Statement from Tom Jones' Management

On behalf of Tom Jones, we'd like to say this about an article published on page 3 of the Sunday Times, published last Sunday July 4th:
Praise & Blame is not an album of 'Hymns from the Common Book of Prayer'. The work draws from the traditional American Spiritual repertoire that has themes of choice and consequence, responsibility, struggle, temptation,  good and evil--all universal themes of the worldly journey of both the body and spirit.
Tom and his producer Ethan Johns chose and developed these songs because they became, through working together live in the studio--genuine, true, performances of worth. Musically, the song interpretations are influenced by forms as diverse as soul, country, folk, blues, gospel, punk and rock, producing unique layers of sound, feel and meaning that cannot be categorised in a particular genre or era.
There is nothing to say about the article that contains this contemptuous email, except that the creative and marketing teams at Island Records have been nothing but genuinely enthusiastic and supportive of this landmark album.  Please see  www.islandrecords.co.uk/ for their own comment.
Praise & Blame is released on July 26th 2010.

Review: Tom Jones- Praise and Blame - No Depression

51-v1AbOBnL._SL500_AA300_ Posted by Adam Sheets on July 7, 2010 at 4:30pm

In 1969, when Elvis Presley made his return to live performing at Las Vegas's International Hotel (later to be renamed the Las Vegas Hilton) his goal was to create a musical experience that contained all of the great forms of American music: folk, pop, rock, country, blues, R&B, gospel. His Vegas period is often thought of as the worst point in his career and is lampooned by critics, music fans, and impersonators alike. Elvis himself even became fed up with performing there after a while. Yet, at least during the first few years, he succeeded in his goal musically.

The entire career of Welsh singer Tom Jones invites comparisons to Presley's Vegas period. In fact, the two men were good friends who often attended one another's shows (during one particularly interesting show, Jones introduced Elvis to the audience and asked him to perform a song. He declined, deciding to entertain the audience with a 20-minute karate demonstration instead. It was 1974 and he acted weird on stage quite often that year) and Elvis was even inspired to record "Green, Green Grass of Home" after hearing Jones' take on the song. The similarities don't end there though: both share a unique and powerful voice and an excellent taste in material to record. However, Jones did not have the groundbreaking string of classic music that Elvis did from 1954-1958, so critics let him get away with far less. Thus, as Jones' reputation as an extraordinary entertainer grew with every pair of panties thrown onto a Las Vegas stage, his estimation in the minds of music fans and critics lessened.

"Lost Highway to release Tom Jones", I read here a few months back. I was aware of only a few of Jones' pop hits, his phenomenal vocal chords, and his reputation for being an entertainer above anything else. I was unaware that he had recorded a string of country albums back in the '70s and '80s, so my first thought was that the label was attempting to cash in on the stripped-down successes of other aging artists in recent years: Johnny Cash, Robert Plant, Neil Diamond, etc. Then I heard the first single.

I'll tell you about that in a few minutes, but first I will share with you another similar experience. A couple of years ago I watched a film entitled Reign Over Me. The star of the film was Adam Sandler and I had always enjoyed him as an entertainer and a comedian. I wasn't expecting a masterpiece, just a few laughs at the end of a long day. But as I watched Sandler's character sitting in the lobby of a psychiatrist's office weeping as he told of his family who had been killed in the September 11th attacks, I began to respect him as an actor. By the time the credits rolled, I was amazed at what I felt, and still feel, to be an Oscar-worthy performance. Fast forward to a few weeks ago. I sat listening to Tom Jones' take on the blues standard "Burning Hell," half expecting to be amused by the entire thing. Instead my image of Tom Jones changed from a set of vocal chords ready to please a crowd of old ladies to a serious recording artist. (I ask that long-time fans of Jones not be too hard on me. After all, I'm sure that there were some people unaware of the musical genius that is Neil Diamond prior to 12 Songs.)

"What good am I if I'm like all the rest?" the 70-year-old singer nearly whispers to open the album. Is the question rhetorical? Is he talking to himself? The performance, a cover of a somewhat obscure Dylan tune where Jones is backed up by only a sparse rhythm section, is almost prayer-like in its gentle quietness and with its heartfelt vocals. Yet no answer is given to this or Jones' other questions throughout the song, leaving the listener to ponder the answers and making it a quite haunting piece of music.

Things speed up a lot on "Lord Help", a blues-rock spiritual where Jones shouts a request to the Lord to help the poor and needy, the sinners, the fatherless children, and the war-torn people of this land. The band is especially brilliant here with blistering electric guitar and organ. This track is almost Hendrix-like in a way.

"Did Trouble Me" is the third track and it sounds as if it was recorded inside of a church confessional. "When I let things stand that should not be," he pleadingly sings, "My Lord did trouble me/When I held my head too high, too proud, my Lord did trouble me/When I raised my voice a little too loud, my Lord did trouble me." The main attraction here is not the excellent voice, but rather the emotion and heart behind it. It is peculiar to say this of a track by a white Welsh singer known for playing Las Vegas, especially of a track that prominently features the banjo, but this is soul music at its best.

"Strange Things" is another traditional spiritual, this time given a rockabilly arrangement. The band really is smoking here and Jones manages to sound half his age.

"Burning Hell" is the first track I heard from the album and it is still one of the best. This version of the John Lee Hooker classic could almost be described as hard rock or Zepplinesque. Jones defiantly bellows "Maybe there ain't no Heaven, no burning Hell" as if taunting Satan himself before quietly speaking the line "When I die where will I go?" in a way that would make ZZ Top green with envy.

"If I Give My Soul" is perhaps my favorite track here. Written by Billy Joe Shaver, with this truly heartbreaking rendition Jones gives the definitive reading of it and, although I am admittedly in no position to make a statement like this, possibly the best recording of his career. He sings the tune as if he is telling his own life story. Maybe he is. When he speaks of "playing music, traveling with the Devil's band", the voice in my head immediately screamed "Sin City" and when he talks about making his peace with Jesus as a way to gain back the love of his wife and child, I felt sorry for him. The emotion here is all real and it is really the only time on the album where Jones sounds anywhere near 70.

"Don't Knock" is a spiritual done in the style of Jerry Lee Lewis or Little Richard. Jones' passionate singing is equaled by the musicianship of the band and the call-and-response vocals with the gospel choir are excellent although it is a relatively minor track here.

"Nobody's Fault but Mine" is a deep south blues tune, delivered here with an atmosphere somewhat similar to the work of Tom Waits. The deeply spiritual tune finds Jones admitting that "If I died and my soul be lost, it's nobody's fault but mine" before a Creedence-like guitar solo takes over.

"Didn't It Rain" is a traditional upbeat gospel number and this version perhaps is the best display of Jones' vocals as well as the instrumental prowess of the piano player.

"Ain't No Grave" is given an arrangement very similar to the version by Johnny Cash. This is not the definitive version of the song, nor the best performance on the album although there are really no problems with it.

"Run On" is the album's final track and it has been recorded by countless singers including Elvis and Johhny Cash (as "God's Gonna Cut You Down"). So what is amazing is the fact that Jones and producer Ethan Johns managed to give it their own incredible twist, complete with a Jimmy Reed guitar riff.

I hadn't really intended to write a review of this album so soon. It doesn't even come out for another two weeks. I had simply sat down to write down a few initial thoughts and began writing the review anyway. In closing, you should know that not everybody is a fan of this album. In fact, David Sharpe, the VP of the album's distributor Island Records publicly made an ass of himself upon hearing the album for the first time (follow that link if you want to know, in a nutshell, everything that is wrong with the music business). His own label is against him, which must be a strange feeling for a man who has tried for the better part of five decades to please everybody. But as a wise man once said on a classic record, "You can't please everyone, so you got to please yourself". Tom Jones made this album for himself, but I think you will enjoy it as well if you just give it a chance. So what if his voice would lend itself just as well to a Broadway musical as it does to these old gospel numbers? We can't all be Bob Dylan.

http://www.nodepression.com/profiles/blog/show?id=2342817%3ABlogPost%3A171107&commentId=2342817%3AComment%3A171305&xg_source=activity

The Telegraph Review of 'Tom Jones: What Good Am I?'

Ceri Radford reviews Tom Jones: What Good Am I?, the latest edition of BBC One's new culture series Imagine He’s recently turned 70, and finally grown up. Tom Jones has just recorded a new gospel album, Praise & Blame, which is such a sombre contrast to the hip-swivelling hijinks of his earlier hits that the boss of his record label asked if the end product was a “sick joke”. In fact it was anything but, as the rich and fascinating retrospective of the singer’s career, Tom Jones: What Good Am I? (BBC One) made clear. With five decades in the music business behind him, Jones has given up the gimmicks and gone back to singing his heart out to the sort of soulful music that convinced him that he would be a star when it reached the Welsh mining town of his childhood. Alan Yentob, in the finale of his latest Imagine… cultural series, did a deft job of joining the dots between Tom Jones’s popular image as a hirsute, strutting knicker-magnet and a singer who has always taken his own music seriously, contrary to appearances.

“I’ve only got myself to blame. The pants were tight,” Jones admits, when Yentob gently asked him about the mass female hysteria that defined his reputation in the Seventies. “I thought I was a young, virile, no bulls--- artist. But maybe I was exploiting the sexual part of it.” The documentary interspersed Yentob’s interview with archive material charting Jones’s career and footage of the singer blasting out powerful tracks – including Run On and What Good Am I? – from his new album. It made for a strong combination. “Singing was like breathing to me,” Jones reminisced, as we saw black and white photographs of him as an impish child in the Fifties then heard him describe the misery of being bed-ridden with TB for two years in his teens, unable to raise his voice. His only lifeline was the radio: he absorbed the gospel music broadcast by the BBC to such an extent that both a school teacher, and later Elvis, would tell him that he sang “like a negro”.

He recovered to scratch out a living laying bricks and singing in working men’s clubs. In 1964, he was spotted by a talent scout and his first number one hit, It’s Not Unusual, soon followed. He became the “first British singer to conquer America”: he sang duets with Elvis, he had a prime-time TV show, he was a millionaire. Some of the most telling images showed Jones smoking a cigar in front of a pit head and parking his oversized Mercedes on a tiny Pontypridd terraced street. The programme neatly captured Jones’s straightforward innocence, which borders on naïvety. He was rich, so he went home to show off his wealth. He was good-looking, so he posed on a yacht wearing a tiny pair of white pants.

What saved him – just – from becoming a pastiche of himself was the intervention of his son and manager, Mark, who “wanted to shift the focus of attention three feet upwards”, as well as the strength and sincerity of his voice. Jools Holland, one of the talking heads, summed it up by saying Jones “believes the song”, while the singer Cerys Matthews described his voice as like “the energy that comes rumbling up” when a tube train comes into the station.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/bbc/7875024/Imagine-BBC-One-an-introduction-to-Tom-Jones-the-grown-up-review.html

Tom Jones - What Good Am I? BBC ONE: TUE 06 JUL, 10:35PM

Feature-BBC-Imagine-Tom-Jones-Wk-27-July-10-2 The Imagine series has been superb to date, but tonight’s instalment is an extra special treat as Alan Yentob interviews Tom Jones.

We look ahead to the hip-swinging special.

Ladies, prepare to fling your frillies in the direction of the nearest TV screen as Tom Jones is the subject of tonight’s interview with Alan Yentob and what a fantastic subject the Welsh warbler makes.

With a career that spans more than 45 years and over 100million record sales, Jones is a bonafide legend and is still recording today at the ripe old age of 70. But you wouldn’t know it to look at him as he’s still every part the sex symbol with the immaculately sculpted facial fuzz and bare perma-tanned chest.

He was friends with Elvis, complimented by Sinatra, performed in Vegas, had a hit US TV show and became a popular country and western singer before reinventing himself for a new generation by tuning his baritoned voice into more modern musical tastes. It’s a remarkable journey for a boy from Pontypridd.

In this delightfully frank interview Yentob gets the best out of the Jones looking beyond the highs and lows of a glittering musical career, to find out about the man behind the mic. Jones is refreshingly frank and talks at length about his humble beginnings and career high points with equal enthusiasm; but it’s his open and often amusing recounting of his career lows that really set the man apart in an interview that’s well worth a watch. http://tv.sky.com/imagine-tom-jones

Double Dose of Tom Jones this Week on the BBC

TomJones_0 This week brings us a double helping of Tom Jones on the BBC. 

The first installment is the series finale of Alan Yentobs Imagine series, 'Imagine: Jones The Voice'. Tomorrow night (Tuesday) on BBC1 at 10:35pm.

This intimate interview with Alan Yentob looks back on Tom's remarkable career. Taking him on a journey to this present day and the making of his latest album 'Praise and Blame'.

Featuring exclusive contributions from fellow musicians and former collaborators including Jools Holland, Cerys Matthews and Kelly Jones, this is not one to miss.

The second installment comes at the end of the week with the penultimate 'Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'. Featuring a chat and performance of new material from 'Praise and Blame', this makes a perfect excuse to stay in on a Friday. Catch this on Friday night on BBC1 at 10:35pm.

Tom’s incredible new album Praise & Blame out on July 26th has been winning rave reviews:

“Incredible” – MOJO 4/5

“Striking, Tender, Exhilarating” – The Fly 4/5

“Tom Jones brilliant new album is what his mighty voice is made for” – Evening Standard

“Poignant at Times Exhilarating At Others” – Clash 8/10

Tom Jones: 'Spiritual songs are natural to me'

Tom-Jones-006 http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/jul/01/tom-jones-interview

Laura Barton guardian.co.uk,     Thursday 1 July 2010 21.30

He used to be a 'naughty boy' in tight trousers and garlanded with knickers. But as he hits 70, Tom Jones has moved on and made his 'Johnny Cash album'

He's not altogether what I expected. Surveying the menu in a half-empty restaurant in central London this lunchtime, Tom Jones appears a rather toned-down version of the man I expected to meet. He's less mahogany, certainly, the hair less heavily blackened, the teeth not so furiously white. But there's something in his demeanour, too, that seems quieter than anticipated. He is 70 now, of course, and perhaps time has muted the bravado and the innuendo, the hair dye and the tan, perhaps he has realised he has little left to prove. In the time we spend together, a trace of the famed lothario only surfaces once, when he orders a large bottle of mineral water. The waitress brings it to the table and Jones sizes it up with a glint in his eye: "Ooh," he says, "that is a big one." The waitress looks back, blankly.

In truth, Jones has made a career out of the unexpected. In the 1960s, when the charts were filled with group singers, pop bands and Beatles wannabes with bright, sweet voices, he sang solo, belting out hits such as Delilah and What's New Pussycat? He conquered America and recast himself as a country singer before he succeeded in reviving his chart career in the late 1980s with a cover of the Prince song Kiss. Later came duets with Cerys Matthews, Mousse T and Robbie Williams, albums recorded with Wyclef Jean and Jools Holland, Brit awards and charity singles with Rob Brydon. This year, he performs another volte-face, returning with what may well prove the finest recording of his career. Praise & Blame is a collection of blues numbers and spirituals, Bob Dylan and John Lee Hooker songs, material that showcase Jones's remarkable voice; pared back and unadorned, it carries the weight and the ruminative quality of late Johnny Cash's final recordings.

It began as a Christmas album. Island Records, presumably surveying the lucrative festive market, asked Jones to record "some carols, or something religious for Christmas", he recalls. He was not averse to the idea, but in no rush to hurry it through in time to be placed under the tree. "We said, 'If we're going to do this, why don't we take a bit of time and get it done right?'" he explains. "And it was suggested, thank God, that we approach the producer Ethan Johns." Johns is famed for his raw, organic approach to recording, and for being the son of an even more famous producer, Glyn Johns. "I'd heard of him," Jones says. "I knew who his father was. And he said, 'I like it to be real, we pick the songs, get in the studio, get in there with a rhythm section and try them out.' And I said, 'Well, that sounds good to me.'"

They started with two songs, Did Trouble Me and the gospel number Run On. It was while recording the latter that the direction revealed itself. "Suddenly it happened," Jones says, "it caught fire." After that, the path seemed obvious. "We thought, 'Let's look for some spiritual things, uplifting things, things that mean something.'" He says it almost tenderly. "And they have to be strong when you've only got a rhythm section, they have to speak for themselves, really. And so we got to the recording studio and said, 'Well, how do we treat this?' Song by song."

For Jones, it was in many ways a return to the beginning. He grew up the son of a miner in Pontypridd, in south Wales, "where music was a very big thing, especially singing. I don't know whether it was because you didn't have to have an instrument – because you've already got it, it's built in. And it's expressive – I think the voice is more expressive than anything else. So coming from that area, I was encouraged to sing as a child."

They sang everywhere, he says, at birthday parties, at weddings and at funerals. "There's one in Wales that we do called The Old Rugged Cross," he says a little mistily. "It's sung at all funerals. And I wanted to get it on here, on this album, an a cappella version, but it didn't fit." At school, they tried to make him sing in the choir. "But I used to shy away from it," he says. "I didn't like to be restricted, because when you're in a choir, you have a part to sing and you sing it. I always liked singing on my own. Even when I was carol singing door-to-door, I would go by myself. If I went with the boys, they would always cock it up because we're all loud; in Wales, we do sing loud, even if they're out of tune."

By his own estimation, he "didn't shine much" in music class. "Because they wanted you to sing in a certain way," he explains. "But then on a Friday afternoon in the junior school, we had little concerts. So I'd get up and sing – just songs of the day ... Ghost Riders in the Sky was a big song when I was a kid, Vaughn Monroe did it, and Frankie Laine, a bunch of people did it. But again it was one of those songs – cowboy, country, gospelly." He drums the restaurant table, rolling from thumb to palm to finger. "That rhythm, it's the bass drum, and I used to do that while I sang," he smiles. "My father showed me how to do it, so I could do it myself at school."

He sang in church, too, of course, a Presbyterian chapel where he was always late for the service and the heavy sound of the organ put the fear of God into him. "So these spiritual songs, the gospel songs on this album, that's very natural to me. It's not like stepping into an area that I haven't tried yet. I know what these songs are; it's my cup of tea if you like. This is stuff that I listen to, that I've always liked."

Even in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when he began his music career in earnest, singing in the clubs and pubs with a cover band, he sang with just a rhythm section and drew on the old songs, the songs that stirred him. "It was a cover band, you know?" he says. "And they were doing pop songs when I met them, they wanted to do more sort of Beatles songs and things that were happening then. But what I did was get them to do more 1950s rock'n'roll, which I loved. And I was reverting to gospelly stuff. I used to do ballads like I Believe, which is a religious song."

At first, people didn't take Jones's ambition seriously. "You know, singing, it was a natural thing in Wales," he says. "I wanted to be a professional singer, but no one was doing that then – music was a way of life, but they were all amateur singers. And it was a big step from south Wales to London, especially before they built the bridge." But the young Jones was undeterred, spurred on by a television programme he had once watched as a boy. "It was The Al Jolson Story, and it showed him growing up and how he got into showbusiness, and I was really interested in that. I thought, 'Wow! I want to be like this fella! He's moving and singing!'"

The moves came naturally, he says. "I've always liked to dance – I've got a natural rhythm. My mother tells of how she used to carry me, Welsh-fashion: you know, where you wrap a blanket around the baby and the mother so she could do things around the house, and something would come on the radio that was rhythmic and I would start to move in the shawl. " By the time he was playing the clubs , the moves had developed into something more raunchy, a little less family-friendly. He laughs, and looks bashfully at his plate of fish and chips. "Oh, yeah, I got that – 'Ooh, that Tom, he's a naughty boy!'"

Sex has always been a key component to the Tom Jones appeal. Only last year, the Hungarian magazine Periodika voted him the sexiest man in the world. His was never a slick sexuality, rather it was a mischievous raunchiness, propped up by a reputation for being a ladies' man, despite a marriage to his childhood sweetheart that continues to this day.

But obvious sexiness is absent from Praise & Blame; the album is seductive, certainly – his voice has never sounded so sultry or so rich – but the themes are more autumnal, issues of choice and responsibility. Even the title, he's quick to explain, is a reference to the life he has lived. "I've been praised throughout my career, and I've been blamed for things, too," he says neatly. What has he been blamed for? "Well, you know," he near-blushes, "maybe my pants were a little too tight. Maybe they were. And the knicker-throwing. As if I'd instigated it." Did he not instigate it? "I didn't start it," he insists. "But once things happen, you try and turn it around to your advantage."

It was an excess of knicker-throwing that marked a career-changing moment for Jones. After the death of his long-time manager and friend, Gordon Mills, in 1986, Jones's son, Mark, took over as his father's manager. At the time, his career had entered something of a lull, and he was busy recording country music for the American market. "But I was digging my own grave then, I realised," he says, "because I was ignoring the rest of the world." It was a strange position in which to find himself.

"Things were working very well through the 1960s and the 1970s," Jones says quietly, "but then things didn't." There was a lack of decent material sent his way, "and I was doing a lot of live shows; and when you're doing a lot of live shows you're not so concerned about the recordings. Which I should've been. People have asked me, 'If you had your time again …', and I always say I would concentrate more, in the 1970s, on the recordings." Instead, he was getting knickers thrown at him. "You get caught up in it," he says. "They were getting in the way, they were making it look …" he looks mildly despairing, "and I didn't want it to be that way." It took a few words of advice from his son to mark a change. "Mark said to me, 'Look, if they throw them, leave them– don't go catching them and wiping your brow with them.'"

It's been 25 years since then. Certainly, you sense that Jones himself is more than ready to move on: he's more contemplative than one might expect, and there is a faint sadness to him too. He talks of his wife's emphysema, of realising he himself is not invincible, of how singing a particular line in Did Trouble Me catches him: "If I let things stand that shouldn't be," he sings it softly.

"I suppose the older I've got, the more I've thought it, about the fact that if you do an album, you've got to think, 'Now, what is this album?' Not just do a mish-mash of songs, like I used to do." The surprise, for him as much as us, is that the real Tom Jones is not found between the Vegas lights and the knicker-strewn stage, but here among the hymns of home. "When I heard it, I thought, 'This is me,'" he says softly, "'This is my meat, this is where I come from.'"

Praise & Blame is released on Island on 26 July. Jones pays the Latitude festival in Suffolk on 15 July.

4/5 The Fly Magazine Review - Tom Jones 'Praise and Blame'

There's something slightly odd yet wonderfully right about 'Praise and Blame', the record where Tom Jones - he of Sex Bomb - finds God through gospel and blues. As from the surprisingly brilliant and sombre opening of Bob Dylan's 'What Good Am I? Jones - with the help of Ethan Johns (Kings of Leon and Laura Marling's producer) - reminds the word what the voice can do. The result is striking, tender and such is the case with his renditionof John Lee Hooker's 'Burning Hell', exhilarating. Just like Johnny Cash before him, it could be enough to warrant a revival of cool, no easy feat for a 70- year-old man used to being hit with underwear.

8/10 Clash Magazine Review - Tom Jones 'Praise and Blame'

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

Tom Jones For Latitude

Clash Music Online http://www.clashmusic.com/news/tom-jones-for-latitude

TomJones_0Legendary Welsh singer Tom Jones is amongst the latest acts to appear at this year's Latitude festival.

Set on England's sunrise coast, Latitude has grown to become one of the summer's most respected events. Based around a natural arena, the festival always has a little something special in store.

Amongst the latest announcements is an appearance by iconic Welsh singer Tom Jones. The Cardiff crooner began life as a hit on Britain's R&B circuit before swapping the grit of Working Men's Clubs for the glamour of Hollywood.

A star at Las Vegas, Tom Jones has now decided to age gracefully. Forthcoming album 'Praise & Blame' is a deeply meditative work, featuring a singer who is coming to terms with his advancing years.

Produced by Ethan Jones, the album contains material initially written by the likes of Bob Dylan and John Lee Hooker. Indebted to blues, gospel and country it is a remarkable achievement by an often overlooked artist.

Tom Jones will unveil his new album during a special performance at Latitude. The singer is set to perform in the woods outside the arena, with the set beginning at midnight on July 15th.

Meanwhile, other new additions include I Blame Coco, Boycott Monday, Spectrals, Steve Mason and more. At Latitude music is intermingled with comedy, literature, art and theatre with plenty more surprises yet to be announced.

Returning for its fifth edition, Latitude is bigger than ever with acts spread across a total of thirteen arenas. Expect more announcements over the coming weeks as organisers firm up the bill.

Latitude takes place between July 15th - 18th.Tom Jones

Posted by Robin Murray

**** Mojo Review - "Pontypridd's Boyo Heads Back to Basics"

"What good am I, if I'm like all the rest?" emotes Tom Jones on his highly personalised version of Dylan's What Good Am I. No problem there. Few singers with a popular background are going to emerge with an album as remarkable as this during 2010. Recorded live, with no overdubs, and no horn or string trappings, the songs all stem from exemplary sources - culled from memories of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Marie Knight, Mahalia Jackson, John Lee Hooker, Jesse Mae Hemphill and such like and delivered with due reverence, turning on the power when required but never edging into showbiz. The presence of Ethan Johns, producer of Kings of Leon, Laura Marling etc, not only provides Jones with a dynamic sound but, backed by drummer Jeremy Stacy, bassist Dave Bronze and a sprinkling of knowing guests, donates some of the most aggressive yet agreeable guitar licks likely to bend ears this year. **** Fred Dellar, Mojo, Aug 2010

LATITUDE ANNOUNCES THE LEGENDARY TOM JONES!!!

TOM JONES

FOR A VERY SPECIAL PERFORMANCE ON THURSDAY AT MIDNIGHT

IN THE WOODS

image001

We are absolutely delighted to announce that the legendary Tom Jones is set to appear at this year's Latitude Festival with a special performance on Thursday July 15th. The appearance with his band will see Tom performing songs from his forthcoming album 'Praise & Blame' at midnight In The Woods.

This landmark album comes in the singer’s 70th year, a glowing achievement in what has been a ground-breaking, unpredictable roller-coaster of a 45-year career.  The songs from ‘Praise & Blame’ (released 26th July on Island Records), are from a repertoire that includes American traditional, gospel and country, seeing Tom going back to his roots and creating a truly evocative musical work, aided and abetted by producer/musician Ethan Johns.

Tom Jones says of ‘Praise & Blame’: “It’s food for thought, it’s real, it’s natural, and in that sense it’s truly me.”

Latitude Festival returns for an incredible 5th Edition on 15-18th July 2010 set in the beautiful countryside of Henham Park Estate on Suffolk’s Sunrise Coast.

Unlike any other festival, Latitude has built its sterling reputation as a brave and pioneering event with a line-up like no other. In the beautiful Suffolk countryside, Latitude provides only the very best of music, theatre, comedy, literature, film, poetry, dance, art, fashion and cabaret for an exceptional three days and nights of heady indulgence and scintillating entertainment. Four arenas are dedicated to an exciting selection of musical talent from emerging bands, international stars and homegrown heroes, whilst the arts onsite command no less than thirteen arenas and areas providing something for everybody, no matter what your preferences. Latitude continues to be the complete summer weekend vacation.

This performance by Tom Jones will quite possibly be blowing the leaves off the trees when he takes to the secluded and magical stage In The Woods at midnight….

US Release of Praise and Blame!!!

Lost Highway Logo HRLOST HIGHWAY TO RELEASE PRAISE & BLAME, JULY 27TH

THE EXTRAORDINARY NEW ALBUM FROM TOM JONES

JONES RECORDS RAW AND HONEST OFFERING WITH PRODUCER ETHAN JOHNS

It is with great pleasure to announce, Lost Highway Records part of Universal Music Group based in Nashville Tennessee, will be releasing "Praise and Blame", the extraordinary new album from the legendary Tom Jones on July 27th.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Lost Highway represent a great selection of artists such as, Ryan Adams, Mary Gauthier, Van Morrison, Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett and Lucinda Williams to name a few, which makes us very excited about this partnership.

Jones has collaborated with producer Ethan Johns (Kings of Leon, Rufus Wainwright, Laura Marling) to release a captivating collection of songs drawn from the American spiritual, blues and contemporary repertoire. Praise & Blame is a stripped-down, gritty, soul-bearing album from an artist with a successful, multi-genre recording career that spans five decades.

Jones celebrated his 70th birthday on June 7 this year.  One would never guess that he has reached such a milestone when hearing the power, restraint and clarity he presents in his renditions of songs by Susan Werner, Bob Dylan and John Lee Hooker.  Traditional repertoire from the works of The Staple Singers, Mahalia Jackson and Sister Rosetta Tharpe are also given unique, fervent interpretations by a world-renowned voice that is at the top of its game. This is Tom Jones as you’ve never heard him before.

Jones and producer/guitarist Johns recorded Praise & Blame in live sessions at Real World Studios in Bath, England with a small band that consisted of Johns on guitar, Jeremy Stacey on drums and Dave Bronze on bass. Guests include Booker T. Jones, BJ Cole and Gillian Welch.

“…Tom Jones’s brilliant new album, ‘Praise and Blame’ is what his mighty voice is made for”  - Evening Standard (UK)

"Jones delivers one of the albums of his career. This is classy stuff”- Music Week (UK)

Tom Jones at 70

MusicOMH Review - Posted by Michael Hubbard on 07 June 2010 at 11:27 PM Sir Tom Jones turned 70 years of age today (7th June) but, as we witnessed in the atmospheric surroundings of One Mayfair last week, he's far from gracefully retiring with a pipe and slippers. The Welsh warbler showcased his upcoming new album Praise & Blame, and was on fine form.

John Murphy reviews the album here, while Ben Hogwood fills us in on the showcase event...

It is some achievement to be an artist for as long as Tom Jones and to still find a new direction to pull out of the locker. Yet even by his standards this is quite an about turn for the Welsh crooner, and crucially it feels like it involves music very close to his heart.

The change will inevitably open up comparisons with Johnny Cash and his vocal epiphany, and also draws parallels with the career direction taken by another vocal heavyweight, Robert Plant.

Yet as Sir Tom performed his new record in its entirety for the first time in One Mayfair its rawness was immediately evident. The newness was emphasised by the occasional memory slip from the singer, but otherwise he was the consummate showman, with near-faultless vocals.

More importantly, they were shot through with almost dangerous levels of emotion, unravelling over the ominously slow tread of a marching bass drum. Bob Dylan's What Good Am I explored a rare vulnerability in Jones' make-up, while in John Lee Hooker's Burning Hell he bellowed forth as if singing for his life, rattling the venue's very foundations.

"We're going to sing something a little more emotional," he told the rattled crowd, sporting that big bear smile. For all the world he looked like a cross between a stage star and a near relative of Ernest Hemingway - a parallel not lost throughout this musical exploration.

As the rest of the album unfolded it was clear we were at the very least witnessing something unusual - and at times, something pretty special. In releasing a covers album to mark his 70th birthday, Sir Tom Jones may well have shown us the most vivid glimpse of his soul to date.

Tom Jones' album Praise & Blame is released on 24th July 2010 through Island Records.

http://blog.musicomh.com/musicomh/2010/06/tom-jones-at-70.html

The Q Music.com Review - Tom Jones debuts new god-fearing material

The Q Music.com Review - Tom Jones debuts new god-fearing material

The legendary Tom Jones has dabbled in more musical genres over his 35-year career than his native Wales has valleys, and to a small crowd at a Mayfair venue last night, he previewed his forthcoming album Praise And Blame; a body of work which draws on roots, gospel and the blues.
Produced by Ethan Johns (Past CV credits include Ryan Adams, Laura Marling and Paolo Nutini) it's a collection of country interpretations, which pushes Jones into self-judgement, reflection and, above all, God territory. It may be of little coincidence that as the silver-haired lothario approaches the sobering age of 70, a lofty, converted church provides the perfect setting for him to atone for his Vegas sins on If I Give My Soul: "I have come in search of Jesus, hoping he will understand". Taking to the pulpit beneath a stained glass window of the holy trinity in a sand-coloured linen suit and appearing to have borrowed a leaf out of Robert Plant's Raising Sands book - all airs of showbiz, glitz and glamour forgotten - one asks: does Tom Jones's biblical verse really extend beyond the tale of Delilah? Could Pontypridd's boyo actually be a God-fearing man?
Opening with his take on Bob Dylan's What Good Am I, the searching lyrics expose Jones to a level unseen. As his trembling voice, gravelly and booming, asks "what good am I if I say foolish things?" it's immediately clear his instrument was made for such soul-bearing, sermon-giving, fire-and-brimstone-calling fare. It also puts a dampener on anybody expectant of a frolicking Sexbomb reprise. Yet, in a bid to "get serious" on Susan Werner's Did Trouble Me, Jones has a senior moment: "If I get some words wrong then, hey!" With the aid of his pussycat smile and stage-side prompter it would seem then that the Lord doesn't trouble him too much.
From songs of such intimate redemption to the gospel honky tonk fever of Sister Rosetta Tharpe's Strange Things, the born entertainer shows no signs of slowing down as he's joined by Ethan Johns himself and a group of workmanlike players onstage; the E Street Band to Jones's Bruce Springsteen. For all the quiet conversations with the 'Man Upstairs' it's the devilish cheek of Don't Knock and John Lee Hooker's Burning Hell that sees Jones coming into his hell-raising element. His order (accompanied by some signature Jones moves) to "get down in the church house" is reminiscent of the Tom Jones we know and love with his never-ending ploy to keep up with the kids a little longer than he should.
As he turns up the heat in this church house, Jones signals the end: "We almost made it!" Pawing the sweat off his brow, he makes a deal with the Devil as he purrs, "When I die where will I go?" with Vincent Price Thriller-like doom. Whether God is on his side or not remains to be seen, but on this judgement day all non-omnipresent give him a resplendent thumbs
up.

The legendary Tom Jones has dabbled in more musical genres over his 35-year career than his native Wales has valleys, and to a small crowd at a Mayfair venue last night, he previewed his forthcoming album Praise And Blame; a body of work which draws on roots, gospel and the blues.

Produced by Ethan Johns (Past CV credits include Ryan Adams, Laura Marling and Paolo Nutini) it's a collection of country interpretations, which pushes Jones into self-judgement, reflection and, above all, God territory. It may be of little coincidence that as the silver-haired lothario approaches the sobering age of 70, a lofty, converted church provides the perfect setting for him to atone for his Vegas sins on If I Give My Soul: "I have come in search of Jesus, hoping he will understand". Taking to the pulpit beneath a stained glass window of the holy trinity in a sand-coloured linen suit and appearing to have borrowed a leaf out of Robert Plant's Raising Sands book - all airs of showbiz, glitz and glamour forgotten - one asks: does Tom Jones's biblical verse really extend beyond the tale of Delilah? Could Pontypridd's boyo actually be a God-fearing man?

Opening with his take on Bob Dylan's What Good Am I, the searching lyrics expose Jones to a level unseen. As his trembling voice, gravelly and booming, asks "what good am I if I say foolish things?" it's immediately clear his instrument was made for such soul-bearing, sermon-giving, fire-and-brimstone-calling fare. It also puts a dampener on anybody expectant of a frolicking Sexbomb reprise. Yet, in a bid to "get serious" on Susan Werner's Did Trouble Me, Jones has a senior moment: "If I get some words wrong then, hey!" With the aid of his pussycat smile and stage-side prompter it would seem then that the Lord doesn't trouble him too much.

From songs of such intimate redemption to the gospel honky tonk fever of Sister Rosetta Tharpe's Strange Things, the born entertainer shows no signs of slowing down as he's joined by Ethan Johns himself and a group of workmanlike players onstage; the E Street Band to Jones's Bruce Springsteen. For all the quiet conversations with the 'Man Upstairs' it's the devilish cheek of Don't Knock and John Lee Hooker's Burning Hell that sees Jones coming into his hell-raising element. His order (accompanied by some signature Jones moves) to "get down in the church house" is reminiscent of the Tom Jones we know and love with his never-ending ploy to keep up with the kids a little longer than he should.

As he turns up the heat in this church house, Jones signals the end: "We almost made it!" Pawing the sweat off his brow, he makes a deal with the Devil as he purrs, "When I die where will I go?" with Vincent Price Thriller-like doom. Whether God is on his side or not remains to be seen, but on this judgement day all non-omnipresent give him a resplendent thumbs up.

Sir Tom Jones Unveils New Direction at Intimate London Gig

Spinner UK - Review - 4th Jun 2010 by Julian Marszalek There are few entertainers who are about to enter their seventies who manage to maintain any sense of dignity, but Sir Tom Jones proved on Thursday, June 3, his powerful voice remains intact. And he also showed a change in musical direction can never come too late in a singer's career.

Sir Tom's forthcoming album, 'Praise and Blame,' finds the veteran singer working with producer Ethan Johns (Kings of Leon, Ryan Adams) as he comes full circle to embrace the gospel, blues and country music which inspired him in post-war Wales.

The setting of a delightfully ornate church bathed in beatific light in the middle of London's Mayfair proved to be an appropriate location as Jones took the stage with a stripped-down band of guitar, bass, drums and keyboards to deliver an almost fragile rendition of Bob Dylan's 'What Good am I?' Shorn of his usual big band accompaniment, this was Tom Jones as few of the specially invited audience had heard before. Yet here was also a man who displayed a winning blend of frailty as much as professionalism -- despite momentarily forgetting the words to his next scheduled single, 'Did Trouble Me,' Jones seamlessly eased himself back into the song with humour and grace.

But for every moment of tenderness there was one of raw, emotional power. John Lee Hooker's 'Burning Hell' saw Jones' rich voice locking horns with sliding guitar riffs, all the while evoking the consequences of a life of sin.

There's been much talk of Jones "doing a Johnny Cash" with 'Praise and Blame' but this is disingenuous at best. Whereas Cash and producer Rick Rubin tackled contemporary influences in the singer's own idiosyncratic style, Jones and Johns have gone back directly to the source material. Starkly honest and never less than gripping, this was Tom Jones in top flight in a guise that's perfectly suited to

his immense talentSpinner UK - Review - 4th Jun 2010 by

Julian Marszalek

There are few entertainers who are about to enter their seventies who manage to maintain any sense of dignity, but Sir Tom Jones proved on Thursday, June 3, his powerful voice remains intact. And he also showed a change in musical direction can never come too late in a singer's career.

Sir Tom's forthcoming album, 'Praise and Blame,' finds the veteran singer working with producer Ethan Johns (Kings of Leon, Ryan Adams) as he comes full circle to embrace the gospel, blues and country music which inspired him in post-war Wales.

The setting of a delightfully ornate church bathed in beatific light in the middle of London's Mayfair proved to be an appropriate location as Jones took the stage with a stripped-down band of guitar, bass, drums and keyboards to deliver an almost fragile rendition of Bob Dylan's 'What Good am I?' Shorn of his usual big band accompaniment, this was Tom Jones as few of the specially invited audience had heard before. Yet here was also a man who displayed a winning blend of frailty as much as professionalism -- despite momentarily forgetting the words to his next scheduled single, 'Did Trouble Me,' Jones seamlessly eased himself back into the song with humour and grace.

But for every moment of tenderness there was one of raw, emotional power. John Lee Hooker's 'Burning Hell' saw Jones' rich voice locking horns with sliding guitar riffs, all the while evoking the consequences of a life of sin.

There's been much talk of Jones "doing a Johnny Cash" with 'Praise and Blame' but this is disingenuous at best. Whereas Cash and producer Rick Rubin tackled contemporary influences in the singer's own idiosyncratic style, Jones and Johns have gone back directly to the source material. Starkly honest and never less than gripping, this was Tom Jones in top flight in a guise that's perfectly suited to his immense talent.

Tom Jones Live - Set for sixth decade of triumph

Live Posted by ClashMusic Fri, 04/06/2010
Tom Jones Live
One Mayfair, London
The Welsh knight of the realm launched his new album last night in an ornate Central London church. The intimate surroundings proved the perfect match to the rustic charms of the songs from ‘Praise And Blame’, which sees Sir Tom embrace his musical heritage and once again reinvent himself as an artist.
The pairing of Jones and producer Ethan Johns, whose previous credits include Kings Of Leon and Ryan Adams, heralded suggestions that Jones was taking influence from the seminal American recordings by Johnny Cash with Rick Rubin. Indeed, the bluesy acoustic feel of ‘Praise And Blame’, a collection of cover versions, is a genuine statement of intent from two serious musicologists who know what they like and know how to interpret it.
Tonight, eight of the album’s eleven tracks are played live for the first time - evident from Tom’s lyrical mishap in one - and he looks like he firmly believes in and enjoys what he’s doing now, passionately rendering these vintage tracks into his own style.
The expected sight of a perma-tanned crooner with an unnaturally jet-black do is confounded with the appearance of The Man In White - a silver haired (and bearded) gent with a white suit, looking every bit comfortable in his years, and debonair with it.
First up, ‘What Good Am I?’, the album opener and lead single, is miles away from its Bob Dylan original, and is a suitably spiritual introduction to tonight’s proceedings. Picking up the pace, John Lee Hooker’s ‘Burning Hell’ becomes a glimpse of what Jack White should aspire to when he is knocking seventy. The gospel influence of Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s ‘Strange Things’ spreads into the invited crowd, whose call and response echoes and threatens to drown out the backing singers.
Known as a consummate showman and one-time contemporary of Elvis Presley, the king of rock and roll, Tom Jones was hugely endearing during ‘Did Trouble Me’, a slow and poignant gospel hymn, when he missed his cue, and had to call for a prompt from side of stage.
As an insight into the musical loves of Sir Tom Jones, ‘Praise And Blame’ is further proof that while rock and roll may be a young man’s game, those who have been there and done that know to dig deeper to find brighter jewels. After the twilight success of Johnny Cash, not to mention the recent Grammy glories for Robert Plant with Alison Krauss, this new direction looks set to propel Jones into his sixth decade of triumph.

Live Posted by ClashMusic Fri, 04/06/2010

Tom Jones Live

One Mayfair, London

The Welsh knight of the realm launched his new album last night in an ornate Central London church. The intimate surroundings proved the perfect match to the rustic charms of the songs from ‘Praise And Blame’, which sees Sir Tom embrace his musical heritage and once again reinvent himself as an artist.

The pairing of Jones and producer Ethan Johns, whose previous credits include Kings Of Leon and Ryan Adams, heralded suggestions that Jones was taking influence from the seminal American recordings by Johnny Cash with Rick Rubin. Indeed, the bluesy acoustic feel of ‘Praise And Blame’, a collection of cover versions, is a genuine statement of intent from two serious musicologists who know what they like and know how to interpret it.

Tonight, eight of the album’s eleven tracks are played live for the first time - evident from Tom’s lyrical mishap in one - and he looks like he firmly believes in and enjoys what he’s doing now, passionately rendering these vintage tracks into his own style.

The expected sight of a perma-tanned crooner with an unnaturally jet-black do is confounded with the appearance of The Man In White - a silver haired (and bearded) gent with a white suit, looking every bit comfortable in his years, and debonair with it.

First up, ‘What Good Am I?’, the album opener and lead single, is miles away from its Bob Dylan original, and is a suitably spiritual introduction to tonight’s proceedings. Picking up the pace, John Lee Hooker’s ‘Burning Hell’ becomes a glimpse of what Jack White should aspire to when he is knocking seventy. The gospel influence of Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s ‘Strange Things’ spreads into the invited crowd, whose call and response echoes and threatens to drown out the backing singers.

Known as a consummate showman and one-time contemporary of Elvis Presley, the king of rock and roll, Tom Jones was hugely endearing during ‘Did Trouble Me’, a slow and poignant gospel hymn, when he missed his cue, and had to call for a prompt from side of stage.

As an insight into the musical loves of Sir Tom Jones, ‘Praise And Blame’ is further proof that while rock and roll may be a young man’s game, those who have been there and done that know to dig deeper to find brighter jewels. After the twilight success of Johnny Cash, not to mention the recent Grammy glories for Robert Plant with Alison Krauss, this new direction looks set to propel Jones into his sixth decade of triumph.