Customer Reviews

Praise & Blame

5 star:		(62)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Praise & Blames is a potent mix of retro blues and country and religion that rocks. The spare production enhances the tracks, Jones sounds fantastic and prepare to sit back and smile as you listen. Put aside any reservations based on his career as a 60's/70's lounge singer - Jones is a legend for a reason and infuses the up-tempo songs with a bit of spit and snarl lending it all the cred it needs. Slower songs are heartfelt and would make even a heathen think about his everlasting salvation. Stand out tracks are plentiful, but try 'Burning Hell' and 'Don't Knock.' If Tom Jones was a religion, I'd sign up. This record should be the next 'Raising Sand.'

Tom Jones.

If you grew up in the 60's, the name immediately conjures up images of the swiveling-hipped What's New Pussycat? guy who also sang Thunderball. Over the course of decades, Tom Jones, surrounded by a sea of panties, morphed into the ultimate lounge singer. His deep Welsh voice remaining a powerful instrument well into his 60s, he maintained his street cred with an edgy version of Kiss, and lots of hair dye.

What's a performer to do as he enters his 7th decade of life? Jones has made a crafty, calculated choice. He has made a gospel record with bare bones modern production.

I don't quite agree with the previous reviewers who suggest that this is a "Bob Dylan Gospel" disc, although I understand what they mean. Jones does kick thing off with a scorched version of Dylan's "What Good Am I", but a truer analogy is the late, great Johnny Cash's work with Rick Rubin. For on this disc, Jones voice cuts to the bone with a degree of urgency and authenticity that you would have assumed he had lost following decades of singing It's Not Unusual. I assure you - nothing could be further from the truth. On this disc, Tom Jones sings as if his life depends on it. And yours.

I always felt that Cash's final recordings cast him as an Old Testament prophet. Jones doesn't have quite Cash's biblical authority, but the music on this disc (and the severely gaunt image of Jones current appearance that is being used to market the disc) casts illusions to Jones as Tiresias, the blind, ancient Greek prophet through whom the Gods spoke their disapproval. These are harsh times. And this is harsh music. It rings of truth, beauty, and soulfulness.

And it may just be the finest album of Jones career. Scratch that. It simply is.

And that's saying quite a lot.

"Praise and Blame" is Tom Jones's first gospel album. It is not a gospel album in the usual sense; it is more in the sense of a Buddy Miller or Bob Dylan gospel album (and the most apt comparison for this CD might well be Buddy Miller's "Universal United House of Prayer"). Speaking of Dylan, this set opens with a gorgeous rendition of Dylan's "What Good Am I?" Jones's take on this song rivals another wonderful version several years back by Solomon Burke. In addition to "What Good Am I?" we get a marvelous cover of Billy Joe Shaver's "If I Give My Soul" (taken at a slower tempo than the original Shaver version), Susan Werner's "Did Trouble Me" (a modern masterpiece), John Lee Hooker's "Burning Hell," and The Staple Singers' "Don't Knock." Adding to these more modern songs Jones also goes back to Rosetta Tharpe and Mahalia Jackson. The arrangements are appropriately and often hauntingly spare. It is amazing and pleasing to note how Jones's enormous musical gifts are still very much intact at 70 and after nearly a half-century of performing. "Praise and Blame" is among the four best albums of Jones's career. Any Tom Jones fan will have to have this CD in his collection. Fans of gosepl music and blues music should delight in it as well.

If you're a Tom Jones fan, this album is a must. If you are not a Tom Jones fan, this album will make you one.

In the U.S., Tom has been the most underrated singer for more than 40 years. Being known for the underwear thrown at him on stage more than his voice has done him a great disservice. And because so many have automatically dismissed him as someone not to be taken seriously, they have never given themselves a chance to appreciate his great, and I mean GREAT talent.

I often hear people refer to him as a "lounge" singer. This label couldn't be more wrong. He is not, and may I repeat, NOT a lounge singer. He is an artist who sings from the soul like no one else. This is a man who can sing any type music...pop, rock, soul, country, big ballad, jazz, gospel, R&B, rock & roll, dance, hip-hop, rap, love songs, big band, blues, and if he had wanted, even opera. What's most amazing, is that he can do each type of music to perfection. If you hear him sing rock & roll, you would think that's his specialty. But, that's how it is for every type music, as they are all his specialty. I don't know anyone else who can do that. There is a reason why he is known in the U.K. as "the voice". And what a voice!

This new album will reach your soul with it's powerful and spiritual songs, thought provoking words and gut wrenching vocals. My personal favorite on the album is "Did Trouble Me". It's beautiful and moving, but the whole album is a winner. I find myself having to play it over and over. It's hard to believe this man is 70 years old. That alone is an inspiration to us all when you hear this great work.

May Tom have at least 70 more years to keep making great albums!

It would be so easy for Tom Jones to take an easy path and produce an album that would be safe and a guaranteed hit relying on tested and proven past formulas. Praise and Blame is a courageous ground breaking album for Mr jones and I congratulate him. So much soul in his voice and at times he sounds a little like Solomon Burke! There are the tough tracks like Lord help, Burning Hell (sounds like AC/DC), Don't Knock etc but the tracks like What Good Am i, Did trouble me, and the amazing If i Give My Soul that send the shivers up the spine. "....If I give my soul, will my son love me again?"
I know this album will challenge some listeners but isn't that what music is meant to do? Tom Jones is right out there on this album testing himself and testing the listener. After many plays this album gets better and better. Definitely his best work. Thanks Tom, this music deeply touched me....

Tom Jones just turned 70 years old, and his days of doing the splits onstage are long gone (though the ladies still throw their panties at him in concert---good for you, Tom!). But the man can *still* belt it out with that wonderfully soulful, rich voice of his. Now in his autumn years, this was probably the best time for Tom to tackle his first gospel album, "Praise And Blame", and it's brilliant. Tom sings his heart out, right from the soul, and the album's powerful arrangements and musical performances from his band that accompany him are just as strong as Tom's unbeatable vocal chords. These are terrific, soulful songs, sung by a man who still has a way with a microphone. "Praise And Blame" is easily one of Tom Jones' finest albums ever. Rock on, Tom, and God bless ya.

I just received my Praise and Blame CD and I have to say, Tom blows me away! I have been a fan for forty plus years, and I have noticed that when Tom was left to choose what he wanted to sing, he always excelled, but there were times when he was just pumping out hip shaking poor material. I know that was frustrating to him. Since 1987 we have been blessed to see Tom do some extraordinary singing and performing such as A Boy From NoWhere album, Kiss, The Lead and How to Swing it, a collaboration with Van Morrison, a rockin' album with Jools Holland and now, the gospel roots that touched him very early on in his career. The lyrics are poignant and the album is deeply meaningful to anyone who truly has followed and appreciated what TOm can do. Never one to be squeezed into a box, he has shown himself the master of every style he has attempted. Some people don't think it feels authentic when a man who has never had trouble with drinking sings about it, but I disagree. I don't think it is necessary for a person to have been addicted to be able to feel for those who are anymore than it is for a very good actor who can place himself into that person's situation and by the will to understand, help others to feel it as real. It is wonderful to hear Tom's deeper introspection come across in this album and it is genuine. I love What Good am I? , Did Trouble Me, Nobody's Fault but Mine, and If I give my Soul as examples of heartstirring slow music that really helps you to think and feel, and I love the gutsy feel of Run ON , Didn't It Rain and the powerful conviction of AIn't No Grave. THis is an album TOm has earned the tight to make, and I respect him for the courage to try new things and I congratulate him from the bottom of my heart for a magnificent album! Tom, you're the Man!

I'm a long-time fan of Tom's music, and any new recording would be welcome. But I was floored by this CD...I would compare it to the "back to basics" approach that Rick Rubin took with Johnny Cash on the "American Recordings" sessions. It also reminds me of the confident swagger of the Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis recordings for Sun Records. Tom runs the gamut from a whisper ("What Good Am I") to a howl ("Burning Hell"), from mournful dirges to full-blown stomping gospel-tinged blues. Amazon has a pretty lengthy "behind the music" post for this CD with Tom's own thoughts, so I won't go too deep into that area. Suffice it to say that with a singer of his stature, the voice will always be what matters most, and it's in fine, front-and-center form here. This isn't Vegas music. This is definitely one of the finest albums released so far this year.

I've never liked the "sweet, perky and pious" variety of gospel music. And for those of you who thought a Tom Jones gospel album would be something weird like George Beverly Shea singing "Delilah," rest assured: it ain't that way at all.

Oftentimes, praise to God comes out of pain (i.e., the blues) -- and the blues is at the heart of Jones' first gospel album, "Praise & Blame." Tom and producer Ethan Johns obviously took great care in the selection of these eleven songs, because the vibe throughout the album is very Americana-ish and sounds like a gospel collection that The Band might have come out with 40 years ago. The songs tell real, heartfelt stories of loss, loneliness and even despair at the human condition -- but the balance comes with other songs shouting hope, grace, redemption and resurrection. It's an irresistible mix.

Johns very wisely kept the production sparse, choosing instead to make Tom Jones' voice the primary link between artist and listener. And it's Jones' voice that is the true revelation in "Praise & Blame." Without any studio trickery, Jones' instrument packs the power, strength and passion of a singer literally decades younger. At age 70, "The Voice" can still induce goosebumps, whether it be on a rocker like "Run On" or with the intimate delivery heard on "Did Trouble Me" and "If I Give My Soul."

It's rare when an entire album ends up being as satisfying as "Praise & Blame." Personally, I think this is the best and most meaningful recording of Jones' career. I couldn't care less if I never hear "Delilah" again, but I'd be more than happy to listen to Tom Jones sing stuff like this until Jesus comes back.

Tom Jones has been practicing for 45 years to turn out something as magnificent as "Praise and Blame". The bluesy spirituality and raw emotional quality of his still outstanding voice makes this his finest work ever in my opinion.