Bruce Springsteen waited seven years after The Ghost of Tom Joad before releasing his next studio album — 2002’s The Rising.

The record was inspired by the 9/11 attacks though some of the songs that seem directly tied to the events (such as ‘My City of Ruins’ and today’s SOTD) were actually written well before 2001.

The Rising marked a major comeback for The Boss. He’d been out of the limelight for nearly a decade and his last three albums had been commercial disappointments. But The Rising was a big seller and a critical smash. And it was a shoo-in to win the Album of the Year Grammy before Norah Jones came along.

As big a success as this album was, I found it disappointing. I was only passingly familiar with Springsteen’s work at the time (Nebraska and Tunnel of Love were his only albums I owned) but the lavish praise led me to seek out The Rising. And it just never registered with me.

I gave it a few listens then shelved it and eventually sold it back. Recently, after these Springsteen theme posts started, I picked up a used copy and gave it another shot. Maybe it’s because I’ve grown more familiar with his work, or because I’ve been reading so much about him lately, but I really appreciated it this time around.

‘Nothing Man,’ in particular, stuck with me. It has a similar vibe to two of Springsteen’s great soundtrack contributions — ‘Philadelphia’ and ‘Secret Garden.’ This sort of mournful elegance is one of his best sounds.