Never thought I’d be writing about Sir Tom Jones on here. As I suspect is the case with many of us, after the double whammy of “It’s Not Unusual” in Mars Attacks and the ubiquitous euro-pop smash “Sex Bomb,” he faded from my radar screen. That is, outside of a couple bits in an Elvis biography (the two were very much contemporaries during EP’s Vegas phase). But this past week the maestro put out quite a doozie of a gospel record, Praise and Blame, produced by none other than Ryan Adams/Kings of Leon/son-of-Glyn guru Ethan Johns. It’s Jones’ version of a American Recordings project – stripped down and back-to-basics. At least, if by “basics” you mean hard-core gospel covers: highlights include “Lord Help”, “If I Give My Soul”, “Did Trouble Me” and, of course, “Burning Hell.” Talking about the record, Jones had this priceless soundbite:
“I wanted to make a gospel album, and I thought, ‘Wait a minute, it’s going to be Christian’. And then I thought, ‘Well I am a Christian!’ I’m sorry, but I am!”
The opening track is a devastating version of Bob Dylan’s devastating Oh Mercy meditation on Romans 7, “What Good Am I?” Jones may look a tad ridiculous these days (still reigning as the tannest Welshman on Earth), but the song is an undeniable shot from the heart. The closing crucifixion reference gets me every time:
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3 responses to “Tuesday Morning Praise N Blame: Tom Jones Sings Dylan”
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I think that this album is at or near the top of the pop charts in Britain.
This album is incredible. And not even in a kitschy way. It is really a work of art. Strip away the big band maximalism of Tom Jones's 70's and 80's persona and give him a minimalist blues/gospel backing, letting his voice hold it all together, aged like a fine wine.
And with that voice travels the gospel with no ornaments – foolishness to those who are perishing but the power of God to those who are being saved. Can someone send a copy of this to Dove and Integrity Records? Common Grace got it where the church didn't.