[su_box title=”Editor’s Note”]<\/p>\n
The Ghost of Tom Joad <\/i>is the sixth Springsteen studio album to receive the complete Roll of the Dice <\/em>treatment.<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve joined me along the way of this six-year odyssey, you might find it interesting to explore some of the earlier essays you missed. If you\u2019ve been with me from the beginning, these articles are now updated and crosslinked to help explore the connections, genealogy, and comparisons between songs.<\/p>\n Click the song titles to learn more about the meaning behind and origins of each song.<\/p>\n [\/su_box]<\/p>\n Bruce Springsteen’s eleventh studio album holds a special place in my heart.<\/p>\n It’s not my favorite album. In fact, I wouldn’t even include it in my Top Five.<\/p>\n It’s not his best album, his most artful, or his most memorable. There are no earworms on it, no songs you’ll find yourself humming in the shower, no tracks you’ll shush your companions over if you were to stumble across them on the radio… which of course, you won’t (E Street Radio aside).<\/p>\n And yet, The Ghost of Tom Joad <\/em>carries a special distinction for me: across the six years I’ve been writing this blog, it’s uncontestedly my favorite album to write about.<\/p>\n Each song is infused with literary, cinematic, or straight-from-the-news influences, and each essay led me on a journey of delight and discovery as I delved into the meaning and inspiration behind each track.<\/p>\n The Ghost of Tom Joad<\/em> very nearly earns another top accolade: second only to Western Stars<\/em>, it’s easily Springsteen’s best-sounding album. While many of its tracks are far from melodious–some resemble spoken-word storytelling–this is a breathtakingly intimate-sounding album that requires over-ear headphones to truly appreciate.<\/p>\n If you’ve never listened to The Ghost of Tom Joad<\/em> in a darkened room with over-ear headphones, trust me and do it now. You’ll be amazed at the detail you discover in Bruce’s hushed, lush storytelling. You’ll hear every guitar string pluck from the very first song. And those vocals… it’s as if Bruce is sitting right next to us, whispering in our ear. You’ll not only hear each word he sings, you’ll hear each breath he takes.<\/p>\n The Ghost of Tom Joad <\/em>is widely considered to be a solo album, but only seven of its twelve tracks qualify as such. The other five feature small combos that include E Streeters Garry Tallent, Danny Federici, and Soozie Tyrell playing with remarkable delicacy. Every<\/em> musician on the album plays that way. If there’s a single word that describes the album’s sound it would be: gentle. It takes a close, careful and above all quiet <\/em>listen to truly appreciate the delicate beauty of this collection.<\/p>\n