Tom Jones, now seventy years old, appears to have taken something of a spiritual turn. ‘Praise & Blame’, his thirty-ninth album, finds him moving away from the somewhat garish pop that made his name, and entering the more contemplative territory of gospel and blues. The material is a mixture of traditional spirituals and a selection of covers; the album opens with a version of Bob Dylan’s ‘What Good Am I’ and also includes songs by John Lee Hooker and Billy Joe Shaver. For someone like Jones, a project like this can either go very well or very badly. Happily, ‘Praise & Blame’ is a success; the song choices, production and, most importantly, the nuances of Jones’ vocals are all spot on. Comparisons with the final recordings of Johnny Cash seem inevitable, even though he and Jones are rather different figures. But in both cases we find legendary singers reflecting on spirituality later in their lives, and releasing some of the finest music of their careers. If Tom Jones follows the same trajectory as Cash and puts out a few more records like this, then we have much to look forward to.
