"The Rising"........Five Years Later

I remember that hot and muggy night very well. I find it difficult to believe it has been five years already. July 31, 2002. At midnight on that date, Bruce Springsteen's "The Rising" was released and I was one of the first on line to buy it...but at that moment, I had no idea what I was in store for. Up to that point, I owned every Springsteen album, seen him in concert fourteen or so times, watched all his dvd's and videos...so I really did not expect him to top anything he had done prior....not with his track record. Was I wrong.....

The events of September 11th, 2001 were still fresh in all of our minds here in the NYC area. Soon after the events of that day, Bruce Springsteen was approached time after time by fans and people on the street. They would say "Bruce, we need you now." They wanted him to write something to describe how we were all feeling....the sorrow, the emptiness, the anger, the loneliness, the shock, and the need to regroup and rebuild. Not only rebuild our city, but our hearts, our souls, and our will. The genius of this album is that these songs can be applied to that event and also to the happenings in our every day lives. That is why this album was and is so personal to me.

Just two weeks prior to the release of the album, I ended a four year relationship with someone. I was living with her when I ended the relationship. It was a very difficult decision, but something I knew was best for the both of us. Although she did not officially "move out" until late September, it was like my life was in limbo. All her clothes and belongings remained in the house for those 10 weeks while we lived separate lives. She would stop in on occasion, but mostly she stayed elsewhere. It was a tough thing to go through and I had many emotions about the situation and my decision.

When I purchased the album that night... I immediately opened the plastic wrapper in the car and put the cd into the player...as I pulled out of the parking lot of Tower Records, "Lonesome Day", the first song of the cd started...and I was immediately captivated. The music just put me in a trance...then the opening line.....then the chorus....and I immediately connected.......I understood the 9/11 undertone, but I also applied it to what I was going through. Once again, Bruce was my voice....he was singing about things I was feeling. That is why I've loved his work all my life...he always found a way to sing about things...every day emotions, that I had often felt.

With each passing track, I felt as though I told him what was going on in MY life and he wrote me an album...that is how personal this album felt to me. I don't remember seeing the road or how I navigated home that night.....I was so caught up in the music and lyrics.

"Into the Fire" brought tears to my eyes.....a song about the firefighters who were going up those stairs while everyone else was coming down.....the way it was written was so eloquent and so descriptive...."Empty Sky" had such a personal meaning, yet I related it so well to 9/11 and what we all felt that day and in the days following. "You're Missing" made me completely lose it. If you know the lyrics, you'll know why.

Then there were songs of inspiration on the album that got me charged up after a somber song or two. "Waiting on a Sunny Day", "The Rising", "Mary's Place", and My City of Ruin" gave me chills and hope. These songs challenged us to have faith and hope and to carry on.

I'll never forget where I was on that September Day...just as I will never forget where I was when I first heard "The Rising." I drove around for miles...way past my home that night...until I heard every note, every word, every beat. I finally went home, completely in awe. I placed the cd in my bedroom stereo, lit a candle...and listened to the album again....

Just two weeks later....I went to Madison Square Garden to see Bruce in concert. I had seen him fourteen or so times before that night...and I knew how electric his shows were. That night, there was something different in the air....in the eyes of everyone...long before the show started. As he came out, he started the show with "Empty Sky" and there really wasn't a dry eye in the "world's most famous arena" during that song. What amazed me that night was how everyone knew every word of that album. It had just been released two weeks prior.... I was blown away.

A few weeks after the concert my ex moved out of the house. Although, sad, I was relieved that we could carry on with our lives. A close friend of mine suggested that rather than moving out of the beautiful home I was in, that I find a roommate....and he suggested his brother Alex.....

Alex who was a huge music fan and musician moved into the house in early October. We immediately became close friends. He was not a Springsteen fan at all...but he was looking for some good music for his hour train ride each morning to work. I suggested "The Rising" to him. He reluctantly burned a copy and took it to work that day with him. That night, he walked in the house with a different look on his face. I asked him what was wrong. He said that he was completely blown away by the album and that he couldn't stop listening to it. He told friends about it, and they too were hooked.....

So for any of you who don't own the cd....either buy it, or buy some of the songs I mentioned from ITUNES....you too, will connect with these songs.....