of the stuff between "Tunnel" and this album) but "The Rising" is a whole other level.

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Mon Jun 13 2022
5

One of my favorite Bruce albums. Powerful without feeling too on the nose.

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Fri Jul 01 2022
5

Quan feia més falta. El disc post 11S definitiu. Diria que no només a USA, sinó a tot el món occidental. Cal haver viscut aquell temps per valorar-ho de forma completa. Ho fa amb l'E Street Band, per primer cop plegats des del 1984 a 'Born in the USA', un altre disc que va marcar la seva década. I ho fa amb un to conciliador, d'esperança i solidaritat, tan allunyat dels crits clamant revenja de l'época. I ho fa amb un grapat de cançons de primer nivell, que plegades formen un dels discos essencials dels 00's

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Thu Sep 15 2022
5

The master of making a simple song so good. Teeters on the edge of cheese a few times, but forgivable knowing the time frame. I wouldn’t say powerful, or cathartic, but maybe soothing. Or empathetic, speaking for a nation in pain.

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Thu Oct 27 2022
5

This is an album Bruce Springsteen had to make. It's probably one of the first albums made in the wake of 9-11 that grappled with the events of that day. It's also Bruce's first real full-length album of new material since 1995's The Ghost of Tom Joad. As Jersey's favorite son and an artist whose collective work is bound inextricably to New York, there was a weight on him to put his thoughts on record, a feat he accomplishes admirably. He could be talking about any tragedy, which is probably what makes this album work. 9-11 was brutal, and something I certainly don’t like to think about at all. But The Rising takes all the confusion and grief of living through a traumatic event and allows us to process and work through it with these songs. It's not linear either as you can see. There are bright moments and grim moments and moments of questioning and anger, and they all live together in you at the same time. That's a very real way of thinking about loss. I still have a bit of a fraught relationship with The Rising. I listen to Springsteen a lot, every day in fact. Several of the songs on this album are among my favorites and there are other songs I actively avoid. This isn't an album I listen to straight through often at all. So I was struck today what a good album this is as a whole. Bruce's more recent works sometimes can be a little hit and miss, but this one is really tight musically. The band is in top form and each song flows beautifully into the next. The themes of love and faith weave elegantly through the songs and he lands in a place of hope. We really needed this in 2002, but the songs still resonate deeply, 20 years on. I wasn't initially inclined to give this a 5, but this is really a testament of what you do with music, and it's one of Springsteen’s finest. Fave Songs (All songs, from most to least favorite): The Rising, Further On (Up the Road), Into the Fire, Nothing Man, Waitin' on a Sunny Day, My City of Ruins, You're Missing, Countin' on a Miracle, Mary's Place, Lonesome Day, The Fuse, Empty Sky, Worlds Apart, Paradise, Let's Be Friends (Skin to Skin)

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Wed Dec 21 2022
5

One of my favourite Springsteen records

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Wed Feb 08 2023
5

Not an album I was familiar with. So Boss!

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Thu Apr 27 2023
5

great album, just great songs

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Thu Aug 31 2023
5

This is one that I have a favorable impression of due to the time it came out. It was 2002 and it was Bruce's response to the September 11th, terrorist attacks. It was also the first Bruce Springsteen album I ever really got into. Moving to NYC in 2002, the album felt poignant to the angst and uncertainty that people felt during that first year after the attacks. I remember visiting NYC for the first time in May 2002 staying in a hotel downtown on Wall Street and waking up with a bloody nose because of the grit and pollution still in the air. Then I remember moving there in November 2002 and it wasn't that people had moved on, but it had become a joyous time in NYC because people seemed to just embrace that it could all go away. So when I listen to this album, I think of all of this. On a scale of 0-100. This is around an 89 for me. But do to everything I reviewed, I'll probably give it 5 stars for the combo music and emotional context.

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Thu Nov 16 2023
5

10/10 Bruce Springsteen, whatever that means

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Sat Dec 09 2023
5

I am not really a huge Springsteen fan after the Tunnel of Love albums since it got into stuff that I don't really listen to as much. Nonetheless, I love this album and listening to it realised how many of the songs I remember. A fantastic return to form for the Boss and two decades later, still sounds good.

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Wed Dec 20 2023
5

This album captures perfect the themes and feelings we all had post the events of 9/11 - the tracks that mean most to me are Mary's Place and My City In Ruins and of course the title track The Rising

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Wed Jan 31 2024
5

far more range than i anticipated. And totally bad ass.

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Wed Jan 31 2024
5

Wow, Bruce gets another album listed, pretty impressive.

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Wed Feb 07 2024
5

I listened to about 30 seconds. Not sure if that’s long enough to qualify for a vote but I’m submitting it anyways

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Sun Feb 11 2024
5

This was a great album at an important time in this world

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Sun Mar 03 2024
5

Great album. Particularly like Mary’s Place.

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Thu Sep 17 2020
4

Memories of 9/11. Heartbreaking and inspiring in the current crises.

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Tue Mar 23 2021
4

If your from Jersey you know

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Tue Mar 30 2021
4

Not his best album but it’s hard not to like the boss

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Tue Mar 30 2021
4

Preachy but the rising (song) is a classic

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Thu Feb 11 2021
4

Ich kann verstehen, warum er so unfassbar beliebt ist. Eine sehr markante Stimme. Einfache und doch gleichzeitig mitreißende Musik. Sicherlich massentauglich. Auch wenn das Album mit 73 Minuten etwas lang war, hab ich viel Abwechslung gehört. Ein Song mit viel Percussion und rhythmischer Begleitung. Einer mit elektronischen Sounds. Das Urgestein mit 23 Alben bei i Tunes gibt sich Mühe die modernen Entwicklungen in der Musikszene aufzugreifen. Country-Rock-Pop? Das Album hat bei mir Interesse an ihm geweckt.

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Mon Feb 15 2021
4

A nice Bruce Springsteen album. Was nice to listen to.

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Thu Mar 25 2021
4

Pues sí, así como los Foo hacen música casi prefabricada para gustarle a nuestra generación en un estadio, este disco de El Jefe está prefabricado para gustarle al baby boomer o gen X gringo. Pero dejando eso de lado, para mí, que solo conocía Streets of Philadelphia o Born in the USA, tiene mucho que ofrecerme: bonita producción, mezcla de estilos y sonidos y hasta un coro árabe que es un contrapeso a todo el contexto del disco. Punto adicional para Bruce cuando leí que es defensor del matrimonio gay, que debe ser algo complicado al ser el cantante favorito de gen x y boomers.

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Thu Mar 25 2021
4

Mucho más movido que el otro que ha salido en la lista y se agradece. Me quedo con Waitin' On A Sunny Day y Further On (Up The Road), aunque también se puede colar Mary's Place. También tiene baladas, buenos arreglos de metales. No se siente como un disco arriesgado y no necesita serlo. Mi único tema es que es muy largo.

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Sun Apr 04 2021
4

Solid album, although not great (in my opinion) due to it being somewhat inconsistent and a bit repetitive at times. A few REALLY amazing songs on there though.

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Tue Feb 02 2021
4

The emotion and depth is apparent throughout. Maybe a bit long winded at times, but overall it was really good. Solid 4.

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Mon Feb 08 2021
4

A good one, but not my favorite Springsteen album

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Thu Feb 11 2021
4

It's a bit long and not quite up there with his best but some great tracks.

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Wed Jun 23 2021
4

Solid dad rock from the most dad rock guy around

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Mon Feb 15 2021
4

A pensive and slightly melancholic Boss.

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Tue Apr 13 2021
4

Hvis det er noe Bruce Springsteen får til, er det feelgood musikk! Mye karakteristisk og oppløftende på dette albumet, og man blir rett og slett litt gira. Energien fra Springsteen er ganske smittsom. Likevel har han en viss tendens til å skrive litt for repetitive sanger med mange korte vers og refreng, og det merkes godt når albumet bikker én time. Men jeg er sikker på at dette kan bli en deilig gjenganger når jeg har fått hørt mer på det. Beste sanger: Lonesome Day, Mary's Place, The Rising.

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Thu Apr 08 2021
4

нормально, отдохнуть

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Thu Jun 03 2021
4

3.8 Ik denk niet dat je dit kan haten. Goede vibe, duidelijke stem, prachtig.

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Mon May 10 2021
4

A really strong album from Springsteen. Enjoyed this quite a lot.

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Sun Jul 25 2021
4

You get a classic Bruce Springsteen album... heartfelt, meaningful and straight ahead rock. Though it runs a little long, pretty much everything is enjoyable from the louder more energetic Worlds Apart to the more wistful Nothing Man. Really good album.

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Sun Sep 05 2021
4

This is a fine slice Springsteen goodness. One of his most consistent albums song after song is good with a few great one's thrown in; Lonesome Day, Empty Sky and the title track. The E Street Band absolutely cooks look seldom since Darkness on the Edge of Town, if you're more Springsteen appreciator rather than mega fan, as I am, don't sleep on this excellent album 4 stars

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Mon Nov 15 2021
4

Fínasta Springsteen plata. Rennur ljúflega í gegn.

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Fri Dec 31 2021
4

I wasn't expecting much from this album. I've liked the Springsteen albums that I've listened to in the past, but a 2002 Springsteen album made as a response to 9/11 in light of everything that's happened since then sounds like the exact opposite of what I need right now. This album, however, is solid all the way through. Bruce's music doesn't sound dated for 2002, and the lyrics aren't the type of heart-on-my-sleeve rah rah bullshit that I associate with this period. Every song on this album is good, if not spectacular. More importantly, he found a way to capture the feeling of hope really well with this album. Totally worth coming back to in the future 4/5

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Tue Jan 04 2022
4

Interesting ref sept 11 influence Easy listening

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Thu Feb 17 2022
4

This was awesome! Love a bit of the Boss and although not his usual rocking self, the slower more melodic side is as appreciated! Really enjoyed it!

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Thu Mar 17 2022
4

springsteen is an auto 4 but only the end stands out

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Fri Mar 18 2022
4

Good stuff! Best Springsteen album so far. 4

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Sun Mar 20 2022
4

Vau, tämähän on hieno levy! Todella leppoisan melodista countryrockia ilman Brucelle ominaista hieman överiksi vedettyä äijäilyä. Äänimaailma tuo kovasti mieleen Wilcon varhaiset albumit. Levyltä ei jäänyt mieleen ensimmäistäkään kappaletta mieleen negatiivisesti, mikä on melkoinen meriitti yli 70 minuutin kokonaisuudelta. Kohokohdat eivät kuitenkaan kykene nostamaan tätä ihan vitosen tasolle. Päivänselvä nelonen kuitenkin.

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Thu Apr 07 2022
4

Ok first off....come on. Twice in a row? I guess that means we can get it out of the way. Starting to listen, however, I already like this first track more than the last album so I won't complain too much. Ok, as I listen, this album is really great. Feels very rock but also very folksy in a weird way. Pretty wild how different these two albums are and now I'm glad that we got to listen to them back to back.

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Mon Apr 11 2022
4

Wow, a Bruce Springsteen album i actually enjoyed.

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Fri Apr 29 2022
4

woah so ok turns out i like bruce springsteen. who knew? it's a 3.5 star rating for me - but given i'm new to this i'm gonna go 4 and regret my choice later.

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Fri May 20 2022
4

Another fine album from the boss. Even his throwaway songs sound familiar and comfortable. Doesn't have the consistency of his 5 star albums but there's enough good songs to please most music fans. 4 🌟

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