Released November 21, 1995 The Ghost of Tom Joad
(1995) Blood Brothers
(1996) Release date 21 November 1995 | Length 50:16 Artist Bruce Springsteen Label Columbia Records | |
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Recorded March–September 1995
Thrill Hill Recording Producer Bruce Springsteen, Chuck Plotkin Genres Rock music, Folk rock, Folk music Awards Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album Similar Bruce Springsteen albums, Rock music albums | ||
Bruce springsteen the ghost of tom joad 1995 full album
The Ghost of Tom Joad is the eleventh studio album, and the second acoustic album, by American recording artist Bruce Springsteen. The album was released on November 21, 1995, through Columbia Records. The album was recorded and mixed at Thrill Hill West, Springsteen's home studio in Los Angeles, California.
Contents
- Bruce springsteen the ghost of tom joad 1995 full album
- Bruce springsteen the ghost of tom joad wmv
- Reception and composition
- Track listing
- Unreleased outtakes
- Songs
- References
Following the 1995 studio reunion with the E Street Band and the release of Greatest Hits, Springsteen's writing activity increased significantly. He wrote and recorded the album between March and September 1995. The album consists of seven solo tracks and five band tracks.
The Ghost of Tom Joad debuted at number 11 on the US Billboard 200 chart, with 107,000 copies sold in its first-week. The album won the 1997 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album.
Bruce springsteen the ghost of tom joad wmv
Reception and composition
The Ghost of Tom Joad received mostly favorable reviews. Mikal Gilmore of Rolling Stone called it "Springsteen's best album in ten years," and considered it "among the bravest work that anyone has given us this decade." However, it reached only number 11 on the Billboard 200, breaking a string of eight consecutive Top 5 studio albums in the U.S for Springsteen.
The album is mainly backed by acoustic guitar work and the lyrics on many of the tracks are a somber reflection of life in the mid-1990s in America and Mexico. The character of Tom Joad entered the American consciousness in John Steinbeck’s 1939 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Grapes of Wrath, set against the economic hardships of the Great Depression. This spawned a film version starring Henry Fonda, which in turn inspired folk singer Woody Guthrie to pen "The Ballad of Tom Joad".
The album's release was followed by Springsteen's solo acoustic Ghost of Tom Joad Tour, which ran from 1995 to 1997 and consisted of mostly small venues.
Track listing
All tracks written by Bruce Springsteen.
Unreleased outtakes
Twelve of the twenty-two songs recorded during the album's sessions made the album's final cut while "Dead Man Walkin'" was released on the soundtrack for the movie Dead Man Walking and later on The Essential Bruce Springsteen and "Brothers Under the Bridge" was released on Tracks. "I'm Turning Into Elvis" and "It's the Little Things That Count" remain unreleased; however, they were performed live while "Idiot's Delight" and "I'm Not Sleeping" were also performed live and along with "1945" and "Cheap Motel" were co-written with Joe Grushecky, who recorded the four songs for his 1997 album Coming Home.
Songs
1The Ghost of Tom Joad4:23
2Straight Time3:30
3Highway 293:44