The Rising

This whole album just feels unauthentic, super performative and fake deep. Brian Griffin probably has this album saved and on vinyl. Yeah it sucks. Two stars for the occasional sax.

"You're Missing" was the sole highlight on this album for me. Beyond that, there wasn't really anything here that kept me engaged. 2 stars

I like Bruce but this didn’t do it for me. It felt overly safe and generic. I bet Rolling stone loved this but it felt empty to me.

Some songs were ok, most were boring.

Meh.

Notable Songzeile: I search for you on the other side Where the river runs clean and wide Up to my heart, the waters rise Up to my heart, the waters rise Das fängt stark an und lässt dann stark nach. Zu viel Pathos, zu viel Chor, zu viel AmerikaNewYorkNewJersey. Direkt nach dem Hören hätte ich es glaube ich noch härter bewertet, aber etwas besser als 2, aber noch keine 3.

Look, I get it. Ich habe alle Sympathie für Springsteen: macht seit 30 Jahren Musik, hat Bock, die alten Band wieder zusammen zu bringen, holt sich einen der AltRock Produzenten der 90er, um seine Songideen der letzten 10 Jahre aufzunehmen. Klingt dann auch ganz wie die 90er, und ganz vieles arrangieren sie direkt um es live in Stadien abzurocken. Der Boss ist so begeistert dass er das Album maximal lang hält und die Fans sind begeistert weil Springsteen ein richtiges amerikanisches Rock Album abliefert. Habe ich alle Sympathie für, good for him, good for everyone. Nur anhören muss ich mir das nicht.

Bin wirklich nicht uninteressiert was Springsteen angeht, aber von dem Album hab ich echt noch keinen Song gehört. Warum genau muss ich das hören bevor ich sterbe? Wenig Begeisterung dafür. Aber alles schön gemacht.

Only someone from New Jersey would believe this was going to heal us after 9/11

#916. This is the musical equivalent of wet mush. 2/5: waste of time

2.

Im not sure what it is about Bruce Springsteen that irritates me, but irritate me he does. For me he falls into the same category as Paul McCartney. I think it's the earnestness and embodiment of working class America that he portrays, in much the same way that Jimmy Barnes does to Australians. Sorry Bruce. At least there was less harmonica than the last album I was forced to endure.

I'm sorry I'm not a late-middle aged (American) man. It's just does not speak to me and I think there would be many more interesting albums to include if you cut some of the billion Springsteen albums from the list. This style of music incredibly tedious and boring, and by extension you are a boring person if you like it.

Woof. I don’t really like Bruce Springsteen I guess. 2.25 Boring

sorry bruce not my fav….. 2.5

It flew by okay, but it was just plane average - it took a nosedive near the end too.

There's a reason Bruce is a legend. This album is not that reason. Shockingly bland with repetitive choruses and mediocre production. Not his finest hour. Not sure why it's on this list.

Yep ... sounds like just another Bruce Springsteen album ...

Always thought that Springsteen not unlike dylan did not fair well when trying to update their sound. Stripped back or rocking out is his forte. This is too much of a departure. The arrangements are weird and the lyrics are not his strongest. An experience not worthy of the subject

3/10 I’m generally not a particular fan of Bruce Springsteen’s voice. He often has this shout-singing delivery that grates at my ears, and I struggle with his music as a consequence. Luckily, he’s actually singing in a far more restrained manner on this record. Maybe his voice can’t cope with that style of singing any more, or perhaps it’s in deference to the theme of this album, which is seemingly focused on 9/11. Unfortunately the music itself is some of the most middle of the road dad rock you’re ever likely to be exposed to. There’s not much in the way of variation across any of the tracks really, and often the drummer will pick a very straight beat and just play it relentlessly, with the occasional basic drum fill to spice things up, for 5 minutes, which gets pretty tiresome. And often the rest of the band aren’t offered much in the way of musical range either. It’s not that this is terrible, but there’s also nothing particularly distinctive or engaging about it. I can’t really recall any melodic highlights or hooks, despite having listened through three times, and the whole thing has just sort of blended together in my mind into a sort of amorphous musical blob. The band are good enough, but they’re seemingly not asked to be much more than that. The production is too clean, if anything. It sounds like an expensive and slightly soulless album that’s completely of its time. And the songwriting is just ok, leaning towards being relentlessly dull. What we land on is an album that sounds one third U2, one third Nickelback and one third a random middle-aged beer festival band with a name like ‘Manual Transmission’. Oh, and it’s WAY TOO LONG. I could probably have tolerated this more at 40 minutes, but it’s nearly twice as long as that. I can only think that, because he’s The Boss, he can just kind of release whatever he wants. It’s like the musical equivalent of an author who has become such a big seller that their editors no longer have the power to actually edit their work, so they release ever expanding volumes in a series to the detriment of the quality. There’s nothing worse in art than being boring and this middle of the road album was dragged further and further down in my estimations the longer it dragged on. Lonesome Day - This is incredibly pedestrian and middle of the road. It just sounds like any other slice of radio rock from the late 90s/early 00s. I’m not typically a fan of Springsteen’s voice, but he’s actually more restrained here than some of his other work that I’m familiar with. That being said, he sounds awfully generic here. The strings are overdone and it lend themselves to this weird plodding, almost uplifting vibe. It’s not completely terrible, but it’s also incredibly bland. Into The Fire - He’s putting on a southern twang here, which is really odd. It’s another fairly pedestrian effort and it feels like the band are doing the bare minimum to keep the track ticking along with no level of flourish or spectacle. Even the (very occasional) drum fills are incredibly dull. The strings again feel like they’re there to try and add emotion but feel very performative rather than emotive. The vocals are incredibly repetitive and so, so obvious. Waitin' On A Sunny Day - Ok, so the rhythmic vibe of this album is ‘plodding’. This is another that sounds like a generic late 90s band that have made it big enough to get the money for a string section on their latest album, so dammit, they’re going to use one. It’s incredibly predictable, including the obvious and cringy key change two thirds of the way through. This is pretty awful. Nothing Man - This one’s a bit better, it’s more restrained and I quite like the production because there’s a bit more nuance to it. Some of the shimmering, saturated background tones are really nice. The strings are pleasant enough here too and don’t feel forced. It’s quite long and repetitive though and I’m not keen on the “do-do-do” bit. It’s also very dynamically and rhythmically flat. Countin' On A Miracle - More generic dad rock. As with much of the album so far, the strings are kind of overdone, it’s got a very, very straight rhythm to it and it sounds slickly produced but ultimately pretty uninteresting. The chorus is a balls to the wall cheese fest and feels very, very by the numbers. Meh. Empty Sky - Do you think he woke up to an empty sky? He didn’t mention it, so I wasn’t sure. More plodding, repetitive and all too straight rhythm. There’s just not much to this at all apart from making sure we know that the sky was empty. Bland and uninteresting. I get what he’s trying to do, but it just doesn’t connect with me in any way at all. Worlds Apart - This at least tries something a bit different, but it feels a like a very westernised view of what music from the Middle East actually sounds like, and there’s not very much depth or nuance to it. But at least it adds a different flavour to the track and a bit more of a swing to the groove. When the band kicks in, it’s more of that generic, rhythmically straight, middle of the road stuff again. And if you’re trying to make some kind of point with a song, having a “la-la-la” section feels like a massive cop-out. Not the worst track, but good lord is it too long. Let's Be Friends (Skin To Skin) - Ooh, there’s actually a bit of feel to the groove here. It’s more fairly generic radio rock, but it’s got a bit more of a groove to it, which is nice. But it just keeps trundling along being nice enough, but fairly bland stuff. It seems Bruce is allergic to dynamic and rhythmic range as everything on this album picks a pace, intensity level and beat and just rolls with it for longer than is necessary. I mean, why on earth do nearly all of the songs need to be over 4 or 5 minutes in length? Further On (Up The Road) - If you told me this was Nickelback, I’d believe you. He might meet us further on up the road, but he’d definitely be positioned exactly in the middle of said road. Nearly all of his drum beats are just the same thing for 4-6 minutes and it makes it all sound very, very flat and monotonous. It’s an ok track for a pub band that you’d see performing at a beer festival, but it’s not very memorable or exciting. The Fuse - More rhythmically static stuff here and somehow, despite the drummer trying to give it a bit of pace, it drags a lot and the rest of the track feels like it’s a 45 being played at 33 rpm. This is just quite boring, and I don’t know how he feels like this hookless meandering deserves more than five and a half minutes of my time. Mary's Place - This is a bit folky and appears to be somewhat inspired by Sam Cooke’s excellent ‘Meet Me At Mary’s Place’. This, however, isn’t excellent. It’s a weird sort-of party anthem for people who always dance without moving their hips at all, probably with their arms half raised in a static position as they shuffle from foot to foot. It’s not very interesting, although at least he bothered to put a bit of dynamic range in here. I bet this one kills at the old folks home. It’s not the worst song on the album, but it’s very repetitive and about as safe as rock music gets. You're Missing - More plodding, more ok but not great melodies, more very flat rhythms. Do you know, I could almost imagine this being a good song if it was done with a bit more of an experimental production and development. Tom Waits could probably make this quite good with a bit of work, for example. But it’s so cleanly produced and sparsely developed that it just doesn’t grab me at all. And again, why over 5 minutes? The Rising - I mean, again, not terrible, but not very interesting either. It feels like the band are actually trying to give it a bit of welly here, but Bruce seems to not have enough lyrical ideas to not resort to fucking “la-la-las” again. Here’s a tip, Bruce: Write a 3 minute song that you can be arsed to write lyrics for rather than another 5 minute one with a bunch of half-arsed la-la-laing or do-do-doing. I think I wouldn’t dislike this as much as I do if it wasn’t an hour into a very samey album. Paradise - He can’t really summon the softness that he’s going for here, with his cod southern accent again. His tonal control is pretty weak when he’s trying to sing like this too. The rest of the track is so soft and edgeless that it works even less well in combination with this vocal. and, surprise, surprise, it’s way too long. Oh god, his vocal gets worse as it goes, it’s really bad. Again, there’s something in this with the subtle throbbing of the distorted tones, but he hasn’t actually found what that something is. My City Of Ruins - Ah, a bit of actual groove. It’s a shame he’s left the best song on the album more than 65 minutes in. But we do get some shout singing as it grows and he’s not exactly being very inspired with his lyrics in the chorus is he? There’s some lovely playing on this from both guitar and organ though. A nice way to end what has been quite an arduous experience.

Not a huge fan of Bruce Springfield. I do enjoy the softer side of this album and its country influences but over all not my daily listening vibe.

I like The Boss as much as the next guy but this album isn't essential

I know that by the time this came out Bruce was already massively famous and successful, which is good because this is some of the corniest and most repetitive music I think I've ever heard

Love Bruce but this doesnt belong here. No substantial music came from 9/11, which has to be the reason for this record's inclusion. On first listen, i immediately thought "this had to be a free grammy printer" and sure enough he won a grammy for best rock album. "Nothing Man" is my pick from this album if you have to listen to one song from it, but it's not really worth your time imo. "Lets Be Friends" is hilarious as a concept, a song that sounds suspiciously inspired by Sugar Ray, on an album with a song about 9/11 on it. So many classic rock revival albums sounded like this in the 2000's, half of this stuff reminds me so much of AC/DC's Black Ice. That is to say, not very impactful. The Boss tries, but doesnt succeed in doing much of anything. At least it's not as tone-deaf as a bunch of celebrities' singing "Imagine" from their super fancy homes in response to the covid lockdown. 2/5

Dont like the idyllic sound of first couple songs. Some elements of instrumentals are kinda cool. It is poppy music. "Worlds apart" and "Lets be friends" are my favs for now.

Why in lords name would I pick this up if I wanna listen to Bruce.

1.9 Ah shit ... Here we go again. Just when I was starting to feel a bit wistful that this was drawing to a close after crossing the 1,000 mark, the list throws another 72 minutes of Bruce fucking Springsteen at me. Satan exists, and he is a random number generator.

I can’t believe this would be anywhere near being on this list if it wasn’t a Bruce Springsteen album. It’s fine, but too long.

I’m sorry but nobody *must* hear 72 minutes of a man 25 year past his prime going through the motions, churning out watered-down cliché-filled versions of his old songs.

Bit boring late springsteen

Not a lot inspiring for me in this album.

These Springsteen albums are just such a slog fest man. Painfully white.

If I was a big Bruce Springsteen fan I would have bought this in 2002 and enjoyed it for a few months as the latest dispatch from the Boss. And then I’d never play it again. But I’m not a big Bruce Springsteen and I’m not interested in his thoughts from a quarter of a century ago. The production is bog standard Dad Rock circa 2002. There’s a moment he sounds like he might have heard a Beck tune of two but the oldtimey drums and saxomphone lets you know he wasn’t paying attention. It’s not Bruce’s best work. It does not find him doing something new. We don’t learn anything new about Bruce or his opinion on world events. We don’t need to hear this record!

I think this album is very over rated. It's the same theme song after song about lost love. It's a shadow of previously released albums with the E Street Band. Very disappointing.

I have grown to really like him through this list, but this album just doesn't resonate with me. Feels a bit too patriotic and overblown.

I’m sorry I just don’t get it at all

Springsteen is one of my all time favorite artists; he's got my favorite discography of anyone in the 70s, and he's at least top 5 for the 80s. Depending on how I feel on the day I get Nebraska, three or four of the Springsteen albums on here are getting a 5. This one's got some interesting ideas to it (especially when he takes a little influence from Middle Eastern music), but it's overlong and just not his best work. Glad I didn't have to give him a 1 at least.

I don’t really understand what this is doing on this list. No individual song is that bad (mostly) but compiled into an album like this just takes away from the efficacy of any of them.

Inoffensive, but that’s not really what I want when it comes to music.

I generally like Bruce but he has a tendency to be mawkish and sentimental so doing an album in response to 9/11 just becomes like an unlistenable slog after a while. There are only so many inspirational narratives I can hear here before getting bored which might make me a bad person but oh well!

"I don't believe in magic" - Christian man

Pleasant, predictable. Generally uninspired songwriting.

A double album of plodding country tinged Springsteen isn't doing it for me

in direct comparison with born to run...not convinced

Springsteen in a blender. Nothing distinguishable or remarkable here

the terrorists have truly won

I'm not sure I've ever listened to a full Springsteen album before. Oh god that was boring. Bland, instantly forgettable, strum alongs. Some of the instrumentation behind it was nice, but also the amount of backing that was there took any edge off any of the parts at all. I can't recall a single interesting guitar part of any other part for that matter. I'm typing this as the organ solo plays in the last track, it's a nice solo, but the song is so ploddy it could easily be any gospel song from the last 50 years, but then it's not a gospel song, it's just him lamenting something or other. Of course it was a double album, the ones I find boring always are.

Generic AmeriRock veering into country. Bland.

I made it about half way through track two before I had a look to see how much longer this album would be. Not terrible, but found this a chore to listen to.

I always dislike it whenever people call an artist 'past their prime' as soon as their most famous album has been released 10 years or more into the past. Incidentally, I also kind of dislike this album. Not because Bruce has lost his charm, but because of those far too poppy melodies, the overfull and cliché production, the lack of great melodies and his annoying country intonations. But hey, the E Street Band sounds pretty good, so there's that.

Surprised to see this, given I wouldn't put it in Springsteen's best. These songs aren't good. It's nostalgia at a time I guess people needed it. Generic, crappily written songs. Sounds like songs you'd get from some local band that takes themselves way too seriously.

This was really long and sounded the same. I can imagine his earlier stuff was much better

Not a fan

Not baaad but definitely not my jam either So I'll rate this album a 2/5

nothing man was very good

Not as bad as I expected, honestly nice on my ears, but I don't see myself coming back to this for any reason. I am curious about other Springsteen, though.

Came in skeptical. Heard the first song - better than expected. Then every song after it sounded like the first song but not as good. Gave up after a half hour or so.

So the first Springsteen album we get is one that no one likes, so I'm not in the minority. As I always say, I like everything about the guy except those damn songs. These ones are particularly hackneyed and tendentious, and we already have a Steve Earle.

THIS WAS THE FIFTH AND FINAL SPRINGSTEEN ALBUM ON THE LIST!!! I’M FREEEE

Doesn’t really hold up after 9/11. Too much melodramatic production, generic lyrics, not playing to Springsteen’s strengths

There’s Springsteen albums that deserve to be on this list. This is not one of them. Nothing wrong with this album but that’s the problem. It’s just another pop rock album, there is nothing special about about it, it’s bland.

We had big plans to write and record an EP that day. We probably all had a few ideas ready going in, but the process required personal integrity - the bulk of the compositional work and recording would be done there and then. Precisely because the process, rather than the output, was important. Or, more honestly, the narrative of writing and recording in one day was the most important thing. What an achievement! What creativity! What art! We worked pretty quickly, running off a number of short, charming, no doubt very stupid songs. You and Paul went off to buy lunch, while I recorded something particularly shoddy, and returned with the news from the radio. We switched on the telly and watched the 9/11 catastrophe unfurl. For a bit anyway. We gave it our due attention. Registered shock, sadness, etc. Performed interest as a form of respect. Then we went on about our day. We almost finished the EP. I think we also took a break to watch a Mercury Prize preview on Channel 4. You have to realise when you have properly performed deference to the big emotive event, then move on with your life and get back to making art. That’s why I gave up at Mary’s Place. That was enough time spent on this big emotive event. Hopefully, some near edition of the 1001 book will recognise that enough deference has been given to the event that elevated this dull, late-career album by Bruce Springsteen and evaluate the record in itself. 1.5 Yesterday I happened to hear the recent single by The Divine Comedy ‘Achilles’. It contained the lines ‘I saw a man this morning/ He was turning 53/ And his pampered mind was turning/ To thoughts of mortality’ Not one of Neil Hannon’s best, it’s fair to say. Shite in fact. However, I heard this and thought ‘I bet Bruce Springsteen was about 53 when he made this album we got today’ and he was! Springsteen was the same age when he made The Rising as Neil Hannon was when he was making Rainy Sunday Afternoon. So I had a listen to the recent Divine Comedy album alongside this. On the face of it this seemed like a reasonable comparison. Both Springsteen and Hannon are proven songwriters at this point in their career, albeit decades past their best. The Rising was Bruce’s 12th studio album and he hadn’t released one in 6 1/2 years. Rainy Sunday Afternoon is The Divine Comedy’s 13th studio album (12th if you don’t count Regeneration - only joking, it’s ‘class’) and he hadn’t released one in 6 years and 3 months. Both released a Best Of in between. The more I thought about it the more this was the same album - possibly the same artist. Actually there was very little insight to be had. The stakes are entirely different. When Springsteen wrote and recorded in the wake of September 11th 2001 there was presumably the pressure of expectation; a nation’s worth of people wondering how an icon of American culture - virtually an American institution - was going to respond as an artist. I doubt there was much expectation at all, from anyone, regarding Neil Hannon’s response to America’s more recent political crises. Still Neil raises the eyebrow at the yanks on a few different tracks. ‘Mar-a-Lago by the Sea’, the most direct, isn’t great although it’s unexpectedly one of the more memorable things on the album. Neil is semi-retired and sounds it. He can sit in his parlour in Kildare (it’s bound to be a parlour) and knock out whatever he fancies - a wee song that suggests he’s read The Iliad, a wee song about a man who turns into a chair (‘The Man Who Turned into a Chair’) - and then him and a few mates, none of them drummers, will tart it all up in the baroque pop fashion and take a lovely trip off to Abbey Road (!) to put it all on tape. Poor Bruce, on the other hand, still had to show up for work at 53. The Boss couldn’t be farting around singing about chairs when the rubble of the Twin Towers was still smoking. His country needed him. I can’t imagine writing under such pressure. Neither can Neil - although around the time of the Good Friday Agreement he did dare to pen ‘Sunrise’, very nice if a little maudlin. Grew up in Inis Ceithleann too so he did. So Bruce and The Rising deserve a little understanding before he has even punched his time-card. I think he does reasonably well. Musically there is much Springsteen-by-numbers; mid-tempo guitar sawing, big witless snare hits - but truthfully when anything different appears (electronic drums, tabla) it’s squirmingly awkward. Springsteen keeps things simple and familiar in his melodies - solid, folky stuff that sounds instantly credible, even venerable, without being gripping in any way. The singles are catchy. Lyrically I can give him more credit. He was smart and capable enough to approach his recurring subject with caution. You wouldn’t call it oblique exactly, there’s a track called ‘Empty Sky’ and another ‘My City of Ruins’. Springsteen does mostly evade over-sentimentality though and always steers away from flag-waving, neatly folding away national loss and national anger under the recurring veil of a missing partner. ‘I woke up this morning I could barely breathe Just an empty impression In the bed where you used to be I want a kiss from your lips I want an eye for an eye I woke up this morning To the empty sky’ Not bad. Not one of Springsteen’s best. None of them are. Still, Neil Hannon said somewhere a while back that as a songwriter gets older they get better at songcraft but lack the inspiration a young artist accesses so easily, or something like that. It’s more or less true of Springsteen on The Rising. These are well-judged in tone, for the most part; I think ‘Paradise’, a half-attempt at a sort of Suicide-Bomber ‘Nebraska’, was a mistake. But there is no real vitality anywhere on the album. Springsteen made his bones writing songs that wove life-or-death drama out of deciding to leave your hometown or deciding to stay. On The Rising - confronted with life and death drama as the core subject, he can only summon up a rather statesmanlike rigidity. Competent, responsible, unsexy. He invokes God, calls for ‘strength’ and ‘love’ and gently acknowledges vengeful anger. Craft. Nothing to Darkness on the Edge of Town. Still, probably half a point ahead of Neil Hannon at 53. I’d be interested to know what Springsteen would have written about if the stakes were lower. If he had decamped to a farm in Kildare, filling his down time rescuing pigs. And what Neil Hannon will write about if, when, he returns to confront the political tempests of his original home. Even though he has lived in the South for a lot of years I think he would probably still be credible and energising enough for enough young Protestants in Fermanagh and Omagh to flip a UUP Council seat for the Alliance Party. Mon Neil. Make a difference. Rainy Sunday Afternoon 1.5/5 The Rising 2/5 PS Rainy Sunday Afternoon gets a 2 from me.

It's too Americana for my liking. And it sounds heavily recycled, when Waitin On A Sunny Day Started I thought Hungry Hop was about to play. There are a couple interesting tunes, some world music and ballads, that aren't the typical Boss cuts I have heard. Overall the album just exists, it's not bad and it's not good. Bruce fans will like this, but I would not seek it out for a relisten.

Its very not my thing. And the fact that its 1 hour and 15 minutes doesnt help it mutch. Its a style thats not for me. Almost tempted to give it a 1.

Not my thing.

Not at all what im in it for. Im not the biggest or really any kind of Bruce Springsteen fan. I did like Nebraska quite a bit but nothing else has ever caught my eye. And thats where I thought this was going originally. Nebraska with kinda heavy handed production, like hes trying to remake that with the lens of his success. But its not that. It feels like its trying to be everything. Just a scattershot blast of everything all at once. There are like drum machines here. Some like traditional drums from somewhere. I dont even know. Its alot of shit thrown at the wall and none of it sticks for me. And the nature of it being everything makes for a very not cohesive experience. I was making confused face after confused face while this was on. I just dont get it. Im sure real spring heads love it but its not for me in the slightest. Maybe Nebraska is all that he has for me but im sure ill this site will try again with something else and maybe that will also surprise me. But not this

Pass.

holy fucking boring

Don’t like good voice

In my first listens to The Boss, I couldn't believe this was called singing. Then I did buy into the Americana and everyman that Springsteen ever strives to represent, as well as New Yorker editor David Remnick's deep fandom and profiles of Springsteen. Springsteen's father would come home drunk from the rug factory, and, if not the voice, the lyrics of 'Born to Run' captured all of that Kerouac-restless energy to hit the road. I respect the man's continuing evolution, liberal sentiments (he reflects on his success like a Tolstoy, still mindful of the working class and victims like Trayvon Martin, to whom he dedicated a song). He is the self-aware entertainer, going for 120% in his live performances to please his audiences, and still going in his 70s. All of that said, in this album, Springsteen seems to be in an early-middle stage--with those gospel elements coming in. The lyrics are less evocative than his other work. No standouts for me.

Why does Bruce Springsteen feel like the most generic rock musician in this album? This just felt like a real meh of an album.

honestly didn´t listen, but I JUST KNOW this isnt Springsteen´s best so I will listen to some of his other albums later

Bruce is the rock ‘n’ roll boss of big feelings. So I can see why songs like "Mary's Place" and the title track could put a lump in your throat whether 9/11 just happened or not. But remove the context and swap out the singer and I could've mistaken this one for a way more forgettable artist. (Uncle Kracker crossed my mind, but only for a second.)

Why is this on here? Too Christian rock for me and just overall very mid

Painting by numbers. Perhaps it felt right at the time but not sure the world or indeed America really needed this. An odd inclusion anyway. Surely this is way down the list of Springsteen albums.

Bored. Bored. Bored. I’m not a fan of Springsteen’s early album, but at least they had some get-up. This was miserable.

I like the Boss and all of his other albums on this list are likely (or have already) scoring 5 but this one is a bit of a blip. Appreciate the context and all but 20 years down the road this feels very bland and earnest and could easily be Christian Rock if he slipped in a couple more Jesus references.

I just cant ignore how cheesy this sounds to my ear

If the exact same album had any other name than Bruce Springsteen on it, this mediocre pop rock wouldn't even be considered for the list. Favorite song: Mary's place.

I'm a big fan of some of Springsteen's albums, but just not feeling this one. It's pretty cheesy and lacks the raw punch which makes some of his stuff so damn good.

When an artist is referred to as "a storyteller" I've always taken that to mean the lyrics are good but the music is probably a bit shit. Whilst the latter is true, its the immature "creepy Uncle Rock" lyrics which are outstandingly bad: "The fuse is burning Shut out the lights The fuse is burning Come on, let me do you right" The old bloke seems pretty proud of his wick too as he proclaims "The fuse is burning" a total of 15 times in the song 5-star wick, 2-star Dad-Rock

I’m not the world’s biggest Springsteen hater or anything, he’s got a nice voice and the band is obviously good (if not a bit too slick, in a Steely Dan way). A person would just have to go soooo far down the list I of things I want to listen to before getting to “a whole album of Bruce Springsteen ruminating about 9/11.”

This album really almost killed me wanting to finish this list. I spent almost a month avoiding it. It is just so mediocre and long.

2.5

Not terrible but what in the suburban white american mom is this album. Did not feel a single emotion while listening, neither good nor bad.

Never used to like the boss, still don’t. Maybe should listen to earlier stuff but this was a little cheesy to me.

Forgettable

Not another Springsteen please

Not for me

Maybe it's my own mood, but this one didn't land for me nearly as much as Bruce's earlier work. Guess they can't all be bangers.

Hello this is Bruce Springsteen, I know you'll get this album based on who I am, I no longer have to make good music. I'm so popular I've been making money with mediocre tunes for over a decade now. Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

I’ve made my peace with Springsteen just not being for me, so I was never going to love this, but this seems like a particularly uninspired album.

I love Bruce, but really? This album?

Not bad but a bit cringe

I did like the guitar work on Worlds Apart, but other than that, I found this a little tedious.

Should Springsteen sound like Springsteen? Absolutely, without a doubt. Do I like Springsteen? No, neither his voice nor his guitar playing. Okay, I obviously don't know every Springsteen album, why would I? What I do know, and this album is one of them, I don't like. But despite my dislike, Springsteen is definitely part of the rock business and an important part of it.

Meh. Fine if you like that sort of thing, I guess. Sounded like milquetoast dad rock to me.

Lidt bizart valg, men klart et mindre bizart valg end den der Elvis Costello plade. Jeg kan godt lide Bruce og der er faktisk nogen kæmpe bangere her, de forsvinder bare i mængden. Aaaalt for lang.

Wouldve rather had the river

I just don't get Bruce. I've tried, honestly. I even listened to his top hits after this album and still don't get him.

I knew I didn’t like Bruce Springsteen from the first time I heard Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Meh. I think Springsteen ran out of ideas after The River and now just runs his mouth about politics.

Det er så lite kreativt. Gørr kjedelig. Eneste som løfter dette er en noenlunde kompetent trommis.

Perfectly mediocre, every track sounds like the last. Completely inoffensive but also completely sleep-inducing.

It's Springsteen alright. There's nothing I've seen from him that's terrible. This album is a veritable collection of his usual average work. The Rising is perhaps the best song here, but even that's nothing special. I don't think I'll be adding anything to the playlist from this album.

Early 200s dad rock at its finest

Te juro no puedo con ésto. Le concedo el último tema, pero hasta ahi Nota: 2.4

If you were to ask me when this album came out, my memory would tell you it had to be exactly a week after 9/11/01. Color me surprised that it was nearly a year later. I have memories of Bruce debuting My City of Ruins on the television tribute a week after 9/11 with Little Stevie, Patti, and a group of other background singers. Once The Rising did come out, the title song was fairly ubiquitous. I never delved further and I am not going to be deferential just for the sake of being deferential when I don't outright hate an album. The album addresses that day on a number of tracks such as Empty Sky and more effectively on You're Missing. Lonesome Day is a good opener. Let's Be Friends sounds like he raided his soul 45 collection. Mary's Place is a spiritual successor to Meet Me At Mary's Place by Sam Cooke without actually being a direct cover. This goes on for too long and if it were trimmed down I'd be more inclined to give it a 3. It's hovering at a 2.5 for me.

Eh. Not a big Springsteen guy and this didn’t change that

I'm sorry I just don't get it Bruce.

Springsteen 9/11core. Sentimentalist crap from the sentimentalist king.

Blowhard. Gets worse with age.

Murica, hell yeah. I don’t really know about this one tho. I thought it was kinda fun before I listened to more than the first two songs. It’s not terrible , I won’t remember it fondly or at all tho.

There are a couple of good songs and a bit of experimentation in the middle, however, the heartland rock cliches are on display throughout the album. 5/10

I've never had any interest in Springsteen and this isn't doing anything to change that opinion. Not that it was bad or anything, it just isn't for me

Dull

Meh

I love Springsteen, but this is not a great record at all. A few solid Brucey anthems (the Rising, the opening track) and even those are just okay, but a lot of legitimately bad songs, like cringey bad, like embarrassing make it stop bad. Not at all sure this should be a must-listen.

There are some poignant songs here, but how can you compare to his older stuff? The structures seem more basic and the lyrics less specific, like he’s playing it safe.

Pretty boring.

Felt like I was listening to church music, I liked a handful of songs but this album just isn’t my taste

It’s not a bad listen but rather boring all things considered. I’m not trying to be ageist, but when rockers start getting older their edge begins to soften and the music tends to become a little milquetoast. Not 100% of the time, but unfortunately that’s what has happened here. Again, it’s not that anything in here is bad, it’s just why would I listen to this when I can listen to “Nebraska”or “The River.” It did become a little of a slog towards the end. Best tracks “Lonesome Day” “The Rising” 4/10

This is the Bruce Springsteen that I don’t like. What is this soft rock JCPenney sounding bullshit. Boring and too damn long.

There are a few decent tracks, most of the album is pretty forgettable however. Added to library: Into the Fire Waitin On A Sunny Day You’re Missing

2/5 mid

Boy bisschen arg traurig.

Not sure why this album must be listened and is on this list. It's probably because it is Springsteen's 9/11 album and the author thought it was important to include it. It's standard 00s rock, with no highlights, it's overproduced and it's too long. I heard worse stuff from Springsteen but I won't revisit this album either.

Honestly forgettable post-9/11 midrange heartstrings music. If we're including Springsteen on this list, this album wasn't the move.

Bruce may be the boss, but this album is about as middle of the road and unremarkable as it gets

boring. seems very budget friendly with the drums

Slowly drifted from being tolerable background music into becoming slightly annoying and over-long. 2 stars.

Pretty boring imo

Best Track - "Lonesome Day"

Pretty boring. Nothing stands out or is memorable. I think the album worded because of the timing post-9/11 but in 2025 it juzt isn't anything special and I'm a big fan of the Boss. Fave Tune: Not sure I actually had one!

"Worlds Apart" is saving this album from 1*. Otherwise, it's probably better understood in its context as a mourning album, and should be removed from this list.

I'm not really a fan of the style of country-rock on this album.

It's a Bruce album. A lot like the other ones I've heard, albeit with a bit of World / Folk music and a few other eclectic touches thrown in there. It mostly seems heartfelt and straightforward rock, and somewhat predictable. Pleasant enough for a few tracks but my attention soon drifted.

2.5 stars Some songs instantly transport me to my cafe job in the summer of 2002 - The Rising is one of them. I think it played every hour on whatever satellite radio playlist they used. It’s an okay song I guess, the la-la-la part is rousing and catchy. Some of these songs are quite emotional and they did get me (You’re Missing, for example). But do I need a whole album of mid, soft rock 9/11 songs? Sorry Boss, I do not.

I'm mad that this challenge made me listen to this album. I hate checking out late career albums for artists I like. It's always a disappointing experience. And why does this challenge keep forcing us to listen to lesser Springsteen albums? They are doing the Boss dirty forcing us to listen to this thing. It's an album that I knew existed, but didn't know it existed... if that makes sense. I didn't know that Bruce had an album reacting to 9/11 called The Rising... but it feels like a Bruce thing to do, and somewhere in my subconscious I knew this record must exist and I should avoid it for obvious reasons. I don't want to listen to 53 year old Springsteen sing about 9/11 for 72 minutes. Maybe if 9/11 had happened in 1985, this record would be great. But that's not the world we live in (i can't imagine what that world would be like, but that's a thought experiment for another day). So this is middle aged Bruce doing his best... and it just sucks for the most part. It's so long. It's so Dad rock, boring heartland blah, almost country at times... I dunno. Any of the grit of his music is gone. It's just not for me. And what the fuck is that "Worlds Apart" track? Bruce can't pull off incorporating Eastern rhythms/world music aesthetics... it's just awful. No Bruce. No. Why? Just no. The only song that jumped out at me on my first and only listen (hopefully for the rest of my life) was Mary's Place. It had the vibe of an old 80s Bruce song which was fun and I liked it. Sigh. My rating is probably a 1.5. But because it's Bruce and it's about 9/11... i guess I'll give it a 2 but I'm not happy about it. And i'm pissed I had to listen this thing in the first place. Thanks 1001 challenge. You got me good. Fuck you.

Im sure we've had a previous offering from Mr Springsteen. As I probably said then, he has written some really good songs. But he's written a lot of crap too, as demonstrated by this album. On the plus side they certainly suit his voice, which is just as crap. A 2 because it's not objectionable, it's just not worth the effort.

Weak album and far too long. I know he can do better than this.

Probably not the album that is going to get me into the boss. He sounds lonely, the lyrics are unoriginal and compositions a bit boring

Niet al te boeiend

I really love the title track, but this album is overall way too "adult contemporary" for my taste. Not helping the fact is how damn long it is.

Reflective, melancholic Springsteen is a bit of a chore to hear at this time of my life.

I have never been a Bruce Springsteen fan in this album is a perfect example of why. The music is fantastic. The lyrics and the singing are terrible. Bruce cannot make up his mind whether he is a New Jersey rockstar or a Texas cowboy and keeps alternating between the two, half the time not even pronouncing words intelligently.

Not my favorite. Honestly not sure why this is on this list compared to other Bruce albums which show off more of his range and emotion.

This list has taught me something about Bruce Springsteen. While he’s undoubtedly a talented musician, I believe he’s overrated as an album maker. He has some great singles, but I can’t stand listening to an entire album of his filled with filler tracks. This album was particularly long, and I found his songs to be a bit clichéd and repetitive.

2/5 - I needed to hear this only if I wanted to revisit the post-9/11 feeling. This feels very dated to me, and not a Bruce album I'd want to spend additional time with. Musically, this just doesn't do much at all, and lyrically, it's hard to engage for the first time with something that is so particular to a moment in time.

Bunch of mediocre, mundane song. “The Rising” is the only noteworthy song. 1001 album worthy: No - 104/194

This is the man who gave us classics like Jungleland, 4th of July, Born to Run and the River. He never managed to live up to this after the succes as a stadion-rocker in the mid eighties. His catalogue from the last 40 years has too many forgettable songs, built around a small riff that is constantly repeated. It's a pitty really.

i love Bruce Springsteen, and no one was immune to the banal, trying so hard to be deep soft rock of the immediacy of 9/11. it genuinely feels like Bruce picks a few words: blood, lips, seed, sky, and then just tries to weave them into every song even if it’s super contrived. lyrically tired, musically uninspired, and i have to agree with another review that said why not pick an artist at their prime in 2002? there certainly were some. i love The Boss SO much, and this is not his finest by a long shot.

It sounds just like every other Bruce Springsteen album, but somehow slightly worse. Dull, pretentious and unoriginal.

Some of this is kinda hacky.

I do not understand how people enjoy this. His voice is super meh and the music is all the same.

We don't need albums from people 30-40 years after their prime

Kind of boring but I generally find Bruce Springsteen to be boring but this is a touch more dull than normal

Old Springsteen isn’t any better than young Springsteen and in some instances much worse.

whew. that was a slog. no offense to bruce but i don't really feel anything strongly about his music on a good day... so to get a loooong + semi-recent album from him? death knell. the production on this is corny as hell. "let's be friends (skin to skin)" was just embarrassing. musically, it's probably a 3, but it irritated me so much i'm docking a star.

Dull

Here we have Bruce Springsteen trying his hardest to be relevant again. Sonically, it's fine. It sounds just like Bruce, but it's almost like any spark or purported adversity he faced as a child has now faded and he's just pumping out the same music. His stuff from the 70s is cool and still sounds good (coming from someone who isn't exactly a fan), but this album is just a bore. I would give this album a 1 for how "blah" it is, but I reserve the coveted 1 star for albums that are truly horrible. This isn't horrible, it's not good either, it's just nothing.

Rating (1-5): ✩✩ Not my jam man

Very generic

Honestly thought I'd like this way more than I did, was expecting more songs like born to run and maybe it's on me for having the wrong expectations going in but idk basically none of the songs on this album grabbed me at all

4/10

Bruce‘s songwriting usually strikes me as unimpressive and formulaic, but he has a pleasing sound. I got a little enjoyment from this album, but a lot more of the time I felt tired of it

Had no hopes for this but enjoyed some tracks. Certainly not as bad as I anticipated

The most mediocre of all the Boss' albums. A transitional one, from no music making back to it.

i guess whoever made this list just kept adding springsteen albums until they found one that sucks complete ass

Bruce is great man, I really do respect this man but if I’m ever in the mood for Bruce, I’m certainly not turning to his 2002 release for a Bruce kick. Sure, there are some tunes here but there are some absolute trash songs here too. Right away, Into the Fire had me rolling my eyes, “May your faith give us faith. Strength give us strength, love give us love”… barf. Let’s Be Friends (skin to skin) was also hilariously bad. I don’t know man, maybe I’m being unfair but I don’t really think I am. This was a bit bloated and bad. 2 stars

This makes the feel the same way as post-2000 U2. It’s technically good and I won’t complain listening to it, but there’s just not enough bite here for me to want to listen to a 70 minute album mostly about 9/11. Favorite songs were Waitin On A Sunny Day and The Rising.

The music is decent enough but the neo-liberal flag hugging has always come off so corny to me that I can’t get into the boss. If America’s political spectrum wasn’t a complete abomination *this* would be the music of the conservatives.

i keep trying to listen to this album and i just cannot find the motivation or time to finish it. it’s So long and somewhat boring and uninteresting. it’s probably good background music.

None of the Springsteen albums have really connected with me, and this may have been the one I liked the least. With a few exceptions, most tracks ranged from boring to annoying. (While listening, it didn’t occur to me at all that this was a “post-9/11” album - I don’t think that changes my opinion of it, though.) Not bad: “Worlds Apart,” “Further On (Up the Road),” “Paradise” 2.5

i had a feeling this would be another instance of this album being a little too long for my liking, and boy was i right. i didn't really bother to rate this one in depth like i did others cuz most of these tracks are a 2 at best (hence my 2-star rating). i got sick of this by the 3rd track (which was probably one of the most excruciating tracks here) and completely gave up by the 5th. the fact that this album is 15 tracks long is crazy parts of the album were boring, others were corny and hyper-patriotic. maybe this tone is due to a post-9/11 America, idk. i just didn't like this very much. so far i've only listened to Born To Run prior to this, and i thought it was alright. i'm hoping i've gotten past the worst of Springsteen and that it'll all be uphill from here

rather dull, meat and potatoes stadium rock

Ahh the 9/11 album. It goes about like you would think. Some songs are sad but have a tinge of hope, others are hopeful with a tinge of sadness. They all kind of sound similar as it's album number 12. If you like Springsteen it fills that niche nicely. If you don't, then you probably won't like it. I'm a fan of his Nebraska album so this seems over produced to me but it's not obnoxiously so. Keep in mind Nebraska was him his guitar and a tape recorder, it's a glorified demo. Overall he has better albums but this isn't bad. I doubt I will replay this one though.

Worlds Apart is pretty interesting

Originally gave this a 3 but it's not good enough for that. Springsteen has never really been my thing and he continues this trend here. I just don't find anything here particularly interesting. It's wild to me that some of these songs were considered experimental, when all they do is deviate slightly from Springsteen's usual fare. It's not terrible but not great either. I know this is a post-9/11 album, and maybe it was felt that it was indicative enough of that point in time that it is historically relevant and should be included on this list for that reason, but I think it's also possible it mainly was added as it was a recent, good-ish album by a classic artist, as unfortunately some of the newer additions on this list fit the bill for this. For 9/11 albums I'd rather listen to American Idiot. Sorry.

Okay how many Bruce albums are on here? This is the fifth I've listened to and I've only listened to 1/4th of the list. This is not one I would have thought to include on this list.

I didn’t really enjoy this album listen. I can see why people might like this album but it was not for me. I wouldn’t listen to this again but I’m glad that I tried something new and gave it a listen!

oof. I love the Boss but this one is boring AF. Also a little country? ugh. make it stop.

What in the world is "important" about this album? Mostly feels like a knockoff of the better stuff he made 20+ years before. (apparently it's important because the E-Street Band reunited to respond to 9/11, which means this mediocre album probably sold a billion copies.

I’ve never really got Springsteen, but his big tracks are usually good - Lonesome Road in this case.

Why is Springsteen iconic? I don’t understand it. And why and album from 2002? Wasn’t that a couple decades past his heyday? Anyway, yuck. It's bad.

Feels like I should be in a pickup flying a flag.

My first 9/11 album in this list, and it's got it's cheesy moments for sure. But it's a lot more reflective than vindictive, and patriotic without being a jingoistic caricature. Still, this is mostly bland 2000s rock without anything particularly standout from a musical perspective. I like the 80s Springsteen more, and I wasn't even really a fan of that. Best song is Worlds Apart or Lonesome Day.

Ugh. The first half of this had me thinking "get me out of here". But the album got somewhat better with a good run of songs towards the end. I liked World apart, Further On and the Fuse. Coming into this, even though I haven't listened to a lot of Springsteen, I thought I was more of a fan and looked forward to hearing some of his music that I hadn't heard. Two albums down and I'm not overly impressed so far. 4.5/10

I like the opening track, Waiting on a Sunny Day and Further on (Up the Road). But they are only three songs on a seemingly endless album filled with boring.

This felt a little too...clean for a Springsteen album. Not in lyrical content (he's never been particularly dirty as far as I can tell), but in production. Springsteen has grit, power, energy and a clean production value doesn't really convey that very well if you ask me. It softens him. Maybe that's just the phase of life he was in - no longer the gritty, working class rocker but instead something more mature. Sometimes more mature means boring, and the loss of edge. I think that's partially what happened here. That doesn't mean what he's produced isn't meaningful, or that there aren't moments that really shine. That definitely wouldn't be true. But man are some of these songs on this 72-minute album snoozers. And the snoozers all sound a little too similar to each other. I know this was a reaction to 9/11, and I know that probably explains a lot of the songs sounding a little dour. But I dunno...a lot of it just starts to feel kind of generic after a while. It feels like very safe radio rock, the stuff you'd hear on the soft rock stations. And that's a bummer, but it does make me wonder if my perception of Springsteen has been wrong this entire time. Ask me again later. Two stars. Standout Tracks: Lonesome Day, Worlds Apart, Further On (Up the Road), The Fuse, Mary's Place

bad inclusion. album popped up and i saw the release year, the artist, the album name - and i had a hunch. a worry that was pretty quickly founded. heroically going "Into the Fire," mourning a big "Empty Sky" - this is bruce doing a 9/11 album. i know it could be worse - at least it's not toby keith "shock'n y'all" jingoistic crap - but it's an off-putting theme for me, or at least it is with this kind of approach. setting that aside: songs are okay at best, a little boring to me.

i forgor

Yikes. The songs on here ranged from mostly forgettable to downright cringe. I've enjoyed the other albums by the Boss on this list, but I really feel like this one should have stayed off of it. Will not seek out again. 2/5

You know its bad when you get the album generated and you're already dreading it. I'm one song in and wishing it was over..... I'm trying to see this through the lens of a post 9/11 America, but sitting here in 2025 it's giving a lot of ick. I don't want to hear about how great the US is because at this point its not. It's very slow and very depressing. Lots of songs about loss and grieving. Maybe if I was looking for something like this I'd enjoy it, but man this album is a downer.

F tier bruce springsteen. He was washed at this point just putting out an album to stay relevant. Moderately good song writing but full of tropes and that old americana theme that bruce can't get over. Production value is really high, sounds fit for the time. Like a Nickleback legacy album.

Stupid go to bed old man

Oof, way too much Boss for me. It's tapping directly into the post-9/11 mass-hysterical patriotism, and it's reeking of early 00's commercial rock. Nice pipes though.

Had this not been released when it was, it would have made little to no impact. There’s plenty of great Springsteen albums on this list. No need for The Rising to appear as well.

Really average American dad rock which otherwise would have got a 3 if it wasn't for the length of the album

Not sure what the Boss was doing musically during that 7 year hiatus, but it feels like Nothing Man. I have not heard The Rising before, so must be déjà vu or it’s so similar to another one of his albums that it just seems like I’ve heard this one before. He mailed it in and made the 1001 List because of his reuniting with the E Street boys and tied the album to 9/11. A shameful (but smart) act of patriotism. (2.2*s) which is -.2 for lack of originality.

Classic rock acts that want to stay relevant eventually have to get with the times and popify their work. It is tough to do and few bands have successfully made the transition. It worked for U2 (not a fan). John Mellencamp pulled it off with "Dance Naked" but really hit the sweet spot with "Mr. Happy Go Lucky" and "Human Wheels." The Boss attempts it here and almost pulls it off. He had the right timing with 9/11 so it was obviously a hit with his following and the subject matter. However, "The Rising" is overproduced and weak. Bruce goes country and preachy and tries to cross those music genre boundaries to sound fresh. The first half of the album is a bag of skippers. It hits its peak with "Let's be Friend" and has some other good ones on the 2nd half with "The Fuse" and "You're Missing." The title track is listenable but my finger hovers over the skip button as it borders on the Mason Dixon line. "Paradise" is for sure a rip off of S&G's "Sound of Silence." I bet this album works with classic rock and Springsteen fans (even openmindz) for its updated rock feel. For me though, a valid attempt but tries too hard and ends up pretty meh...2.07 stars.

It's better than most of Springsteen's discography post 1987 which for the most part over the last 35+ years is barely listenable bullshit. That isn't saying much because the majority of The Rising is a bunch of mediocre rock songs. Unfortunately The Rising is also 70+ minutes so its even more of a commitment than some of his other garbage. I've tried to give him a chance and have established that I'm just not a fan of Bruce beyond his first couple E Street albums, and even those are just OK. I give him credit as he somehow managed to carve out an enormous fanbase. He ended up branded as the king of workingman's rock so he was give full license to spoon feed his fans a bunch of obnoxious bullshit which they somehow take inspiration from. Props to The Boss for riding the wave I guess. I, myself, will pass on 95% of what he offers. Not looking forward to more from Springsteen but I suspect there are at least 2 more albums coming. 1.56 stars

It's like Bruce's style found 1993 in 2002. Better than most but still bland milk toast

My music algorithm already thinks I love Springsteen because of this project. This is ok, kinda whiny IMO. Maybe just on here because of the artist vs. the merits of the album itself. 2*

THERE IS NO NEED FOR SO MANY BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN RECORDS. CALM DOWN ALREADY. No but, really, why? At least this one, why? It's not that bad, but it's the same generic shit, nothing different than what he did in the 80s.

Was not really hooked by this album.

I found this pedestrian, earnest, and overlong. I'm quite partial to a bit of Bruce and this record is not terrible; but it has no place anywhere near a must-hear list

I was bored

The Boss' first album with The E Street Band for a long time (just when they thought they were out...) and his first since the WTC attacks. A big, bold and often tender record, the signature Springsteen longing is mature and assured here. Lacks edge but not heart. Or length. Probably a great road album! Favourite tracks: Into The Fire, Nothing Man, Empty Sky, Worlds Apart, The Fuse, Paradise

Not a great listen for me. The heavy production and big gospel-ish background singer sound and the slow plodding melodies and clunky lyrics really turned me off. I would like to give points for being a Bruce Springsteen record. The book blurb says this was 'intensely moving stuff' but it didn't come across to me in this listen. Maybe I'm just a dummy.

Ok, so this is a tough one for me. I am a Bruce fan but have not kept up with him religiously. I think listened to one post-2000 Bruce album and it was pretty average. That's where this one falls for me. Add in the context that this was written as a post-9/11 tribute and I feel like this was definitely a cash grab. Some of these songs were written in 90s and just re-recorded for this album. My City Of Ruins was originally written about Asbury Park and repurposing it here feels inauthentic. Countin' On A Miracle sounds like a song they'd play one of those celebrity telethons (when those were a thing). Average + inauthentic cash grab makes this a lower than expected score I thought I'd ever give on a Bruce album. 2 stars.

Pretty disappointing album that I didn't know existed and wish it stayed that way. Every song was so incredibly generic. This sounded like it was just a cash grab of an album for Bruce. The music wasn't terrible and would probably be good to have on in the background if you were at a barbeque or something outside. But not an album that I should have been required to listen to.

Never really been a huge fan of the Bo$$, and another long album at that... This is really not great. I do not like this. I get the emotionality behind it, but it's just not my cup of tea at this moment. Maybe on a different day this gets a 3 but I'm leaning more towards a 1 than a 3 at this point.

Didn't do much for me, not a huge fan of Bruce in general but if this is indicative if his 'newer' stuff then I like it less than his classic albums Wiki says the main themes are reflections on 9/11, which I completely missed. I remember a couple of songs with very dodgy style changes and a lot of bland generic rock. If Springsteen is the genius he's lauded as it's not because of this. That said it was basically fine.

Didn't land at all for me, Bruce. Too samey, a bit on the miserable side, and the musicianship was pretty rote. Not a bad album, by any stretch, but nothing remarkable. An absolutely markable album. Lovely voice, as per. I do like the man - The River, and Wrecking Ball are my two favourite albums, but this did absolutely nothing for me, and it is hard to reconcile giving it a 3 when I would not come back. So, a 2 it is.

I said this about the last Springsteen album we had, but applies even more to this one.... It's so middle of the road. Really didn't do much for me at all, which is a shame as I want to like him. I don't really like the female background vocals. I also read the wiki about this being released in the wake of 9/11 and some of the songs really felt like he was milking it..... I do appreciate that in 2002 to Americans, especially in new York, this would probably have meant a lot more than it does to a Brit in 2025. Sure it did mean a lot to Bruce at the time. Anyway, really nowt special for me. 2

Better than I expected, which equals to okay. Paradise is incredible

way too long but I kinda get why people liked bruce springsteen, even if only for one song (The Fuse)

Bruce Springsteen had always been kind of mid. Album also pretty mid.

Levyllä on vuosikymmenensä tavan mukaisesti "bulkkia" - sanan jokaisessa mielessä. Brucen soundi säilyttää nautinnollisuutensa. Aloitus ja muutama viimeinen biisi tyydyttävät. Niiden välissä on paljon tavaraa. 2,5

Decent not fully my thing

If you asked me what my opinion on the Boss is, I'd say I don't really have one. Some of the hits are fine, but not my cup of tea. After listening to this, nah this isnt even fine. This is soft rock for moms or something. I'm not sure if there's a whole lot of substance here, just feels preachy. Also I couldn't believe this came out in the early 2000s, so much of this felt very mid 90s to me. There was a glimpse of something interesting with World's Apart, but I'm not even sure if Bruce is that involved in this song or not. It wouldn't bother me to never hear another Bruce song again.

Bailed about half way through. I hear this guy is The Boss. The Boss of what exactly? Generic Wuss Rock? And when did he start mumble singing like he’s Eddie Vedder? I bet people who chose VH1 over MTV probably love this shit. It’s not unlistenable. Just pretty lame 😒

Seems like a middling Boss album that is only lauded because of 9/11? Tracks 3 and 4: 'Waiting on a Sunny Day' and 'Nothing Man' gave me some hope that there might be some classic throwback sound here....but the rest is just meh. 2.5 stars - rounding down because I don't think it had to be 72 minutes.

That's certainly a Bruce Springsteen album but there are better ones.

The Rising My City of Ruins

Sorry Bruce, not your finest.

1st time listening to an album from the Boss and i was pleasantly surprised by how much i liked this at first. couple songs in and the melodies were catchy, the themes were interesting. i was eager to listen to the rest. then the other songs came ; same melodies, some style of orchestration, same themes. i thought it would never end. like it was on repeat. way too long for something that could have been an EP.

Sorry, this album is a long and tedious drag.

Never been a fan. The portions of this I was willing to listen to didn't change my mind any.

AI could maje this today

Don’t really understand this pick. Feels like Springsteen is well past his prime and this is a pretty unnecessary addition to the list

Despite considering myself a fan of Springsteen, The Rising was a disappointment. Felt like a pale imitation of his better work. I do appreciate that maybe at the time this was a record that a lot of people needed, but I can't help but find it lyrically quite inert and musically dull.

Mediocre. Long. Offensive amount of pandering to an American audience during a very sensitive time in their history. Overall, this album just did not belong on the list in my opinion.

Montage American pap

This is my definition of brown rock, guitar chords and words that rhyme - pretty inoffensive stuff on the ears. Not bad by any means but just hard to feel any connection to in my opinion. Fav song: Lonesome Day?

I'm afraid I find Bruce Springsteen's albums pretty dull stuff, and this is no exception.

Aight

cheesy and long

Honestly not a fan. If I was at a cookout on the 4th of July, this might carry more weight.

This is vanilla, boring, and overly long Springsteen. It's self indulgent and completely uninteresting. There's nothing really wrong with it, but it sounds like it was produced as a committee. So many earlier albums to highlight for this list. This is a no for me dog.

Not worthy of this list. Bland and boring (and too long).

"May this song be all done". Dad rock that should not have been around in the 2000s. I firmly believe that this album does not really belong on this list. It's fine for what it is, but yeah, does not need to be here.

The Boss has done better this one's not list worth

Э... Это не плохо, но зачем в этом списке - вообще не понятно. Лучшая песня - The Rising.

nothing against bruce its just not for me personally

awful

There is not a single doubt in my mind that Springsteen's heart was in the right place when he was making this record, the lyricism definitely reflects that. The historical context makes that aspect of the album even stronger. However, the music feels very tired and overdone, full of cliches, repetitions, and unsubtleties. Sometimes I felt like I was listening to Creed or Bryan Adams or a new U2 album which bored me to death. Factor in that this album is over and hour long and that results in an overall bad time for me. I can't even remember how a single song sounded minutes after listening to it except Paradise, which is a definite album highlight. Best: Nothing Man, Empty Sky, Paradise Worst: Waitin' On A Sunny Day, Let's Be Friends (Skin To Skin), Mary's Place 2.2/5

Very bad. Horrible production and dull songs.

Pretty fine. The more optimistic songs are probably the highlights since I think a Good Times Bruce is way better than a Aww I'm Sad Bruce. 4/10

Brucey tried mixing genres with this one but fell flat on his face. Post 9/11 patriotic album does not go hard.

lonesome day langwiiiliiig! ui find d strings bi into the fire sehr tacky find de refrain sehr apathisch iwie ok neue tag neues glück! hans gester echt arsch gfunde aber de weg uf wmbrach erlüchtet mich ja vlt lalalalalalalalala DANKE BRUCE aber s lied ah sich isch ok (iwie en weirde mix uus nöd-westlichem backgroundgsang und so mega westliche rock?), d mundharmonika findi recht schön und passend let's be friends findi bis jz SCHRECKLICH DU DURU DU DU DURUDU???? vlt hetti das kied mitme andere artist/stimm besser gfunde aber so hanis würkli sehr schlimm gfunde und absolut unpassend the fuse isch easy ahhh ich han sini stimm eifach nöd gern ich weiss nöd was mich so ah dene songs stört AHHH HÖR UF MIT DIM DUDUDUDUDUDUDUDUDUDUDU anyway, isches wills iwie so schnulzig isch? ich weiss nöd aber mary's place findi au schrecklich you're missing isch na cute the rising findi zwar immerno chli langwilig, find die art passt vill besser zum bruce! paradise isch uuhuere schön gsi hahaha ich han anstatt "I pray for the strength, lord" I pray for the straight lord verstande?? hey han echt die aller meist ziit KEI gueti ziit gha. paradise isch schön gsi, es paar sind easy gsi und einiges isch mier aktiv uf de sack gange

Not what I'd typically associate with Bruce Springsteen, a decent album but a change of pace and not something I really felt I got along with.

sounds like what you'd think a bruce springsteen 9/11 album sounds like

stopped at "meet at mary's place, we're gonna have a party"

The gritty, American songwriter motif is really not for me; Bruce might be talented but I think it is lost on me. The songs on the album feel kind of formulaic and nothing in the first half of the tracklist really made me take notice. I didn't end up finishing the album.

..

I survived 75 minutes of Bruce Springsteen, where's my purple heart?

Springsteen felt compelled to record The Rising when, in the aftermath of the attacks on September 11, 2001, a stranger in an adjacent vehicle rolled down his window and said: "We need you now". I miss the days when we were still idealistic enough to believe that musicians could make a difference. Had the same feeling a couple weeks ago after listening to Tracy Chapman's debut album. As for this album, it's 15 years past Bruce being relevant and has no place here on this list.

Ugh. I tried so hard this whole album to get into it but I just couldn't. "Nothing Man" and "Worlds Apart" were great, but everything else was just flying by me with no thought. Then we reach 2 songs near the end, "You're Missing" and "Paradise". Wow. Fucking incredible pieces of work. Love these songs. They almost save it to a 3, but it also took like an hour to reach that point. Should have cut a lot of these songs out and keep the really good stuff

Boooooooooorinnnnnnnnnnng!

largely passed me by without much to note, enjoyed further on up the road but it was all fairly standard springsteen in my opinion

Bland and uninteresting. Classic Boomer rock.

Classic bruce

Awful

Like that one bit in ratatouille where he tastes the food and is immediately sent back to childhood, this entire album, which thematically and sonically is just one big long song, took me straight back to standing in some kind of sporting goods or camping supplies store with this music, or something like it in every way, softly played over the in store speakers while my dad got incandescently angry at a 16 year old casual shop attendant. This sounds like the soundtrack to every mid 00’s drama that somehow involves a road trip. It sounds like what plays on the radio in specialty stores, and in some places, sounds like music that would be played in an ad for a family SUV. I did NOT care for it.

Ok so I never heard Bruce before. Like I have heard of him, but not his music. But I was not expecting this country style music. Never been big on this style of music tbh. Gives off Mum and Dad kinda music vibes, like nickleback or something. Nothing really stands out to me, It does not sound bad but I just don't like it, thats it. 2/5

It's fine, but a pretty bland record. if it wasn't a Springsteen record it would be nowhere near this list.

I'm just going to say it: this should not be on a list entitled 1001 you MUST hear before you die. It's too long and too dull.

I’ve never understood the appeal of Bruce Springsteen and this album did nothing to help. There is nothing groundbreaking, original, or even interesting here. Even for the little I’ve listened to him, his music seems to follow a pattern that he deviates little from. I guess when in doubt, verse, repeat title several times, repeat is good enough. I hope there aren’t any more Springsteen albums on this list, but I have a bad feeling I won’t be that fortunate.

This is the kind of music I really dislike. Formulaic, sentimental pop rock. This is the kind of album your dad listens to in his car. This is the shit that gets piped into the background at shopping malls. When people say they don’t like Springsteen, this is what they’re talking about. 2/5

Kinda boring & dull.

I never understood the appeal of Springsteen and still don’t. I can hear the talent tho

Very corny.

Yeah I don't really see the case for this being on the list. It's just generic rock type music for the most part.

Not my favorite artist

After a recent trip to the Jersey Shore I’ve been on a Bruce Springsteen kick and dear reader this album is a disappointment. It’s very much of its time with appeals to patriotism and very clear references to 9/11. It lacks the timelessness of his early work.

Reading the context around this album, I see why it was included - 9/11 and so on. But that gives the album a very dated feeling now I think, over 20 years on. Apart from Waiting On a Sunny Day, this really didn't do much for me. I'm not a huge Springsteen fan but I like his earlier stuff, pre Tunnel of Love. I think they coul have left this one off the list personally, because his early period is well represented.

There's nothing particularly wrong with this record. It's very generic and safe. A typical average album from Springsteen. Has that underlying darkness that he has done in the past. Lyrics were pretty good. Nothing amazing. But why is this record on this 1001 list? The recording isn't anything to write home about. Music is ok. Singing is ok. It almost feels like this record is on here because it's Springsteen and that's it. I'm getting tired of these types of records being on this list. And from here on out, I will be rounding their rating down.

I haven't listened to every Springsteen album, but I haven't liked anything he released after Born in the USA - and I'm even lukewarm on that one. This doesn't really hit me any different. While I appreciate the timing of the album release and the sentiment that goes along with it, it just feels so forced and more like a cash grab riding the coattails of tragedy, which he gets away with largely by not being obviously cynical about it. However, I could list several albums released this same year that deserve much more recognition than this one.

There was absolutely no substance to this - couldn’t finish it

Dull.Trite, hackneyed, somewhat cringeworthy lyrics. ‘Paradise’ is a really bad Simon & Garfunkel rip-off. Too inoffensive for a 1

One of the most boring albums yet. 2/5

It was inevitable that Bruce would make an album about 9/11 right after the events and that's understandable that he would play it really safe. As a reaction and a call to unification after such a tragedy, I think he did pretty good even if I personally don't enjoy his music at all. But now that we're more than two decades apart from the events, its flaws are more prominent and it actually was a chore to get through it all.

Not Springsteen’s best, feels too commercial

Way too much patriotism and country twang. 2.1 stars

Doesn’t click with me at all. 2001-2003 American patriotism is front and center. Only saving grace is the music is decent, if a little bland.

Safe, boring.

Bruce Springsteen wrote this album after 9/11 so I understand it is meaningful and poignant; however, his music just don’t resonate with me unless I make the effort and I don’t feel the need/have the energy to do so. Fave Track: You’re missing Rating: 2

Not much standing out here. Lots of repeated lyrics and line it boring. Miracle song was pretty decent though. Definitely hearing Springsteens influence on the killers. Worlds Apart was pretty sick. Definitely the most interesting on the album so far. He also sounds like Eddie Vedder on some of these songs haha.

Never heard this album before now. It's alright, I prefer his earlier work the classic type stuff. It's about what you would expect for 2002 Bruce Springsteen.

Good songs, pop-rock but such a safe boring sound

Hmm nothing but average

Terrible, first album I really hated and could not finish. Generic soft rock. Forgettable. Milquetoast.

Didn't really care for this.

A Christian rock vibe An album of sad tribute Doesn’t make it good

Got boring really fast

Not listened to much Bruce before. Other than the big hits. I can see why mum and dad like him - and I don’t mean that in a snarky way.

Heb er een beetje doorheen geskipt, vond het vrij nietszeggend allemaal

ja prima leuk maar dit is niet me stylo