The Rising | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | July 30, 2002 | |||
Recorded | January–March 2002 Southern Tracks Recording Studio, Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 72:52 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Producer | Brendan O'Brien | |||
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band chronology | ||||
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Bruce Springsteen chronology | ||||
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Singles from The Rising | ||||
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The Rising is the twelfth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen,released on July 30,2002,on Columbia Records. The album is based in large part on Springsteen's reflections in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks the year before. The album was a critical and commercial success,representing Springsteen's first album to top the US Billboard 200 since Tunnel of Love in 1987.
Hailed as a triumphant return to form for Springsteen,the album won two Grammy Awards and marked the start of a successful collaboration with producer Brendan O'Brien. The Rising came seven years after The Ghost of Tom Joad (1995),the longest interlude between studio albums for the artist,and was his first in almost two decades with the E Street Band,with whom he had recently completed a highly successful reunion tour. [1]
Springsteen felt compelled to record the album 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". [2] [3] A few of the songs were written before the attacks. The title track tells the story of a firefighter going up the World Trade Center as survivors flee,and evokes the image of peoples' spirits rising up like angels with a "dream of life". "My City of Ruins" was originally performed in,and written about,Asbury Park.
After Springsteen performed it on a post-September 11 America:A Tribute to Heroes telethon,the song achieved a particular resonance. "Further On (Up the Road)" was performed live in Madison Square Garden at the end of the Springsteen–E Street Reunion Tour,and was professionally recorded,although it was not included in the HBO,DVD,or CD versions of Bruce Springsteen &the E Street Band:Live in New York City . "Waitin' on a Sunny Day" was originally written in the 1990s and played during a soundcheck on the Reunion Tour. Springsteen has commented that "Nothing Man" was originally completed in 1994,but re-recorded for this album. "Worlds Apart," the most experimental song on the album,features a heavy Middle Eastern influence along with Qawwali singers in the introduction. [4] "The Fuse," another experimental track,features a subtle hip hop beat and vocal looping. A re-recorded version of the song,with an orchestral backing,features in the Spike Lee-directed film 25th Hour . "Mary's Place" is directly inspired by Sam Cooke's "Meet Me at Mary's Place"; [5] [6] The gospel-like "My City of Ruins" is organized around the melody line of Curtis Mayfield's "People Get Ready". [7]
Following the biggest pre-release promotion of Springsteen's career [8] and a tour,The Rising became Springsteen's sixth No. 1 album on the US Billboard 200,and topped the charts in six other countries,including the UK.
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 82/100 [9] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [10] |
Blender | [11] |
Entertainment Weekly | A− [12] |
The Guardian | [13] |
NME | 7/10 [14] |
Pitchfork | 8.2/10 [15] |
Q | [16] |
Rolling Stone | [17] |
Spin | 8/10 [18] |
Uncut | [19] |
The Rising received widespread acclaim from critics. Metacritic gave it an aggregate score of 82 / 100,based on 21 reviews. [9] In Rolling Stone ,Kurt Loder lauded it as a triumphant and cohesive album that possesses a "bold thematic concentration and penetrating emotional focus". [17] Thom Jurek of AllMusic called it "one of the very best examples... of how popular art can evoke a time period and all of its confusing and often contradictory notions,feelings and impulses." [10] David Browne,writing in Entertainment Weekly ,felt that Springsteen's message had a renewed relevance,while his occasionally overburdened lyrics were saved by lively and vivid music. [12] Keith Phipps of The A.V. Club wrote that the musically confident album showcased Springsteen's strength as an empathic songwriter. [20] Uncut magazine called The Rising "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." [19]
In a mixed review for The Guardian ,Alexis Petridis found the music to be awkwardly old-fashioned,with the best songs featuring strong melodies,as he judged the lyrics to be simplistic and unambiguous. [13] Keith Harris of The Village Voice criticised it as being vague and unworldly,and lacking in real-life characters "responding in their idiosyncratic ways." [21] Robert Christgau cited "Paradise","Nothing Man","The Rising",and "My City of Ruins" as "choice cuts", [22] but concluded that the album "isn't worth your time or money". [23] He felt that a marked patriotism "dragged down" the album with "overburdened emotions and conceptual commonplaces". [24]
The Rising was voted the sixth-best album of 2002 in the Pazz &Jop. [25] Christgau,the poll's creator and supervisor,ranked the title track as the year's tenth best single. [26] Kludge included it on their best albums of 2002. [27] In 2011,Rolling Stone named it the fifteenth best album of the 2000s. [28] The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die . [29] It won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album in 2003;although nominated for the Album of the Year award as well,it was beaten by Norah Jones's debut album Come Away with Me . The title song "The Rising" was also a Grammy recipient.
Although The Rising was a response to 9/11,many see it as a more universal anthem of resilience and hope. On the tenth anniversary of 9/11,Dan DeLuca of the Philadelphia Inquirer said:"The songs make contextual sense in the aftermath of 9/11,but the specific details that give them power are allusive. 'Lonesome Day,' 'You're Missing,' and 'My City of Ruins' are about the hollowing devastation of that day,but the language is universal,so the sentiments are by no means frozen in time." [30] The song "My City of Ruins" has been used in response to tragedies other than 9/11,such as the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and the 2011 Christchurch earthquake. In 2006,while on tour supporting his We Shall Overcome:The Seeger Sessions album,Springsteen performed the song at the New Orleans Jazz &Heritage Festival. The song received an emotional response from the crowd given its refrain of "Come on rise up!" [31] "The Rising",given its message of hope in the face of adversity,was featured prominently at the 2020 Democratic National Convention. [32]
This album was released as a vinyl double LP. Tracks 1–4 = Side 1;5–8 = Side 2;9–11 = Side 3;12–15 = Side 4. [33]
All tracks are written by Bruce Springsteen
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Lonesome Day" | 4:08 |
2. | "Into the Fire" | 5:04 |
3. | "Waitin' on a Sunny Day" | 4:18 |
4. | "Nothing Man" | 4:23 |
5. | "Countin' on a Miracle" | 4:44 |
6. | "Empty Sky" | 3:34 |
7. | "Worlds Apart" | 6:07 |
8. | "Let's Be Friends (Skin to Skin)" | 4:21 |
9. | "Further On (Up the Road)" | 3:52 |
10. | "The Fuse" | 5:37 |
11. | "Mary's Place" | 6:03 |
12. | "You're Missing" | 5:10 |
13. | "The Rising" | 4:50 |
14. | "Paradise" | 5:39 |
15. | "My City of Ruins" | 5:00 |
Adapted from the liner notes:
Additional musicians
Technical
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA) [69] | Platinum | 70,000^ |
Austria (IFPI Austria) [70] | Gold | 15,000* |
Belgium (BEA) [71] | Gold | 25,000* |
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [72] | Platinum | 50,000^ |
Finland (Musiikkituottajat) [73] | Gold | 28,121 [73] |
France (SNEP) [74] | Gold | 100,000* |
Germany (BVMI) [75] | Platinum | 300,000^ |
Netherlands (NVPI) [76] | Gold | 40,000^ |
New Zealand (RMNZ) [77] | Platinum | 15,000^ |
Norway (IFPI Norway) [78] | Platinum | 40,000* |
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [79] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
Sweden (GLF) [80] | 2× Platinum | 120,000^ |
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland) [81] | Gold | 20,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [82] | Platinum | 300,000* |
United States (RIAA) [83] | 2× Platinum | 2,100,000 [84] |
Summaries | ||
Europe (IFPI) [85] | Platinum | 1,000,000* |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
The Ghost of Tom Joad is the eleventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released on November 21, 1995, by Columbia Records. His second primarily acoustic album after Nebraska (1982), The Ghost of Tom Joad reached the top ten in two countries, and the top twenty in five more, including No. 11 in the United States. It was his first studio album to fail to reach the top ten in the US in over two decades. The album won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album.
Human Touch is the ninth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen. The album was released on March 31, 1992, the same day as Lucky Town. It was the more popular of the two, peaking at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart, and lead single "Human Touch" peaking at number one on the Mainstream Rock and number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. "Human Touch" has since Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for over one million copies sold in the US, and was nominated for Best Rock Vocal Performance at the 1993 Grammy Awards.
Lucky Town is the tenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen. The album was released on March 31, 1992, the same day as Springsteen's ninth studio album Human Touch. Lucky Town peaked at number three on the Billboard 200, with lead single "Better Days" peaking at number one on the US Mainstream Rock and number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. Lucky Town has since been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for over one million copies sold in the US.
Tunnel of Love is the eighth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released on October 5, 1987. Although members of the E Street Band occasionally performed on the album, Springsteen recorded most of the parts himself, often with drum machines and synthesizers. Tunnel of Love is not officially regarded as an E Street Band album, as The Rising (2002) was marketed as his first studio album with the E Street Band since Born in the U.S.A. (1984).
Enrique is the debut English album and fourth studio album by Enrique Iglesias recorded in English and released on 23 November 1999. The album launched two number one US Billboard Hot 100 hits, "Bailamos" and "Be with You".
Devils & Dust is the thirteenth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, and his third acoustic album. It was released on April 25, 2005, in Europe and the following day in the United States, where it debuted at No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 album chart.
American rock musician Bruce Springsteen has released 21 studio albums, 23 live albums, 77 singles, and 66 music videos. Widely referred to as "The Boss" by the media, Springsteen has sold over 150 million records worldwide, listing him among the best-selling music artists in history. Billboard ranked him as the 24th Greatest Artist of all time. According to Recording Industry Association of America, he has sold 65.5 million albums in the United States, making him the 7th best-selling male soloist of all time. Born in the U.S.A. remains the best-selling album of his career, selling more than 30 million copies around the world.
Greatest Hits is the first compilation album by the American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released February 27, 1995, on Columbia Records. It is a collection of some of Springsteen's hit singles and popular album tracks through the years along with four new songs at the end, mostly recorded with the E Street Band in 1995. The latter constituted Springsteen's first release with his backing band since the late 1980s. Some of the songs are shorter versions of the original album releases.
18 Tracks is an album by Bruce Springsteen, released in 1999. All but three selections had been on the boxed set Tracks, released six months before. This single album was intended to capture more casual fans, and thus was oriented towards the shorter, more pop-oriented selections from Springsteen's vault.
The Essential Bruce Springsteen is a compilation album by Bruce Springsteen, released on November 11, 2003. The collection is part of a series of Essential sets released by Sony BMG. It includes songs from various Springsteen albums and concerts up to the year 2003. A limited-edition third disc includes previously unreleased cuts, B-sides, contributions to soundtracks and benefit albums, covers, and an alternate, "country-blues" acoustic version of "Countin' on a Miracle" from The Rising.
We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions is the fourteenth studio album by Bruce Springsteen. Released in 2006, it peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 and won the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album at the 49th Grammy Awards.
Greatest Hits is the first compilation album released by British pop and soul group Simply Red, released in 1996, which contained material from their first five studio albums and included a newer track, a cover of Aretha Franklin's 1973 classic, "Angel".
VH1 Storytellers is a concert and discussion DVD by Bruce Springsteen, expanded from the airing of an episode of the VH1 television series VH1 Storytellers on April 23, 2005. Tied into promotion for his album Devils & Dust at the time, it was released in video form half a year later.
Magic is the fifteenth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released by Columbia Records on LP on September 25, 2007, and on CD on October 2. It was his first with the E Street Band since The Rising in 2002, and topped the charts in six countries, including the US and UK, going triple platinum in Ireland. Two songs from the album – "Radio Nowhere" and "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" – won a total of three Grammys, making Magic the second of only two Springsteen albums with three wins, after The Rising. It ranked No. 2 on Rolling Stone's list of the Top 50 Albums of 2007.
Working on a Dream is the sixteenth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released on January 27, 2009, through Columbia Records. It topped the charts in nine countries, including the US, where it was Springsteen's ninth No. 1. "The Wrestler", which appeared as a bonus track, won a Golden Globe award. E Street Band guitarist Steve Van Zandt said that Working on a Dream completed a trilogy which started with The Rising (2002) and continued with Magic (2007), all of which were produced by Brendan O'Brien.
The Promise is a compilation album by the American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released November 16, 2010, on Columbia Records. The album is a collection of previously unreleased songs which were recorded during the Darkness on the Edge of Town sessions in 1977–1978, with some vocals and additional instrumentation overdubs recorded in 2010. It was released in 2CD and 3LP formats. The album is also available as part of the box set The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story. The two-CD version of the release entered the UK Albums Chart at number 7. It had been in production for many years and was originally scheduled to be released for the 30th anniversary in 2008. The Promise debuted at number 16 on the Billboard 200, while the box set, The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story, debuted at number 27.
High Hopes is the eighteenth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released on January 14, 2014, by Columbia Records. It went to the top of the charts in eleven countries, and was Springsteen's eleventh No. 1 album in the United States, a record surpassed only by the Beatles and Jay-Z. It was his tenth No. 1 in the UK putting him on par with the Rolling Stones and U2. Rolling Stone named it the second-best album of 2014.
Chapter and Verse is a compilation album by Bruce Springsteen that was released on September 23, 2016. The album is a companion piece to Springsteen's 500-plus-page autobiography, Born to Run, which was released four days later. The career-spanning album features eighteen songs handpicked by Springsteen, five of which were previously unreleased. The album contains Springsteen's earliest recording from 1966 and late '60s/early '70s songs from his tenure in the Castiles, Steel Mill, and the Bruce Springsteen Band, along with his first 1972 demos for Columbia Records and songs from his studio albums from 1973 until 2012.
Western Stars is the nineteenth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released on June 14, 2019, by Columbia Records. It was produced by Ron Aniello, who worked with Springsteen on his two previous albums: Wrecking Ball (2012) and High Hopes (2014).
The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts is a live album and concert film by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, released on November 19, 2021. It was recorded over two nights, September 21 and 22, 1979, at Madison Square Garden, as part of the No Nukes concerts organized by activist group Musicians United for Safe Energy (MUSE) against the use of nuclear energy.