The eleventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen saw the stadium-shaking heights of his early work toned down for a more somber, reflective experience. The album, Springsteen’s first project following 1995’s Greatest Hits, along with Springsteen’s separation from the E Street Band, was inspired by John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath and appropriated by Springsteen to reflect life in the mid-1990s in America and Mexico. Though critics primarily favored Springsteen’s experimentation—Mikal Gilmore, cultural critic of Rolling Stone, praised Springsteen’s bravery, declaring the album his best in the past decade at the time of release (Gilmore)—fans weren’t as thrilled with the sound’s departure, according to Gary Graff, award-winning cultural critic of Louder, who emphasized the musician’s sales decline. Graff writes, “Tom Joad was the first Springsteen album since 1973 to miss the top five, although it did win a Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album” (Gruff).

This persona of Bruce Springsteen reflects the Nico Rathburn that Jane Moore, and the reader, are introduced to within the narrative of April Lindner’s Jane. The Rathburn that Jane meets is an older, experienced, and toned-down version of the young, drug addled celebrity that the media portrays him as; by all definitions, Nico Rathburn is reinventing himself upon the release of his latest album. This is evident in Chapter 6, when Rathburn confides in Jane prior to the photoshoot, concerned with how his wardrobe should reflect the music he aims to sell his audience. After Jane asks Nico what the album sounds like, he replies, “More acoustic than the others. More folky. Lyric intensive, if you know what I mean. Less dynamic, more reflective. Intimate.” (Lindner 71), which matches the folky, acoustic tone of Tom Joad.

But the similarities between Springsteen and Rathburn do not end there. In Graff’s article, “The stories behind the songs: The Ghost of Tom Joad by Bruce Springsteen,” he references the musician’s commentary, found within Springsteen’s 1998 lyric book, Songs. In it, Springsteen writes, “I knew [the album] wouldn’t attract my largest audience, but I was sure the songs on it added up to a reaffirmation of the best of what I do” (Graff). Mirroring this, Nico Rathburn tells Jane, “My fan base is going to hate it; it will remind them they’re not teenagers anymore” (Lindner 71), thus demonstrating the awareness Lindner had of Springsteen while crafting Rathburn’s character. The difference between Springsteen’s album and Nico’s album, however, exists within the positive fan reception. In Chapter 26, with the documentary scene, the filmmakers acknowledge that “The critical acclaim for Nico’s new album and tour was impressive. Not bad for a musician whose wild lifestyle had once overshadowed his music” (Lindner 335), demonstrating the trajectory of Rathburn’s career in his sober days, as opposed to the risky experimentation of Springsteen’s Tom Joad.

Bibliography:

Gilmore, Mikal. “The Ghost of Tom Joad.” Rolling Stone, Penske Business Media, LLC, 28 Dec. 1995. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/the-ghost-of-tom-joad-248758/. Accessed 31 Oct. 2019.

Graff, Gary. “The stories behind the songs: The Ghost of Tom Joad by Bruce Springsteen.” Louder, Future Publishing Limited Quay House, 4 Dec. 2017. https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-stories-behind-the-songs-the-ghost-of-tom-joad-by-bruce-springsteen. Accessed 31 Oct. 2019.

Lindner, April. Jane. Kindle ed., Poppy, 2010.

Album Cover: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ghost_of_Tom_Joad#/media/File:The_Ghost_of_Tom_Joad.jpg