Bruce Springsteen released his 12th studio album, The Rising, at the tail end of July 2002. With the U.S. still reeling from the 9/11/01 terrorist attacks and stories of fallen soldiers in the headlines, the Boss recorded a masterful reflection on loss, sorrow, love, hope, redemption and trying to find one’s way through the darkness. Each song stands up with his finest material from an extraordinary career that dates back to the 1973. Making the album more compelling was that Springsteen was recording with the fabled E Street Band for the first time since the 1982 sessions that resulted in Born in the USA. For Springsteen fans like me, this news was what we’d been waiting for since the triumphant 1999/2000 reunion tour that had announced to the world “the band was BACK!” I am not alone in believing that with his trusted bandmates behind him — in particular the Big Man, Clarence Clemons, and the trusted rhythm section of drummer Max Weinberg and bassist Gary Tallent — Springsteen is a more electric performer. Watching Bruce and his surrogate family perform together is like watching a well-tuned machine.
In July of 2002, my family was in its own state of emotional turmoil. A mere seven months after our son, Jacob, was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, we were coming to grips with our own feelings of hopelessness, sorrow, anger, love, hope and struggles with faith. Personally, I bottled up many of the fears and doubts that took up residency in my mind. I foolishly assumed that my wife, Julie, would not want to discuss my feelings because she was going through the same emotions. There were many times I wound up crying, secluded in my car, or quietly at night while my wife slept next to me.
One source of release was music. Two of albums that circulated through my CD player earlier that year were Rush’s Vapor Trails and Badly Drawn Boy’s wonderful soundtrack to the film About a Boy. However, with the release of The Rising, I became enthralled with a collection of songs that tapped into the well of feelings I was experiencing. Moreover, the music from this record found its way into my children’s hearts, creating a special bond between us. By early 2003, The Rising became more than just another Bruce Springsteen masterpiece in the Malchus household; it became a source of joy and inspiration for our family. (more…)
