Music
All-Time High (And Low) Scores
Best Of 2009
Best Of 2008
Best Of 2007
Best Of 2006
Best Of 2005
Best Of 2004
Best Of 2003
Best Of 2002
Best Of 2001
Best Of 2000
Upcoming &
Recent Releases
62
50 Cent
70
AFI
65
Air
70
Alice In Chains
53
Kris Allen
78
Amerie
79
Annie
76
Anti-Pop Consortium
75
Arctic Monkeys
82
Atlas Sound
77
The Avett Brothers
67
Backstreet Boys
59
Bad Lieutenant
68
Devendra Banhart
71
Lou Barlow
88
Baroness
69
Basement Jaxx
81
David Bazan
72
Beak>
84
Biffy Clyro
72
The Big Pink
95
Big Star
46
Billy Talent
75
The Black Crowes
72
The Black Heart Procession
68
Blitzen Trapper
75
BLK JKS
53
Bon Jovi
76
A.A. Bondy
65
Boys Like Girls
76
Brand New
73
Tyondai Braxton
83
Brother Ali
72
Ian Brown
75
Michael Buble
77
Built To Spill
61
Colbie Caillat
78
Califone
69
Mariah Carey
81
Brandi Carlile
72
Julian Casablancas
83
Rosanne Cash
71
Castanets
82
Nick Cave & Warren Ellis
64
Exene Cervenka
79
Vic Chesnutt
81
Circulatory System
67
The Clean
84
The Clientele
72
Cold Cave
85
Converge
76
The Cribs
79
Cymbals Eat Guitars
62
Dashboard Confessional
71
Datarock
59
Dead By Sunrise
76
Dead Man's Bones
77
Del The Funky Homosapien & Tame One
73
Do Make Say Think
63
The Dodos
77
Drive-By Truckers
67
Bob Dylan
58
Echo & The Bunnymen
61
Electric Six
44
The Entrance Band
69
Fanfarlo
71
Jay Farrar And Benjamin Gibbard
63
Felix Da Housecat
68
Fink
66
Orenda Fink
79
The Flaming Lips
66
Flight Of The Conchords
79
Florence And The Machine
67
John Fogerty
83
Fuck Buttons
71
Nelly Furtado
47
Gary Go
68
Ghostface Killah
79
Girls
69
Gossip
62
David Gray
66
David Guetta
65
Calvin Harris
79
Richard Hawley
74
Mayer Hawthorne
66
Headlights
79
HEALTH
67
Hockey
67
Whitney Houston
80
Hudson Mohawke
68
Imogen Heap
59
Jack Ingram
79
Islands
74
Jamie T
65
Jay-Z
51
Jet
68
Daniel Johnston
76
Norah Jones
77
Karen O And The Kids
72
Toby Keith
69
Kid Cudi
75
Kid Sister
66
Kings Of Convenience
62
Sean Kingston
64
KISS
63
Mark Knopfler
73
Kris Kristofferson
68
KRS-One & Buckshot
76
La Roux
85
Miranda Lambert
71
Sondre Lerche
56
Juliette Lewis
62
Leona Lewis
82
Lightning Bolt
74
Little Dragon
44
Pixie Lott
83
Patty Loveless
73
Lyle Lovett
79
Lucero
75
Baaba Maal
77
Madness
84
Madonna
85
Manic Street Preachers
61
Maps
73
Mario
55
Massive Attack
57
Matisyahu
62
John Mayer
66
Tim McGraw
65
Brian McKnight
79
Mew
75
Mika
68
Amy Millan
76
Mission Of Burma
75
Molina And Johnson
80
Monsters Of Folk
66
Morrissey
76
The Mountain Goats
62
Múm
72
Muse
66
Willie Nelson
82
Nirvana
96
Nirvana
80
No Age
71
Noah And The Whale
75
Noisettes
79
Nudge
64
OneRepublic
47
Dolores O'Riordan
74
Os Mutantes
78
Osso
67
Alec Ounsworth
81
Owen
73
Paramore
78
Pastels And Tenniscoats
80
Pearl Jam
69
Jemina Pearl
65
Phish
61
Pitbull
79
A Place To Bury Strangers
79
Polvo
72
Porcupine Tree
72
Port O'Brien
79
Q-Tip
79
R.E.M.
88
Raekwon
69
Rain Machine
75
Dizzee Rascal
74
The Raveonettes
79
Real Estate
81
Rodrigo Y Gabriela
66
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez
78
Russian Circles
69
Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions
78
Say Anything
61
Sally Shapiro
78
Shudder To Think
70
Simian Mobile Disco
58
Simple Minds
80
Slayer
61
The Slits
58
Spiral Stairs
55
Steel Panther
75
Sufjan Stevens
52
Rod Stewart
68
Joss Stone
83
Barbra Streisand
77
A Sunny Day In Glasgow
74
Susanna And The Magical Orchestra
79
The Swell Season
80
David Sylvian
83
Taken By Trees
80
Tegan And Sara
68
The Temper Trap
78
The Dutchess & The Duke
71
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
74
Them Crooked Vultures
72
Themselves
82
They Might Be Giants
66
J Tillman
69
Times New Viking
57
Tokio Hotel
67
Trey Songz
73
Frank Turner
71
The Twilight Sad
60
Carrie Underwood
56
The Used
68
Various Artists
69
Various Artists
77
The Very Best
70
Kurt Vile
65
Vivian Girls
71
Volcano Choir
73
Rufus Wainwright
78
Wale
57
Weezer
81
White Denim
76
Why?
83
Wild Beasts
80
Wildbirds & Peacedrums
69
Robbie Williams
59
Andrew W.K.
65
Wolfmother
84
The xx
79
Yo La Tengo
83
Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band
52
Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson
59
Zero 7
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
The Rising
EMAILPRINTby Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band
Universal acclaim
Based on 21 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 75 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >
Album Info
Label: Sony
Release Date: 30 July 2002
Discs: 1 disc
Genre(s): Rock
Summary
The Boss' first studio album with the E Street Band since 1984's 'Born In The U.S.A.,' 'The Rising' contains 15 new Springsteen songs produced by Brendan O'Brien.
Also By This Artist: Live In New York City Magic Working On A Dream
Also On Metacritic
MUSIC: Bruce Springsteen: Devils & Dust
Also On The Web: Bruce Springsteen Mailing List Official Artist Site (Sony)
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Uncut
A brave and beautiful album of humanity, hurt and hope from the songwriter best qualified to speak to and for his country.... A towering achievement. [Album of the Month, Sep 2002, p.102]
Rolling Stone
Even for him, though, The Rising, with its bold thematic concentration and penetrating emotional focus, is a singular triumph.
Read Full Review >E! Online
Over the years, it might not stand up to classics such as Nebraska or The River, but the The Rising gives us something more important right now: a reason to believe.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly
Springsteen's words may be weighted with the aftershocks of death, but the music, ironically, is animated; unlike ''Joad,'' ''The Rising'' is a pleasure to hear.
Read Full Review >CDNow
Both sober and celebratory, The Rising makes a strong case for the transcending power of rock and roll.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club)
Any suggestion of a musical crisis of confidence, however, vanishes with the album's first chord, which picks up pretty much where Born In The U.S.A. left off 18 years ago.
Read Full Review >PopMatters
In one fell swoop Springsteen has released an album that is chillingly relevant even as much of it, especially the over ballyhooed "Mary's Place", is unabashedly anachronistic.
Read Full Review >All Music Guide
The Rising is one of the very best examples in recent history of how popular art can evoke a time period and all of its confusing and often contradictory notions, feelings and impulses.
Read Full Review >Blender
Beginning with "Further On (Up The Road)," Springsteen finds his footing and rides out the album on a stirring high note. [#9, p.140]
New York Magazine
Springsteen refuses to allow himself either vengefulness or excessive pride, and he avoids too-literal musings on the tragedy that ultimately undermined songs like Neil Young's "Let's Roll."
Read Full Review >Spin
The most eloquent artistic response yet to the World Trade Center tragedy. [Sep 2002, p.130]
Neumu.net
Like all his best work, the whole of The Rising is better than the sum of its individual songs.
Read Full Review >Q Magazine
In size and texture it's closer to 1980's The River than anything since. [Sep 2002, p.111]
Nude As The News
The Rising somewhat falters in its middle third, as Springsteen struggles to make this a cohesive record.
Read Full Review >New Musical Express
Too many of the 15 tracks are padding and the entire record is neutered by a production that brushes everything up to a mediocre gloss.
Read Full Review >Mojo
There are more retro-sounding pop-R&B numbers with "sha la la" backing vocals than the subject matter might indicate, a stadium rocker, some soulful ballads recalling early Van Morrison, and stirring gospel. [Sep 2002, p.94]
Austin Chronicle
Lyrically, Springsteen walks a fine line on this outing, filling songs with descriptive if somewhat pedestrian tidbits.
Read Full Review >Launch.com
Anyone hoping that this reunion with his old band would mean Springsteen's found his focus and was ready to rededicate himself to the freewheelin' spunk of his "classic" period will surely be disappointed with The Rising.
Read Full Review >Village Voice
He sounds as genuinely hurt and confused as any of us, but if he's gained any insight into that hurt or confusion, he's not about to express it.
Read Full Review >CultureDose.net
The Rising is a tiresome battle between the sheer spirit that Bruce and his sidekicks invest in their work and the material itself, which is underwritten and overproduced.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this album is 8.0 (out of 10) based on 75 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Zack A gave it a10:
Eloquence in music and lyric that comes from no other master than Bruce Springsteen.
Scott H gave it a10:
Bruce does it again.
Scott Y gave it a10:
I reserve the coveted 10 for masterpieces, and this may be the album of the decade. Bruce is truly an American rock poet and this CD really captures a lot of moods surrounding 9/11 and beyond. The production is excellent, the band sounds great, and I don't think it can be compared to his other top albums. BTR, et al, are 10s, too, but a 10 from a different time.
Mike A gave it a9:
Historical release. 9/11 lived through one of contemporary music's most relevant songwriters.
Ryan M. gave it a10:
It seems uncanny how many great songs are on this record. One of the few albums where I never skip a track.
Matt J gave it an8:
It feels a little bloated - there are a couple of mediocre cuts that weigh the CD down. But, you take the ten best cuts, and you have a tight, excellent 50-minute album that's arguably one of his best. "Worlds Apart," "Empty Sky," and "Into The Fire" were later given much better arrangements in concert, but the original versions here are still good. The title track, "Lonesome Day," "Mary's Place," "Nothing Man," "Paradise," and "You're Missing" are good to great songs, and "My City's In Ruins" is a great closer (though I prefer the acoustic version on the TRIBUTE TO HEROES 9/11 charity CD). The rest is mediocre stuff and the crowd-pleasing "Waiting On A Sunny Day" is annoying with really bad lyrics, but you can program those out.
Dave J gave it a10:
Bruce's best since Born in the USA.
