The Rising

For all the reviewers' lofty talk of the album's themes and strengths, this album is underwhelming for any group, especially for a return of the E Street Band. The opener Lonesome Day would have been a strong opener for a band with lesser expectations; other than the intriguing Worlds Apart few other tracks really stood out or made an impression. With weak lyrics and repetitive and predictable song structures, the album struck me as a collection of filler from Seeger or Mellencamp sessions. Springsteen deservedly has at least a half-dozen entries on this 1001 list - The Rising should not be among them.

No wonder politicians love Bruce. An American icon of the 80s with deep songwriting, here he's at his most lovable it's actually a shame this didn't break canon like his classic records did (I blame modern radio formats), but at least it had its mark reaching platinum and winning a grammy. It's classic Bruce with strong ties to country and folk, but fits surprisingly well with the alt rock of the era. The mood is overall very optimistic and uplifting, especially with the gospel back vocals. It's a direct response to 9/11 to cheer up the people, and he's one of the voices to pull it off. The greatest weakness here is the expected double album syndrome. I think his heavy heartland sound is a bit too much for over an hour, especially since it doesn't vary too much. Doesn't help that every song is 4-6 minutes long, where even the songs you kinda like feel like they drag on. The first 6 and last 5 songs are (mostly) great, the whole middle third feels like filler and is at best decent. There's an unnecessary emphasis on happy dance tracks that are a bit too busy or abundant to take it all in, distracting from the quieter, more personal songs like "Empty Sky." But the good songs hit their mark really well, supported by a fantastic production effort where everything is loud and clear, and a wild performance by Bruce that I'd love to hear him perform these songs live. If you want more great songs by Bruce to add to your playlist, here you go. Songs like "Mary's Place" are good standalone pieces, but it reminds me too much of some of his better songs where I have to find things like the sax solo to look forward to. But judging it from a cohesive album point-of-view, it's a bit too much loud Bruce for me to enjoy all at once, hence my 3 stars. Favorites: Waitin on a Sunny Day, Nothing Man, Empty Sky, You're Missing, The Rising, My City of Ruins

Not his best but still pretty good

C'était bon, mais sans plus, j'étais honnêtement surpris de voir que c'était un critical acclaim.

Highlight: Worlds Apart

Loooove 9/11

Not bad, could’ve been better if it was cut down to just the best tracks

Det värsta med 9/11 är att det fick Bruce Springsteen att laga denna skiva.

There are some good songs in here, but a good chunk of the middle of the album is really forgettable.

Very strong record. Especially given where he was career wise at that stage.

Above average, but not my favorite Springsteen album. 3.5

There are Springsteens albums that I like more. It's good. But not great.

Best Song: Into the Fire. I'm a sucker for any gospel-style song, even if lyrically this one is about as milquetoast as it gets. Worst Song: Let's Be Friends (Skin to Skin). Just feels creepy and predatory. Overall: Bruce Springsteen is the epitome of serviceable, inoffensive yet unexciting music. Listening to a Springsteen album, it's easy to forget that you're even listening to music. It is room temperature water. It sounds the way store-brand hot dogs taste. You're not mad to have a hot dog, and hey everyone likes a barbeque, but you're not asking for the recipe.

Couldn’t wait for it to be over. One listen through was enough. Don’t like Springsteen. 1/5

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.

A few good songs here and there, but it felt like a snoozefest overall. A majority of songs could have been trimmed down by a minute.

good

ugh that early 00s sound

This was excellent.

I have not been much of a Bruce Springsteen fan before but I loved this album. I thought the E Street Band sounded absolutely perfect, and that the songs were all just what was needed in 2002. Having listened to Born to Run recently, I really noticed how this was a Bruce who's seen and felt some things since then, bringing all those experiences and feelings into this. Really good.

It was fine for me, but nothing that I really embraced. I appreciated the emotions conveyed and that was done in an excellent way. Still not enough to make me want to return to listen.

Very good. Nice instrumentation and heartfelt lyrics. I like it.

I enjoyed this album with its great sound and solid tracks - what I expected. A nice listen with some standouts that made me pause and really take notice. Favorite songs: World’s Apart and Mary’s Place

tired so tired

Pretty meh.

Too Bruce Springsteen

Paar hits, voor de rest typical bruce.

2.6 - Big and patriotic as a July 4th parade, and about as exciting. If Chevy were to commission a soundtrack for their truck commercials, it'd sound like this. Predictably, this album was hailed as a "return to form." Unfortunately, given how much I dislike Springsteen's "form", I can only agree with that consensus. For the love of all fuck, ENOUGH BRUCE!!!

Muy buen álbum. Gracias

Couldn't find anything wrong or right about this album. I guess it's impressive that I found my head nodding along to a couple songs even though objectively I couldn't find anything I enjoyed about them. Still nothing here that blew me away.

Elder statesman rokk. Hef aldrei verið sérstaklega hrifinn af röddinni hans, en þetta rennur nokkuð ljúflega í gegn. Myndi þó seint setja þessa plötu á topp 1000 listann minn.

Kind of boring overall and not that many memorable songs

+ into the fire +empty sky

This may not be peak Bruce, but is still damn good. Let's Be Friends was never a favorite and Mary's Place seemed like he was trying too hard to create a centerpiece for the Rising tour. Further On (Up the Road) sounded great in 2000 on the Reunion tour at MSG, but seems flat here. The rest vacillates between very good and exceptional. Missing is simply devastating. Not bad for 30 years in.

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!

The album marking Bruce's 21st century comeback. The Rising has many beautiful moments whether they are soaring with joy (Mary's Place) or devastatingly sad (You're Missing/ My City of Ruin). It captures a moment in time both lyrically and sonically. This is a very good album that will not get a 5 because the other albums of his on here are still a tier above. I also think that there are a few clunker tracks on here that could have been cut given the album's length in order to get a perfect score. However, I'm sure it was thrilling when this came out, as it marked a return for one of America's greatest rock and roll bands during a moment when they were sorely needed.

I’m relatively new to the boss and besides his early career behemoths I’m not that that familiar with his entire body of work - I just thought his later work was a bit poorer than Born to Run or Nebraska or Darkness… Well. I was wrong - this is a very strong showing - and I suspect it’s anther of his ‘growers’ - its subtler, mellower, more introspective but it’s a good record.

Didn’t hit as hard as Darkness.

Prima maar doordat het uit 2002/3 komt zitten er van die bijzondere keuzes in die erg oud klinken

Not too bad, not his best

It's a long one! SOme good songs, a bit samey in places

Didn’t hate it. I respect The Boss for sure. I’d go see him if someone gave me a ticket, just wouldn’t buy the album.

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

The "Nebraska" album will always serve as the litmus test for what Springsteen is capable of delivering and why this particular review forewarns that "The Rising" is mostly negative. Teetering on the edge of Americana, rock and folk, this is where Springsteen shines the most and this album "The Rising" misses that mark. The angsty and relatable Springsteen was clearly gone in 2002, and that's sad. His great tale in "Nebraska" was in being an American story, whether it was political discourse or sentimental short stories, he embodied American musicianship for pop-rock scene probably in the same influential way that Aaron Copland's "Appalachian Spring" put American ballet/orchestral contributions on the classical radar. Granted, 2002's album was probably being written and produced in late 90s through 2001, when America experienced significant change due to 9/11 attacks on NYC. Political opportunists more concerned with power grabs and emotional appeals created an adversarial political environment that we still feel two decades later. Perhaps this is what overshadows the pop-positivity of this album, giving Springsteen a new America to sing about. Not all is lost though, the song "Paradise" harkens back to the pensive gravitas of his earlier works, concluding with "My City of Ruins".

i really like bruce springsteen i feel like a lot of his music is fun and sing along able but this album was just so repetitive and predictable it just got boring after awhile.

Well yeah...this album does *sound nice* But it doesn't really hit me - I'm not expecting anything edgy, or even necessarily wanting that. Just some musical magic I suppose, as corny as that sounds. And everything just flows on by - I'm bobbing my head a little bit because it's utterly and completely accessible and frankly...melodically and rhythmically predictable. Inherently nothing at all wrong with that, but I wonder if you have to be a real Springsteen FAN to love and connect with this album. I'd probably never complain if this were playing, it's easy to listen to, but I don't think I'll ever remember any of these songs. 5/10 for just fine. 3 stars.

Good stuff.

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

please stop

This is a boring album.

An older Bruce dealing with some shit as usual. Always a fan.

Just jovial

Max's drums have never sounded better. I've had this one lying around for a while and never gave it a listen. That was a mistake. It's a great record and a solid "comeback" for Bruce.

A lot of tracks here that are good listening but also not what I think of when The Boss. One of the few Bruce albums I already owned but this made me sit and listen to it which is what is needed for an album like this...

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 🌟

I liked the first song but did not like the second one. Third song was ok nothing memorable. The forth one is a little too slow for my liking. This album is so far unremarkable and boring. I'm eager for this to be over.

A bit too earnest

It was alright. I’m not a fan of Springsteen but it was easy listening. 3*

Absolutely fine. Just as you would expect really some inoffensive soft Americana rock.

A little too spiritual for me. Certainly the second listen helped and I didn't mind Empty Sky, Worlds Apart, and The Fuse. I suppose Mary's Place also but still not something I'm i in a rush to listen again.

I'm between 3.5 and 4.0 on this one. It's really good. It has a sound that reminds me more of the early Springsteen (which is a good thing!) Solid album full of really good songs.

Fav song: The Fuse

Took 3 sessions to get through this monstrosity. So midddle of the road. So dull. So much longer than it should be. How is this album by someone past their best making non innovative music on this list?

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.

2/5. Not a fan of country/Christian rock Bruce :(

Quite good. 3.5/5

meh

Wow, a Bruce Springsteen album i actually enjoyed.

Whhhat!!! Another BS ?

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.

Laughed out loud when I saw this, literal back to back Springsteen albums after none in the first 300 we've heard. I said I was looking forward to more Bruce albums and it's time to reap what I've sown! For an album this late in his career, it's still really good. Veers into sounding like Eddie Vedder a couple times, but the tracks that hit me hit pretty hard. I enjoyed it. Favorite tracks: You're Missing, Lonesome Day, Nothing Man. Album art: Blurry Bruce photo, extremely 2000's looking cover. The font design screams "greatest hits album." Not a great look. 3.5/5

Bruce delivers a cello-filled treat for my inner boomer. I'm convinced that this is a country album at heart, with the expected post-2001 patriotism. Interesting writing, roots-rock instrumentals that are just too arena-forward.

I had heard most of this album on the radio in the early 2000s. Likely as it was deemed safe to play while a lot of songs that had anything to do with death, flight or not loving America were deprioritized. Lonesome Day and The Rising are pretty good. But this album as a whole has aged pretty bad. I guess this is considered a return to form for Springsteen, but I don’t think anything he’s done since Born in the USA has really grabbed me.

Love the Boss and this is not an album I had heard before this playing. What a great American songwriter he is, he will be part of the late 20th Century great American Songbook no doubt. A good album but not his best. Liked "Lonesome Day" "Lets Be Friends (Skin to Skin)" "You're Missing" The Knopfler-like "Paradise" and the heart rending (Especially with what is happening in the Ukraine at my time of writing this!) "My City Of Ruins". The Boss is special and this is a good album but I am not sure it should be in this list.

Discazo

Chato.

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.

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.

Good stuff! Best Springsteen album so far. 4

springsteen is an auto 4 but only the end stands out

Couldn’t stand it, sounds f’ing dated and cheesy, only gringos like this kind of stuff

Sounds like I also need to add that I must admit I am not a fan of the Boss. I understand his significance but I don't have to enjoy it.

Pleasant just doesn’t tickle my pickle

Not bad Bruce

Just good quality Springsteening

It's good but it's not amazing me.

An all-round decent album if notone I'm likely to come back to.

Not a genre/style that resonates with me, but some of the performances were quite moving. Particularly in "Mary's Place", I loved the vocals!

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!

I never felt like a tired middle-aged man while listening to an album before. Not a pleasant experience.

nekako san navikla na njegove brže, veselije pisme tako da mi je bilo neobično čut ovako nesto. ima tu dobrih tekstova, al na prvu nisan baš oduševljena pismama općenito. vjerojatno bi se nakon par slušanja dojam poboljša i ocjena bila veća

Možda sam samo očekivala malo više rocka pa me iznenadilo, dobar album al ništa posebno!

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

No good

who caaaares

Yea this wasn't bad I suppose. I've not listened to a full Springsteen album before. It kinda sounded how I expected it.

This was cool, would listen again.

du er meget sød her brucy

Gode gamle Bruce, meget amerikansk, rock, pop, føleren

This is just so boring. I do not like Bruce Springsteen. I do not like this album.

Bruuuuuuuuuuuce

A very murky sounding album from the Boss. Makes sense as it is a post 9-11 album.

I dig it. Begrudgingly

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

Seriously why all the fuss about Bruce Springsteen? He is a mediocre song writer and this album is worse than his previous albums. I was not familiar with any of the songs and I am fine with that. It was a struggle.

pretty good, but not like his original albums

Interesting ref sept 11 influence Easy listening

This is a little better than the other Springsteen album I've had generated. At least this one isn't completely smothered in cheesy saxophones.

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

Enjoyable, even if I am not as crazy about The Boss as a lot of other people

Not very remarkable, pretty much what you expect from a Bruce Springsteen album, although there is some development of the style. The only interesting song is "Worlds Apart."

Not his best work

Nice. Same charming Bruce. However, it sounds like a trendy 00's producer was deployed to give the Boss a little modern kick. Every track is smooth and contemporary, yet bland and gentrified. Fine to play at Starbucks.

Listened to this immediately after The War on Drugs' "Lost in the Dream" and it suffered for the comparison. Listened on a new day, and it did better, but still didn't really grab me. Much prefer angry cynical Springsteen than patriotic inspirational Springsteen. Fave track - "The Fuse"

strum that pussy like bruce springsteen

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

Not clear why this is on the list. Not the big hits of born in the USA or the restraint of Nebraska. Springsteen by numbers. And it has sax

Seriously dull

Very interesting album, great history behind it

Had to check on Song 2 if Bruce made a religious album. I'm just not a Springsteen person. Appreciate the band in the back, but the singing... uhg.

I'm almost sure he's had better; this is a little formulaic. Quite singable. I feel like this is also especially important for its context as a 9/11 catharsis album.

Good, classic

Kreativni bankrot, najgeneričniji album do sada na stranici, smeće. Da je rođen u Zagrebu, a ne JU ES EJ možd bi bio bolji.

Fínasta Springsteen plata. Rennur ljúflega í gegn.

When Spike Lee came into town to promote The 25th Hour, he had a Q & A at what is now Everyman Islington. Someone had given him an Arsenal shirt; he immediately started playing the hooligan by applying American race relation tropes to the UK situation. Ah, I miss those innocent days… Anyway. Bought this album purely on the basis of the Springsteen song on the Spike Lee Joint’s soundtrack (‘The Fuse’) (I’m just going to say now that, for all sorts of reasons, the record company bloc had downloading and streaming coming for them from a mile away. The saw it, and waited for the catastrophe like a rabbit caught in the headlights. Buying an overpriced album because it’s the only way to enjoy a song at one’s leisure. Sheesh. It wasn’t home taping that killed music, it was EMI) Anyway. It sounded pompous then, and still sounds pompous now. The loathing I had for Springsteen many a year ago has mellowed to a grudging respect (although, tbh, why should anyone give a hoot about what I think about The Boss?) (Murder Inc was the song that forced me to give his back catalogue an honest reappraisal. Anyone who can do that must be half-way to good at the least) Bruce, like Spike, is a prisoner of the hype around him. Because we live in a hyper literal age now, once again, the circle has closed and he fits properly in the zeitgeist. But this album, nevertheless, belongs to a different time. About 20 years past. When fairly or not, not many people were too bothered about what he did, and his main constituency were men who then were about the age I am now. Nostalgia blunts our critical facilities, I fear…

I have my reasons for not liking Bruce, but this is basically a quarter-step away from country and no thanks.

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.

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.

Ok I suppose. A bit trite in places but some good jams here and there

…mmm I have a massive Bruce blind spot - sorry All sounds toooooo much …. All sound a bit like dancing in the dark

Good

Happy sounds!

Some of Springsteen's hits I really like, such as Born To Run or Dancing In The Dark. But this album in general wasn't more than pleasant background listening for me. There's a couple of good tracks on here such as Lonesome Day and Worlds Apart. But most songs just feel like watered down, lukewarm semi-ballads that just don't go anywhere. You should know better by now Bruce. The album is also way too long. Would be much better if it would be cut down to about half of it's length with all the "standard fare" songs cut out.

MOR Americana I can live without.

I find Bruce so boring, didn;t even know any hits from this one. Redeemed to 2 stars as its not actually offensive to my ears and somehow I managed to listen to is 1.5 times without noticing it was on loop.

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

Typisk Springsteen. Ok.

Lyrics reflect the times and some variety compared to some of the older Springsteen albums, but I can't listen to too much without it being a bit of a blur.

Can't say this album isn't important, especially given the circumstances of it being written, and it's cool to listen to newer Springsteen. That being said, is this really an essential album, one that you need to listen to before you die, any more than the other two Springsteen albums we've already gotten? I don't think so. It's also just too damn long Saved: Lonesome Day*, Worlds Apart

Saved Prior: None Off Rip: Mary's Place, You're Missing Cutting Edge: None Overall Notes: There is no conceivable reason that an overlong Springsteen album recorded in a year starting with a 2 should be here. I simply couldn't care less that this was released after 9/11, that's an explanation not an excuse. Verrrrrry close to dropping a 1 for wasting a space on the list but I guess it's nice that they saved themselves some albums to remove for when they update and add the new Magdalena Bay.

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

Springsteen minus the muscle of his earlier albums. All very listenable, but no track jumped out as being one for the ages. What a storyteller though. Nobody else like this guy.

Prima album van Bruce.

Ja, dus echt een 'prima' plaatje, maar tegelijkertijd ook een soort van eendagsvlieg voor mij.

The Boss blijft leuk. Maar niet spectaculair.

Ik hou wel van Springsteen, en met dit album is ook niks mis. Maar het mist een beetje de scherpere randjes of puntigheid wat zijn oudere werk meer heeft.

Niets op aan te merken, behalve dat het niet heel spannend is.

Emo for boomers. I’m kidding, I just liked the idea of those words put together in a sentence like that. Anywho, I liked a lot of this record, thought a good bit of it was mediocre, and was completely and utterly blown away by the fact that I’ve never heard of a single person pointing out the fact that “Let’s Be Friends (Skin to Skin)” is basically that Sugar Ray song without the crumbling statues. I’m a changed man.

Lots of songs about the skies, day, earth... don't think it was intentional

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.

I could tell it had some musical potential, but the lyrics were really simplistic and I already don't love country to start with. Would put 3.5 if I could!

The pumpkin spice latte of music. Enjoyable but basic

Great album

Ett album där temat är hanteringen av 11:e september-attackerna. Första spåret, Lonesome Day, låter som vintage Bruce, med mycket kraft och fart. Liknande låtar blandas med mer lugna, allvarstyngda låtar. Ett fint exempel är Nothing Man, som även här följer temat krishantering. En höjdpunkt i albumet är Worlds Apart, en häftig mix av rock och influenser från mellanöstern. Introt är en Qawwali, en sorts islamsk hymn, som sedan flyter över till en maffig klassisk rockdänga. Paradise är en låt som berör, oerhört vacker text och musik. Tyvärr så är största delen av albumet lätt att glömma, verkligen inte Bruce' bästa verk. Vissa låtar, som de på varandra följande Let's be Friends (Skin to Skin), Further On (Up the Road), och The Fuse är rent utsagt dåliga. Några vassa spår och ett drabbande tema räddar albumet, och gör att det i slutändan får ses som okej. Bästa låt: Waitin' on a Sunny Day. Även om Bruce sagt att den är lite för poppig för hans smak så SÄTTER den sig.

Waitin' on a sunny day

A lot of the same, but consistency is good

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

Songs drag on a majority of the time often reaching over 5 minutes except they just repeat the generic hook. Only a few songs are worthwhile which doesn’t make this Springsteen album much to come back to. 6.4/10

Strong start but overall average for me. A handful of belting tracks but elsewhere got a bit messy with different styles

The big boss. Leuk album maar niet speciaal. Vind springsteen zijn muziek wel vaak t zelfde na een tijdje

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

Bruce dat is te lang

Unpopular opinion, but I think it's better than Born in the USA. Enjoyable, but only as a background listen, though.

Enjoyed this but found it a bit repetitive at times. Favourite track was Lonesome Day. I was also pleasantly surprised by how much bari sax was on this album.

Not a fan of Bruce

Decent

If I were 50+ and from New Jersey, 5 stars. I'm not.

Toby Keith if he was good and also not a conservative

Ok country thing.

Not really bothered about it, sounds pretty folky.

Love a bit of Bruce!

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.

THIS IS DSOTM

I like Springsteen but I don’t think I could eat a WHOLE one if you know what I mean. Never heard this album before and I don’t imagine I’ll go back to it. I enjoyed Mary’s Place. He has that uncanny ability to feel like he’s capturing the nostalgia of a nation whilst pushing everyone forward to change. Is that a bit much to suggest? Well, I enjoyed spending a bit of time in his company but on the whole was disappointed.

Why this album? He's just coasting, there's no fire. All good songs as you'd expect, but this is NOT one his best - there are at least half a dozen Springsteen albums I can name without even pausing for breath that are better than this. It's not that it's bad music (it's fine and I enjoyed it) but it's terrible curation (yet again).

нормально, отдохнуть

I mean, it's Bruce Springsteen. I didn't grow up particularly fond of him, and this album is a testament to that sentiment. 2 = I get it, but not for me.

I respect very much Bruce's place in the Pantheon of American rock music, and he deserves it. There are a handful of songs of his I really love, but simply as a matter of personal preference, his music just never "clicked" with me. I have no criticisms of him music; it genuinely is as simple as chemistry either being there or not, and for me and Bruce, it's just not.

Come on, man. I’m sure even by The Boss’ own admission this is lower tier stuff. It lacks the zip of his Blue Jeans and Construction Work earlier stuff, and the gravity of his Craggly Old Timer Who’s Seen It All latter-day era. It falls midway between the two, zipless and gravityless. I found myself thinking that this album was probably what Coldplay would have ended up sounding like if they’d listened to more Springsteen. Truth is, it’s probably what Springsteen ended up sounding like after he’d listened to too much Coldplay.

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.

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.

definitely not my thing

Hmm, ikke helt dette jeg forventa fra Bruce Springsteen. Litt for lite rock og alt for mye alt annet rolige greier.

Som alltid solid papparock fra brusern. Lett å høre på, fengende vokalmelodier og sjef stemme, men blir litt repetetivt.

Good true Springsteen

Terrible. Couldn't make it past the second song and I don't even want to try. Such flat vocals.

72 minutes is too long. The songs themselves are a mix of passable and bad. There was one toward the beginning where I thought "this is kind of catchy"

I mean it is a fine album, and I am a fan of a few Bruce Springsteen songs, but I don't think that this album belongs on this list.

A really strong album with some great songs but a bit too lengthy for my liking with too many tracks I’d happy skip for any higher than a 3

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

Bit too redneck/overly long/Christian for me. Still not bad though.

Actually pretty upbeat singalong Bruce but dragged a little at points - good stuff tho

I'm giving this album a 2 purely because the social and cultural impact that it seems to have achieved; cause it appears it has helped a lot of people getting through hard times and that is sometimes more than enough. The music is pretty generic, to say the least, and the intentions I cannot tell at times. But yeah, whatev, I guess I'm never getting Bruce Springsteen.

A pensive and slightly melancholic Boss.

inoffensive, boring, and bland. I can see this playing well in places where bullriding is the #1 sport. Just enough of an edge on it to appeal to dudes who'd otherwise be listening to pop country if it weren't so effeminate. I hate almost everything about it. I did, however, enjoy the bizarre, misplaced afrobeats on worlds apart, and the funk in let's be friends. really subverted my expectations for 2 songs in the middle there. it wasn't particularly interesting, but I didn't hate that 10 minute stretch.

I'm so angry. I went through most of this album thinking it was all very biege, nothing exciting, one song melts into another and nothing really changes or stands out. The longer it went on, the more bland it sounded. And then, without me really even noticing, Paradise plays and suddenly I'm almost crying! Maybe it's hormonal, or just perfect timing. How dare he cause emotions, I'm so mad!

eh

Meh.

Classic Bruce. A little mellower and more songs to God. But that describes all of us boomers, right?

Some really nice tracks but a bit of a slog at times.

i'm not 68.

I’m sorry James but I didn’t love it. However with time maybe I could grow more accustomed to Bruce and then maybe if I was in some kind of torture situation where a madman forced me to listen to Bruce Springsteen every minute of everyday then perhaps in the days following my clandestine rescue operation by the S.A.S I would actually begin to miss Bruce Springsteen like some sort of Stockholm syndrome sufferer.

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

I mean - it's Bruce. Followed expectations - I have a preference for his work on Nebraska so Paradise felt pretty good. Can't say I really enjoy much else on here.

I've never listened to a Bruce Springsteen album before. I thought it well-written, with excellent production, "Waiting On A Sunny Day" was catchy and I quite liked "You're Missing" and "Paradise", but overall it was just a bit bland. "Worlds Apart" had some vaguely different (tokenistic) influences. There aren't even any Springsteen classics on this album to get excited about. From what I understand, this album was a return to form for him although it sounds way more dated than it is. Maybe "Born in the USA" would have been a better intro to Springsteen? He seems like a good guy, I'll give him that, but I'll give this album 5/10. Offensively inoffensive.

I don't know I like Bruce's hits but just not a super fan

Album was long without any song really dragging. Felt like a fair bit of filler on there but still enjoyed some tunes.

Good listen

One of my all time fave albums ❤️

Not bad but not that great and very long

Ehhh. I usually love Springsteen but this didn't do much for me. It wasn't as passionate as his others and was just so long. Mary's Place was excellent though

Solid dad rock from the most dad rock guy around

Bruce means more to the yanks than he does to me

Sounds like a South Park parody of US "Pain" after 9/11 . only Springsteen's quality and a few good songs stop this being a 1

Exactly what I expected, but I also enjoyed it more than I expected. Maybe I'm more receptive to The Boss since seeing Blinded by the Light. Good film.

Just ok. Was never a Bruce fan. Nice to hear waiting on a sunny day in here though, my favourite song of his. Took a weird turn towards the middle of the album.

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

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.

Gotta love brucey

Wie gesagt: Solidarität und so, guter Mann, gibt ja nicht so wenige der Sorte, "Heartland Rock" als Begriff gelernt, undsoweiter. Aber die Mucke auf diesem Album? Nein.

Typische ttt-Platte für den sanften Porsche Fahrer, der an früher denkt, als die Jeans noch nicht von Armani, der Bauch darüber noch keiner und der Bruce noch der Boss war.

Das ist Musik für Erwachsene. Leute, die mit ihr älter geworden sind, sich damit wohlfühlen und auch nix anderes brauchen. Nicht mal so sehr "früher war alles besser" als "hey, aber wir haben's doch ganz gemütlich". Keine schlechten Menschen an sich, schon auch mitfühlend, aber: die Schäfchen im Trockenen. Fürchte, ich muss das böse Wort sagen: Boomer. Und jetzt zum Podcast mit Obama.

Liked it

“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

If the sign "Live, Laugh, Love" had a soundtrack, I think this would be it. Into the fire was a terrible track. Just go to church already, damn. I'm not ruling out the boss entirely, but I did not enjoy this album. Might need to go earlier than 2002 for him.

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

Not his best

As a rule, the boss rubs me the wrong way. I have never listened to anything beyond radio/soundtrack stuff. The working man stuff just doesn't appeal to me. I get why people like this, it's well-produced and all the songs are catchy, but it's also cringy beyond belief.

kind of sucks like country

Un bon album de boss 3.60*

I don't like classic Springsteen, so I really didn't enjoy his more recent stuff. I tried to give it a chance, but no... I just didn't like it.

enjoyed

A good one, but not my favorite Springsteen album

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

It's fine. Note a Springsteen fan, but I can tell the man is a song writer.

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.

Boring!

Bruce Springsteen is the Bob Dylan of working class Americana bullshit. More like Bruce SpringPEEN(IS).

Int så bängeri Långsamt, men inte på ett bra sätt. Typ långtråkiga rock ballader?

Some of the songs little twee and soppy for me, some great ones in there. James has promised us greater albums, so I'll look forward to those

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.

It's boring to me

Not really a Springsteen fan

He feels like Dave Matthews for my parents’ generation. This is some of his later work that I don’t think was as popular but it still had some songs that resonated with me and didn’t feel like they were pandering to an audience

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.

has a couple decent tracks but not Bruce's best work

I tried, but just couldn't get past the voice. For some reason his voice bugs me. I can respect that he's a talented songwriter, but his style of music doesn't do much for me.

Solid Americana, exactly what I expect from The Boss.

I'm glad I listened to the whole album; I would never have known there were Springsteen songs I could tolerate well. Some I would swear weren't him.

Nope. Just nope.

Very folksy and 2000s

Ehhh not for me. I don't know why everything he makes sounds like a bad christmas album.

legalzinho mas muito felizinho e otimista pro meu gosto, além de bem repetitivo vocal fera, sax tbm

Ehh pretty good

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!"

It's a solid album. Bruce knows how to make good music with meaningful lyrics, but it's heavy - very heavy and not an easy listen. If this is on in the background, you can't listen to the lyrics or it immediately comes to the foreground.

Title track is pretty good, as is Mary's Place, rest is bland

Standard Bruce fodder. No standout tracks

Kinda bland

Excellent

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.

I don't necessarily dislike Bruce Springsteen, but I find the most of this completely un-relatable for me. It's fine. It's fine. It's there.

Surprised by how much I enjoyed this. Perfect Monday morning music. A tad long but very pleasant otherwise. 3.5

Esperaba mas, está bien hecho pero puro nacionalismo gringo que solo tiene sentido para ellos, nada raro en esprinstin

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.

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

Not a bad album, but I don't love the sound. It sounds too classic American roadside bar, a bit too heavy on the drums and sultry man voice.

perhaps someday the music of 2002 will appeal to me. but most of it remains offputting and unenjoyable to me in a way i find difficult to describe. fav track: paradise

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.

Was ok - he has a great voice, no denying, but a bit mundane

Dad rock.

false

Never a massive fan of The Boss even if he’s in his prime. A couple of songs sounded reasonably rousing while a couple seems pretty basic and childish. Right down the middle of the road for a 3

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.

rätt så intetsägande album, åtminstone vid första lyssning. nära en tvåa

Preachy but the rising (song) is a classic

tråkigt.

Did not hate it

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

If your from Jersey you know

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

kinda long but really easy to listen to. i'm absolutely not mad at this. feels like "sitting outside at a big park watching the band play while drinking beer with family and friends" music. kinda nondescript.

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.

Not into it.

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.

Good!

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.