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UncutA 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]
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Even for him, though, The Rising, with its bold thematic concentration and penetrating emotional focus, is a singular triumph.
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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.
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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.
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Both sober and celebratory, The Rising makes a strong case for the transcending power of rock and roll.
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Impassioned and bold, this record is a triumph.
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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.
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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."
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SpinThe most eloquent artistic response yet to the World Trade Center tragedy. [Sep 2002, p.130]
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Like all his best work, the whole of The Rising is better than the sum of its individual songs.
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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.
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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.
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BlenderBeginning with "Further On (Up The Road)," Springsteen finds his footing and rides out the album on a stirring high note. [#9, p.140]
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Q MagazineIn size and texture it's closer to 1980's The River than anything since. [Sep 2002, p.111]
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The Rising somewhat falters in its middle third, as Springsteen struggles to make this a cohesive record.
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MojoThere 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]
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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.
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Lyrically, Springsteen walks a fine line on this outing, filling songs with descriptive if somewhat pedestrian tidbits.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 76 out of 90
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Mixed: 3 out of 90
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Negative: 11 out of 90
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ScottHFeb 13, 2006Bruce does it again.
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RyanM.Apr 29, 2005It seems uncanny how many great songs are on this record. One of the few albums where I never skip a track.
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May 1, 2018