8/10 Clash Magazine Review – Tom Jones ‘Praise and Blame’
July 1st, 2010 | By TomJones
Seventy-year-old Jones has finally matured, delving into his musical heritage, and delivering a stunning album. With Ethan Johns as the Rick Rubin to his Johnny Cash, Jones presents stripped down cover songs that enriched him – from Dylan, John Lee Hooker, Staple Singers and more – anchored by a voice that sounds more impassioned and diginified than ever. Poignant at times, exhilarating at others, ‘Praise And Blame’ marks an exciting new direction from a national treasure.
8/10 Simon Harper, August 2010
Lots of individuals are resorting to different styles of this, as conventional methods are becoming more complicated and displaying more negative effects. your post explores a few of these different sorts of methods and the way the benefit us, thanks! thanks
I saw Tom being interviewed by Alan Yentob while he was recording his new album and I thought it was brilliant and so is he – I am looking forward to the release date, 26July, when I’ll be buying my first Tom Jones CD! (What does that Island man know? I predict a big seller and he can eat his words.)
Finally, this man with an amazing voice has gone back to his true roots. He has returned to the Welsh valley Presbyterian influence of his childhood and has excavated the sound of true gospel soul (we call it ‘hwyl’ in Welsh) which will have remained with him from every Sunday night of his childhood walking home from Chapel. This is Jones’s real music and his voice revels in its power and glory, because, finally, he has reached down to a deeper level inside himself and has found that his real roots were there all the time. And what music they can produce.
Dolly Parton was never better than when she took off the rhinestones and put on her denims and sang the songs and hymns from her childhood.
Tom Jones could be even better if he concentrates now on these kind of songs, goes back to the hymns, blues and gospel soul because he will find that this is the music that is now getting a new kind of respect on the Festival circuit. The new folk and blues revivalists have forged a way but this man could take it to a new level.
Welcome home, Tom bach, we’ve missed you!
Tom has always been a “treasure” to all his fans! He just keeps getting better and better – unbelieveable!