Bruce Springsteen - The Rising

Lonesome Day - 5
Into The Fire - 5
Waitin' On A Sunny Day - 3
Nothing Man - 4
Countin' On A Miracle - 4
Empty Sky - 3
Worlds Apart - 4
Let's Be Friends (Skin To Skin) - 3
Further On (Up The Road) - 4
The Fuse - 3
Mary's Place - 3
You're Missing - 4
The Rising - 4
Paradise - 4
My City Of Ruins - 3
Total - 56 stars / 15 tracks = 3.73 stars

This is another one that I remember fondly during driving trips. Apparently that's the key to success to getting a high rating from me. "The Rising" was one that lived in my dad's car, that made frequent appearances when it was just him and I in the car. The only one we listened to more was "The Simpsons Sing The Blues."

What I liked about this album was that, during the great tracks, you would have a catchy song that build in a really appropriate effective way with extra instrumentation for the best emotional reaction. The weaker tracks suffer from over simplicity, bordering on mundaneness.

Also of note in "The Rising" is the frequency of the word "tongue." Used on occasion, it can be a very powerful word, but he uses it in four different songs, leading me to think that there's some kind of oral-retentive thing going on.