The Rising (album)

Background and recording

A stranger in a car next to Springsteen rolled down his window after the September 11, 2001 attacks and told him, "We need you now." That moment pushed him to make The Rising. Some of the songs on the album were already written before the attacks. The title track follows a firefighter climbing the World Trade Center while survivors come down, and it suggests people's spirits rising like angels holding a "dream of life."

"My City of Ruins" was first written and performed about Asbury Park, but after 9/11, its words about hope and new beginnings turned into a rallying cry. Springsteen played it live ten days after the attacks at the America: A Tribute to Heroes telethon, using only a guitar and harmonica, and introduced it as "a prayer for our fallen brothers and sisters." The song's melody is built around Curtis Mayfield's "People Get Ready." "Further On (Up the Road)" was played live at Madison Square Garden at the end of the Springsteen–E Street Reunion Tour and was recorded professionally, but it didn't appear on the HBO, DVD, or CD versions of Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band: Live in New York City.

"Waitin' on a Sunny Day" was first written in the 1990s and played during a soundcheck on the Reunion Tour. Springsteen has said "Nothing Man" was finished in 1994 but was re-recorded for this album. "Worlds Apart" is the most experimental song on the record, with a strong Middle Eastern sound and Qawwali singers at the start. "The Fuse" is also experimental, featuring a subtle hip hop beat and vocal looping; a re-recorded version with orchestral backing appears in Spike Lee's film 25th Hour. "Mary's Place" takes direct inspiration from Sam Cooke's "Meet Me at Mary's Place."

Critical reception

When The Rising arrived, critics were largely impressed. On Metacritic, the album earned a score of 82 out of 100 from 21 reviews. Rolling Stone’s Kurt Loder praised it as a triumphant, cohesive work with a “bold thematic concentration and penetrating emotional focus.” Thom Jurek of AllMusic described it as a prime example of how popular art can capture a specific era and its tangled feelings and impulses. David Browne of Entertainment Weekly noted that Springsteen’s message felt newly relevant, and while his lyrics could sometimes be heavy, the lively music saved them. Keith Phipps of The A.V. Club highlighted the album’s musical confidence and Springsteen’s strength as an empathetic songwriter. Uncut magazine called it a “brave and beautiful album of humanity, hurt and hope” from the songwriter best suited to speak for his country, calling it a towering achievement.

Not everyone was won over. In The Guardian, Alexis Petridis found the music awkwardly old-fashioned, with the best songs having strong melodies but lyrics he judged as simplistic and too direct. Keith Harris of The Village Voice criticized the album as vague and disconnected from real life, lacking characters who respond in their own unique ways. Robert Christgau pointed to “Paradise,” “Nothing Man,” “The Rising,” and “My City of Ruins” as choice tracks, but ultimately said the album wasn’t worth anyone’s time or money. He felt a noticeable patriotism dragged it down with overburdened emotions and clichéd ideas.

The Rising was voted the sixth-best album of 2002 in the Pazz & Jop poll. Christgau, who created and supervised that poll, ranked the title track as the year’s tenth best single. Kludge included the album on its list of the best albums of 2002. In 2011, Rolling Stone ranked it the fifteenth best album of the 2000s. It also earned a spot in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. The album won the Grammy for Best Rock Album in 2003, though it lost the Album of the Year award to Norah Jones’s debut Come Away with Me. The title song “The Rising” also received a Grammy.

Legacy

Springsteen's The Rising was directly inspired by the September 11 attacks, but many listeners interpret it as a broader message about perseverance. Writing a decade after the event, critic Dan DeLuca noted that tracks like "Lonesome Day," "You're Missing," and "My City of Ruins" capture the emptiness of that day while using language that feels timeless. That last song has since been adopted for other disasters, including Hurricane Katrina and the 2011 Christchurch earthquake. Springsteen played it at the 2006 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival during his Seeger Sessions tour, and the crowd reacted strongly to its call to "Come on rise up!" The album's title track, with its theme of hope amid hardship, was also used prominently at the 2020 Democratic National Convention.