Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 66
 fantastic July 19, 2010
Ms. J. L. Slade (Wales)
20 out of 23 found this review helpful
I've just come back from Latitude Festival where Tom Jones sang the songs from this album backed by the band on the album. Let me tell you, his voice is incredible, moving, resonating, powerful, soulful and beautiful. I'm pre-booking the album and I'm really looking forward to getting it. Can I just qualify this by saying I'm not a knicker throwing Tom Jones fan and I don't have his back catalogue. Highly recommended, five stars doesn't do it justice.
Wonderful Stuff! July 20, 2010
F. M. Buckley
9 out of 11 found this review helpful
Heard Tom performing these songs at the Latitude Festival, July 2010. Initially he performed on a tiny out-of-the-way stage in a late night slot on the Thursday, which is before the festival "proper" gets under way. Presumably the festival organisers in their wisdom thought no-one would turn up to hear an aged rocker singing gospel songs. How wrong they were. We got there early and thoroughly enjoyed his soulful bluesy voice being shown off to total advantage by this material. Apparently, however, there was near-chaos outside the stage area, which had to be closed for safety reasons because so many people had turned up to see and hear him. He was then given an unscheduled additional slot in the main stage arena on Sunday morning, where he sang the same set once again. I cannot describe how special it was to be there on a beautiful sunny Sunday morning hearing him singing this great material: part gospel, part soul, part blues, part rock. He had one of the biggest main arena crowds of the festival, and thoroughly deserved it. These songs and Tom Jones' voice fit each other like a hand in a glove.
Finally!!! July 15, 2010
Devon Dave
15 out of 19 found this review helpful
Finally, finally, finally, Tom Jones has recorded the album his voice was born for. Having heard most of the tracks on the album, this ranks alongside Cash's American albums and Neil Diamond's last two albums. Rick Rubin was the instigator of those brilliant works and it appears as if Ethan Johns has pulled off the same trick with Tom Jones. It's about time.
Praise! July 29, 2010
S. J. Fitzpatrick (North Worcester!)
7 out of 9 found this review helpful
I have never bought a Tom Jones record. He was to me a cabaret / pop singer and knicker magnet for the old dears in 'Vegas. I've tended to dismiss him as a light hearted parody of his earlier self.
I also hate stripped down blues and the word "gospel" has me rapidly reaching for the off switch.
So - Tom Jones singing bare bones blues / gospel. No wonder the financial exec at Island was demanding his money back after paying Tom to leave EMI and then heard an "album of hymns". Couldn't agree more.
That was until the publicity surrounding his new album and the performances to support it.
Stunning.
Not been this excited about discovering a "new" artist for a long time. Every track a cracker. Which only goes to show that the money men should not have ANY say in A & R decisions.
Perhaps that's what's wrong with a large portion of the music industry at present.
Great album. superbly performed. Each take totally live - no overdubs. This is a vocal fused with supreme confidence and the life experience to pull it off. It has been said that Tom Jones would've had to wait 'til his later years to pull off an album like this. Pity, because my music collection could do with more like this, hopefully Tom will do so - while sticking two fingers up at financiers that think they know about music.
The last laugh is with Tom, and anyone who listens to this album - 'cos it will leave you with a big grin on your face.
Praise and Blame, Tom Jones - The Boyo done good! July 26, 2010
Victor Tugelbend (Hull, England)
7 out of 9 found this review helpful
A few years ago I'd pretty much written Tom Jones off. Then he went back to basics with his excellent collaboration with Jools Holland(Tom Jones & Jools Holland), and recorded the mature but excellent 24 Hours, an album that regularly finds itself in my CD player. In this next offering Tom has once again mined the rich seam of reflection that made 24 Hours such a success, and a simply stunning album has resulted.
Given the selection of songs, pre-release comparisons have inevitably been drawn with Johnny Cash's last albums, however in tone and production I think it is closer to Bob Dylan's collaborations with Daniel Lanois - especially given the choice of Dylan's `What Good Am I' for the first track. This track, with its driving beat and reflective lyric sets the tone for the whole album.
Jones uses his previously largely unused lower registers to good effect, to growl his way through a series of blues and gospel numbers. The track selection is excellent, allowing Jones to show us a long life lived to the full, with all its highs and lows. But it's not a life that is winding down, there is a promise and hope of more to come. Jones may be in a reflective mood, confessing his weaknesses and baring his soul, but he still has a twinkle in his eye, and there is life in the old devil yet.
This might be an album in which Jones comes to terms with his age, but it's no pipe and slippers by the fireside effort. The raw power of his voice is still much in evidence, as is his artistry. This is no vain hanging on to old glories, such as Rod Stewart's recent output, or Sinatra's end of career material. Jones still has something to say, and is finding fresh and new ways that are genuinely exciting to hear in which to say it. Each successive recent release has been startlingly different form the last, and invariably great music. One wonders where his journey will take him next? I for one cannot wait to find out.
An all round excellent album, full of great soulful music made with great feeling that is ultimately uplifting. Highly recommended.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 66
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