Customer Reviews

Ghost of Tom Joad

5 star:		(69)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

If there were any justice in this world, this album would've sold the 11 million copies that Born In The U.S.A. did, due in no small part to its widely misunderstood title track. Alas, as Springsteen proposes on this album, there is no justice. While Springsteen's best-known and best-selling music may always remain his early songs filled with cars, girls, and the dreams of youth, and while that may be the image that most people have of the man, this album is undoubtedly the work of a mature genius. Not since the early Bob Dylan records has the seamy underbelly of the American life been explored so thoroughly and heart-breakingly in popular song. Influenced, obviously, by John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath (actually, the movie adaptation, as one sees in the linear notes) as well as other literary and news items focusing on immigrants, the working class, and the downtrodden - as well as drawing upon previous songsters who have explored this territory, such as Dylan and Woody Guthrie - The Ghost of Tom Joad is a set of story songs, done in the heart-breaking and plaintive way that only Springsteen could do them. The stories are mosly set in California, often near the Mexican border, and involve the deeds of illegal aliens and other working class heroes involved in America's secret economy. Musically, this album is bleak and involved mainly Springsteen alone on acoustic guitar and occasionally punctuated with harmonica, as on his Nebraska album; however, a few songs feature other players, including some intriguingly subtle keyboard work that fits the mood so well you hardly know it's there. Springsteen sings these songs in the slurring drawl that they deserve, paying little heed to pitch or meter, and they can be hard to understand at times. This album doesn't make for easy listening. One cannot play this as background music, driving music, or at a party like one can many of The Boss's records with The E Street Band: this is definitely an album that you must devote your full attention to. It is one of the few records that truly deserves to be listened to when you're alone at night in your room with the lights off. Be prepared to cry, be prepared to feel your heart ache - be prepared to be moved. One of the true masterpieces of American rock music, and a criminally overlooked record which I hope some day will receive the praise it is due.

I've listened to Springsteen only since Born in the USA (funny how many people miss the point behind that song...) but have since grown to appreciate him as another troubador for the rest of us.

I live in Youngstown, the town in the song on the album by the same name. It is a working class town devastated by the exit of the steel mills in the 70s and 80s, much like Springsteen sings about his hometown on Born in the USA. He sings it because he knows it. And it shows. He may not know Youngstown but he's pretty darn close to the reality of many living here.

He played here on his acoustic tour in support of this album (sadly, I din't have the connections to get tickets; ironically, the 'common man' doesn't really count when it comes to Springsteen tickets). Stranger yet (similar to Born in the USA being used as a political campaign song), radio stations here played it with pride! Guess they didn't listen to the lyrics.

Anyhow, Springsteen is a voice crying out in the wilderness of America, speaking for those whose voices are rarely heard and, if they are, they are generally heard as part of some political agenda or other. He gives voice to the homeless, to migrant workers, to released convicts trying to keep straight and to a whole host of other characters who really make up the American landscape.

It sounds stark only if you haven't been paying attention to what is going on beneath the surface in this country. While it is not overly joyous, there are moments of beauty and poetry to be found, even in the midst of this apparent bleakness. Springsteen, as always, captivates and tells stories that put you there; you can see, hear and even taste the characters he is singing about.

While there are more instruments present here than in Nebraska, it is still relatively bare and buoys the lyrics quite nicely.

On an aside, this album finds its roots in the book called Journey to Nowhere: The Sage of the New Underclass by Dale Maharidge (sadly, currently out of print) which begins in Youngstown and traverses the road and the rails to Texas. If you've read the book, you'll find the inspiration behind this album. Both are gripping and excellent.

It's remarkable how closed minded many pop music fans can be. When Dylan went electric, many in his audience castigated him. When Springsteen goes folk, many fans revolt (see below). Musicians, however, are creative people who must seek out new ground if they are to mature as artists, and continue to be relevant. In Tom Joad, Springsteen tones the music down, and sings serious lyrics. The result, for anyone open minded enough to really listen to a sparse, folk-influenced record, is brilliant. These songs, moreoever, are not depressing -- as frequently charged below -- but life affirming. They tell the story of the indomnitable human spirit which continues to thrive even in the face of harsh cirmcumstances. Springsteen wants us to see the human face of those who we might otherwise ignore: the homeless, the unemployed, the foreigners, and the illegal aliens. He wants to contemplate their plights. He wants us to see that they are flesh and blood, just like us, whose fates are very much tied to ours in ways we may not even perceive. This album is not a call for depression, but an appeal to our generous spirit. You can choose to ignore this record because it does not meet your expectations of what Springsteen should be doing, or you can embrace it because it defies expectations and demonstrates that Springsteen is willing to risk his popular appeal for the purposes of remaining in control of his music.

I would put this on the top of my all time greatest albums...and definitely one of Bruce's top albums. This record is not for the folks who like light hearted rockin tunes like "Ramrod" or "Cadiallac Ranch"...this is something completely different and very intimate. Bruce was at a crossroads when he made this record...46 years old, just had a mini reunion with the E street Band for a couple of tracks on the greatest hits...but he was struggling to find "his rock voice" at that time....his singing style suggests this on Joad. Instead of doing the commerically obvious choice (reunite the band, record and tour) he chose to follow his muse...and no matter what you think of the actual record, you have to respect that. Springsteen chose to talk about America's poor through the voices of Mexican immigrants, veterans, lonely souls. This album is rich with the soil of america's past and conects Steinbecks world to the present day America. Its a deep and scary record....its truly amazing how Springsteen steps inside each characters world....he may be a millionare, but you would never know it listening to this CD.

The songs:
Title cut is amazing, connecting the world of Steinbeck to now...still poor in America and getting worse (thanks Dubbya!)

2. Straight Time: the character in this song is trying to find whats lost...and how sometimes the things that make us happy are not healthy things....ex con deals with the real world and trys to walk the straight line...amazing lyrics!

3. Highway 29- an affair gone terribly wrong...sung by a ghost...i think

4. Youngstown- America during Reagan (and now) industry and out sourcing...jobs gone....amazing song.

5. Sinaloa Cowboys, brings you into a world that not many of us know exsisted...Mexican immigrants

6. The line, again a beautiful character study...life is not so black and white, Bruce tells us threw this border patrol widower.

7. Balboa park, again the work of immigrants, Mexican boys selling themselves for money and drugs....hard life, dark song.

8.Dry Lighting, talking about men and women, one of my favorites on the CD

9. The new timer, riding the rails....

10. across the border, is there salavation in the mix?

11. Galvaston Bay, Vietnam vets vs Vietnamise immigrants...brilliant.

12. my best was never good enough....lighter fair than the rest of the cd but I guess he had to end on somewhat of a light note.

There really isn't enough room to really go into track by track, bottom line is I bought the CD when it first came out and I was floored....Bruce really makes you feel the lives of this characters....its really his best work, yes I love to rock out to the E street band too, but thats not what this CD is about...everyone should own this...amazing thanks Bruce!

I am a pretty young man, and I originally got into Springsteen when I bought his greatest hits when I was in high school. My friends and I would drive around the city and we would always listen to music and try to find some good music to play for each other. Since we were all young and just began exploring music, I threw in his greatest hits and played all the Born In The USA tracks that we all knew and we all thought were good songs--but to be honest at this point I didn't think Springsteen was anything more than another great singer/songwriter, but no one who would get more play than about 30 other bands and musicians out there.

Then one night when I was driving by myself to meet some friends out, I decided I wanted to hear a few more of his songs so I began to listen to the other tracks on his greatest hits and I came upon Thunder Road. The beat, music, and instrumentation, and everything else is great in this song, but the thing that really hooked me was the insight in the song.

So I continued to go through his greatest hits, and songs like Atlantic City, The River, and Brilliant Disguise really jumped out at me. Right around this time, the Boss got back together with the E Street band in '99 and I was dying to see him in concert--keep in my mind, I knew the greatest hits inside and out, but didn't know much else of his stuff. When he took the stage it was like nothing I had ever seen, and being a big music fan I had been to dozens of concerts by this point.

I began to buy every Springsteen album I could get, and gave them all a few listens each because Springsteen's music doesn't always jump out at you--sometimes it takes a few listens, and reading through the lyrics to understand where his song is going.

I would buy this album and not just listen to it, but read the lyrics as you listen to the songs and give it a few listens and get the poetic message of the lyrics that comes across flawlessly with the musical setting. The Ghost of Tom Joad is a classic work of art, but songs like Across The Border, Highway 29, Sinoloa Cowboys, Youngstown, and Straight Time tell amazing stories and have great themes and insights. Buy this album take a long drive and let the lyrics take you on an adventure of human struggle and emotion.

No matter what anyone says, Springsteen has never made a bad album, he has just changed his sound so many times that people who are strictly into a particular sound of music pick out an album or two that fits their image of great music--to judge Springsteen by this manner falls short because he is a poet, and his music had to change to go where the lyrics and emotions led him. That is what makes him great, his lyrics and songs give you a real feel of what someone in a particular situation he describes or someone feeling a particular emotion would feel from the real lyrics showing dynamic emotion and character to the music which follows the vision of what it is all about. Springsteen is unique in the fact that his characters are never all one emotion, they are in love but hesitant, curious but cautious, sad but hopeful--his songs take you on an adventure and show you both sides of the story without judgment.

I would recommend all of his albums over about any other of the 400 CDs I own, but I would start with this one, The Wild The Innocent and the E Street Shuffle, and then go to The Ghost of Tom Joad. This gives a broad overview, and the rest of his music is somewhere in between these albums.

Don't get me wrong, I am primarily a maniacal fan of Bruce's rock 'n' roll masterpieces and his stupendous live shows, but his acoustic work shows equally important facets of his genius as a songwriter/musician/poet. These "Tom Joad" recordings have the haunting quality of Appalachian folk songs with the lyric depth of the poems of Federico Garcia Lorca or Dylan Thomas. I honestly can't think of another musical artist that has captured the heartbreak, complexity and hope of the American experience in the way that Springsteen has. "Galveston Bay" talks with quiet irony of way in which our nation of immigrants tends tragically to discriminate against each latest wave newcomers. And yet, by the end of the song, the antagonists finally relent and allow new blood to reinvigorate and replenish the American dream. "Across the Border" captures the mix of hope and illusion that draws so many to "El Norte." "Youngstown" speaks achingly of the betrayal of the American working man and woman. "Dry Lightening" paints a word picture of the itchy, discomforting freedom promised by true love and the unending horizons of western plains. I could go on and on. I never tire of this album. It still has the ability to change my life just a tiny bit for the better each time I hear it. If you don't love "Tom Joad" on first bounce, play it again and let its power seep into your soul. You'll never be sorry.

The first time I bought this I hated it so much I sold it to a used CD store. I thought it was dull and depressing and it was an example of an aging rock star going through a serious mid-life crisis. Then I saw Springsteen for the umpteenth time at Madison Square Garden and heard him do some of this material live. I went out and gave Tom Joad another try and now it's one of my favorite Springsteen albums. Personally, I find it more meaningful than Nebraska. I think there's more anger and more hope in the songs, which are reminiscent of early Guthrie or even Leadbelly. Was especially impressed by the last song, "my best was never good enough." Granted, I can see that this album is something of an acquired taste, but if you're willing to stick with it and really hear the lyrics, this is possibly Springsteen's best.

It all started when I bought "Greatest Hits" earlier this year, you know. "Streets Of Philadelphia" had been one of my favourite songs for years since I had fallen in love with both it and the movie it came from, and I knew some of his older stuff (I mean, who doesn't?). So I bought the compilation.

Whoa.

Talk about being blown away - here was a man who said more about everything than perhaps anyone I had ever come across in the world of music. I was in love from the first moment. Even the new songs were good.

So the next thing I did was shell out £34.99 on the box set "Tracks". All exceedingly good, of course, but the musically-downsized stuff represented on Disc 4 was the stuff that most suited my tastes.

So I bought "The Ghost Of Tom Joad" just recently. When I first put it on, it all seemed to mesh together, but it sounded nice (my kind of music, you see). It was on repeat, however, and on the second listening as I sat at my computer idly surfing the net, the title track quite literally grabbed me by the neck and tore me out of my seat. 'My God, listen to what he's saying!' screamed my mind at me. Then "Straight Time". Then "Highway 29", from whose final lyrical couplet I have stolen the title of this review.

I could outline what I like about every song on this album, but I'm not going to. Suffice it to say that this stands proudly amongst the most important socio-political statements of this century. It is an aria of the bad times which have befallen groups as far-ranging as from Dust-Bowl-era Deep Southerners to jobless immigrants today. It is not a cry for compassion, more of a study of where it has all gone wrong in the land of the free. Listen to the lyrics and feel your head swim with thoughts that have never crossed your mind before. Couple that with the music and you'll find yourself on a plateau in your mind quite unlike any other you have visited. "The Ghost Of Tom Joad" is beautiful an heart-wrenching at the same time.

And Lord knows, if someone can achieve that, then maybe we can too.

'Where there's somebody struggling to be free/Look in their eyes Mom, you'll see me.'

I am surprised by the negative reviews here. Maybe to those who only appreciate The Boss for his Born In The USA and the catchy, radio-friendliness of those songs, this album could seem a little too mellow. But for everybody that appreciates Bruce's lyrical prowess and the ability to tell an amazing, heartfelt story, this one does not disappoint. If this CD is put on as background noise while you are doing something else, then granted there is nothing that will stand out, as the songs are pretty quiet and solemn, with just Bruce's voice, guitar, and some light keyboards (mostly used for atmospheric effect). Songs such as Youngstown and Sinaloa Cowboys are so beautiful and lyrically amazing. I think everybody that owns this CD owes it to themselves to just find some time to sit down and really listen to this CD, and appreciate everything it has to offer. Heck, give up an hour of mindless TV and do your brain a favor.

I understand that this album is not for everyone. "Conservative" fans will always want their favorite artists to play their favorite old songs. Hell, people pay to go hear Kansas sing "Dust in the Wind" Don't get me wrong, I love listening to Springsteen rock. I am thrilled silly that he got the E Street Band back together and I will pay whatever it takes to catch a few shows when he hits the West Coast. Nonetheless, I do feel sorry for those who don't "get it". This album is an amazing feet. I can't think of any album that is more whole in its vision, statement and execution. The assocaited tour was also a relevation. Bruce has become a really fantastic guitar player. I don't know when it happened, but I didn't expect it. Even if I never listen to the album again, I will still think about it frequently.