Rolling Stone (12/26/02, p.110)
- Included in Rolling Stone's "50 Best Albums of 2002" - "...In the grainy force of Springsteen's voice and the muscular exultation of the music, the power of ordinary men and women to build anew, atop so much loss, rings loud and true."Spin (1/03, p.71)
- Ranked #14 on Spin's list of 2002's "Albums of the Year" - "...A boldly corny, plainspoken album by a songwriter who sincerely believes that working stiffs deserve a spokesman who's not a jingoistic yokel." Entertainment Weekly (12/20-27/02, p.126)
- Ranked #5 on EW's list of 2002's "Albums of the Year" Entertainment Weekly (8/2/02, pp.71-2)
- "...His voice is in robust, throat-clearing form...the post-Sept.11 world has refocused his songwriting....the songs grab hold and don't let go..." - Rating: A- Q (12/02, p.68)
- Included in Q Magazine's "The 50 Best Albums of 2002." Q (9/02, p.111)
- 4 stars out of 5 - "...A compassionate celebration of the human spirit, one bolstered by the strength of family, community and individual heroism..." Uncut (1/03, p.94)
- Ranked #2 in Uncut's "100 Best Albums of the Year" Uncut (9/02, pp.102, 103)
- 5 stars out of 5 - "...a brave and beautiful album of humanity, hope and hurt from the songwriter best qualified to speak to and for his country." Mojo (Publisher)
(1/03, p.73)
- Ranked #11 in Mojo's "Best Albums of 2002" Mojo (Publisher)
(9/02, p.94)
- "In the end THE RISING's message...is one of indomitability." NME (Magazine)
(8/10/02, p.34)
- 6 out of 10 - "...His best for some time..." Rolling Stone 10 of 10
The heart sags at the prospect of pop stars weighing in on the subject of September 11th. Which of them could possibly transmute the fiery horror of that day with the force of their art, or offer up anything beyond a dismal trivialization? The answer, it turns out, is Bruce Springsteen. With his new album, The Rising, Springsteen wades into the wreckage and pain of that horrendous event and emerges bearing fifteen songs that genuflect with enormous grace before the sorrows that drift in its wake. I can't think of another album in which such an abundance of great songs might be said to seem the least of its achievements. - Kurt Loder
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