A few days after 9/11, as Bruce Springsteen was pulling out of a parking lot, an unidentified fan drove by and shouted, "We need you!" Legend has it that the moment inspired The Boss to create and release 2002's The Rising, an album reflecting on the attacks. His first studio effort in seven years, and his first collaboration with the E Street Band in nearly two decades, it was both a commercial and critical triumph, debuting at number one on the Billboard charts and winning a Grammy for Best Rock Album. Its influence continued to grow: Teachers now use The Rising to teach their young students about 9/11; radio listeners demand it be played on the attacks' anniversary; and critics have hailed it as "rock 'n' roll's most significant response to 9/11." A decade after the attacks, does The Rising still deserve its reputation?
This album remains uniquely moving: The Rising "stands apart for the scope of its ambition, and its typically Springsteenian acceptance of a job that needed to be done," says Dan DeLuca at The Philadelphia Inquirer. Sure, there are a couple unnecessary songs. But it shows the Boss returning to form with a "renewed sense of purpose" after "floundering for the previous decade," creating the beautiful, inspired album that America needed.
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