The Rising
(Sony)
If anyone is going to do it, Bruce Springsteen was the one for the job. As popular culture's first meaningful reflection on 9/11, The Rising is a rousing affair that triumphs on many levels. It's a glorious return to the honest, roots-based rock'n'roll that forged the New Jersey native's reputation - reuniting the famed E Street Band whose last studio date together was for 1984's mega-seller Born In The USA. This is a vastly different animal to Springsteen's previous studio offering, 1995's broody, folk-flavoured tribute to Woody Guthrie, The Ghost Of Tom Joad. At age 52 he has rediscovered his rock persona.
The often muddy, almost slapdash production of Brendan O'Brien (Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Korn) and his imaginative contributions on glockenspiel and hurdy-gurdy, lend the 15 songs a familiarity and immediacy that sit neatly with the subject matter and sentiments.
But the real success of the set lies in its message of unity and hope that are ours through human connection. There's not a hint of hatred or a pang of hunger for revenge. Instead, Springsteen weaves a clever play for tolerance. In one inspired moment, Worlds Apart opens to the strains of a Sufi choir, a mystical branch of the Muslim faith.
This is a sprawling, complex work, the sort that garners a new favourite track with each play, and possibly Springsteen's most accomplished since the 1982 masterwork Nebraska.
