Buy New

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
Buy Used
Used - Very Good See details
$3.98 & FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details
Sold by rbrizendine1.

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
   
More Buying Choices
Big_Box_Bar... Add to Cart
$13.68  & FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details
Campus Buys Add to Cart
$13.98  & FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details
Aspen Distributing Add to Cart
$14.36  & FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Sorry, this item is not available in
Image not available for
Color:
Image not available

To view this video download Flash Player

 

The Ghost of Tom Joad

Bruce SpringsteenAudio CD
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (117 customer reviews)

Price: $13.38 & FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
Only 1 left in stock.
Sold by SpotlightMedia and Fulfilled by Amazon. Gift-wrap available.
Want it tomorrow, May 24? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
MP3 Music, 12 Songs, 1995 $9.99  
Audio CD, Import, 2010 $15.09  
Audio CD, 1995 $13.38  
Vinyl, 1995 --  
Audio Cassette, 1995 $4.95  
MiniDisc --  

Listen to Samples and Buy MP3s

Songs from this album are available to purchase as MP3s. Click on "Buy MP3" or view the MP3 Album.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Samples
Song Title Time Price
listen  1. The Ghost Of Tom Joad 4:23$0.99  Buy MP3 
listen  2. Straight Time 3:25$0.99  Buy MP3 
listen  3. Highway 29 3:39$0.99  Buy MP3 
listen  4. Youngstown 3:52$0.99  Buy MP3 
listen  5. Sinaloa Cowboys 3:51$0.99  Buy MP3 
listen  6. The Line 5:14$0.99  Buy MP3 
listen  7. Balboa Park 3:19$0.99  Buy MP3 
listen  8. Dry Lightning 3:30$0.99  Buy MP3 
listen  9. The New Timer 5:45$0.99  Buy MP3 
listen10. Across The Border 5:24$0.99  Buy MP3 
listen11. Galveston Bay 5:04$0.99  Buy MP3 
listen12. My Best Was Never Good Enough 2:00$0.99  Buy MP3 


Amazon's Bruce Springsteen Store

Music

Image of album by Bruce Springsteen

Photos

Image of Bruce Springsteen

Videos

Bruce Springsteen discusses 'Wrecking Ball'

Biography

Bruce Springsteen's recording career spans more than thirty years, beginning with 1973's Columbia Records release 'Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ.' By 1975, the covers of both Time and Newsweek declared Springsteen's music a national phenomenon. He has released twenty-four albums, garnered nineteen Grammy Awards, won an Oscar (for 1994's "Streets of ... Read more in Amazon's Bruce Springsteen Store

Visit Amazon's Bruce Springsteen Store
for 206 albums, 35 photos, 10 videos, discussions, and more.

Frequently Bought Together

The Ghost of Tom Joad + Nebraska
Price for both: $20.32

Buy the selected items together
  • Nebraska $6.94


Product Details

  • Audio CD (November 21, 1995)
  • Number of Discs: 1
  • Label: Sony
  • ASIN: B000002BFL
  • Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MiniDisc  |  MP3 Music
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (117 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #95,380 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Bruce Springsteen followed his muse on this haunting 1995 release. Perhaps that's why it barely made a dent in the marketplace, even while it thrilled the faithful who were willing to take another dark, Nebraska-like journey with him. It's abundantly clear that Springsteen had been soaking himself in the work of John Steinbeck and Woody Guthrie during the writing of The Ghost of Tom Joad, but their combined influence is found on more than just the title track. It's all over these windblown songs (including the haunting "Dry Lightning" and "the seminal "Youngstown") and their hard-scrabble protagonists. Not the Boss's biggest record, but certainly one of his best. --Michael Ruby

Product Description

CD

Customer Reviews

This is one of his absolute best albums! Rudy Palma  |  21 reviewers made a similar statement
I read someone's review that said he could only listen to it once or twice a year; I agree. Buddha  |  12 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
47 of 48 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A stark, dark brooding masterpiece September 23, 2002
Format:Audio CD
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.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
44 of 49 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Springsteen writes stories of and for the rest of us... December 17, 2002
By A. Ort
Format:Audio CD
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.

Was this review helpful to you?
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars An underappreciated masterpiece December 31, 1999
By A Customer
Format:Audio CD
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.
Was this review helpful to you?
Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars Ghost of Tom Jpoad
Believe it or not, I'm 61 and just getting into the Boss. I bought this CD because his live version of the title song is so great; it's a little different on the original here. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Connie L. Wardlow
4.0 out of 5 stars a dark concept album
Those of us of a certain age remember Sinatra's concept album "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Stanley Crowe
5.0 out of 5 stars If you 'Get' Bruce, you must get this!
I bought this album because I like a lot of Bruce's music, especially the dark, beautiful stuff, and I love the Nebraska album. But I didn't expect a whole lot. Read more
Published 8 months ago by lonnie
1.0 out of 5 stars Tom joad
Very very very slow to get it. Wont use this oufit again. No apology. No explanation as to why it was so slow.
Published 12 months ago by ROMAN EMPIRE
2.0 out of 5 stars new????
cd arrived without a security strip... was ddescribed and purchased as new. does not appear to be.....
also,long pause before track
Published on March 25, 2011 by anomymous
5.0 out of 5 stars The Ghost of Tom Joad
This is one of Springsteens best albums. It is in the same vein as 'Nebraska' and has echos of 'Devils and Dust' to come. Read more
Published on March 5, 2011 by Spider Monkey
4.0 out of 5 stars Springstings Gretest Work--if you can understand the lyrics
I think this was the greatest Bruce Springsting album. The message of the songs and descriptions of what some people go through on this album help people understand the things... Read more
Published on June 1, 2010 by G. S. Dills
2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing
I was never really a Springsteen fan until I heard his "Nebraska" album. I was captivated by the eerie, gritty essence of the album and the blue collar storytelling. Read more
Published on March 15, 2010 by DarkHorse
3.0 out of 5 stars 3 stars for the best of intentions.
If good intentions translated into great results every time out, then Bruce Springsteen on THE GHOST OF TOM JOAD would be an undisputed home run. Read more
Published on October 28, 2009 by jblyn
5.0 out of 5 stars A dark brooding reflection on America's seedy underbelly.
If you think Bruce Springsteen is all about pulse pounding arena rock listen to this album.It's about a group of people living on the broken side of the American Dream. Read more
Published on August 28, 2009 by michael
Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

Forums

There are no discussions about this product yet.
Be the first to discuss this product with the community.
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 




What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?



Look for Similar Items by Category

SpotlightMedia Privacy Statement SpotlightMedia Shipping Information SpotlightMedia Returns & Exchanges