
From Loudersound.
Thought the bewildering popularity of sea shanties was set to be the most confusing musical development of 2021? Well, hold your horses: Tom Jones has handed his beer to the seafaring community and entered the fray.
Having forged a career as Wales’ favourite son and premier crooner, Jones’ newest single, a spoken-word cover of US singer-songwriter Todd Snider’s Talking Reality Television Blues, takes an unexpected, if welcome, side-step into the world of alternative rock.
Honestly, we here at Louder don’t hate it. It’s got a ‘Tom Waits does Radiohead but in Welsh’ vibe, with a touch of that Baz Luhrmann Sunscreen song. So far, so 90s.
Lyrically, it runs through the snowballing damage television has inflicted on the collective modern psyche – a bold move considering Jones is himself a reality TV star thanks to his judging role on the UK’s version of talent competition The Voice – ending with the not-at-all-pointed: ‘Then a show called The Apprentice came on and pretty soon/An old man with a comb-over had sold us the moon/We stayed tuned in, now here we are/Reality killed by a reality star‘.
Popular musicians turning to alternative sounds in a bid to appear hip to the beat is nothing new. When hair metal was all but wiped out by a tsunami of knitted cardigans and dirgy guitars, a number of those bands tried their hand at a mid-90s grunge album in an attempt to cling on to relevancy (yes, Def Leppard, we’re looking at you). But where many of them missed the mark, for Sir Tom it seems an unnervingly natural fit. Could this be the start of a glittering alt-rock career? Well, it’s 2021. Anything could happen.
Talking Reality Television Blues is taken from Jones’ upcoming covers album, Surrounded By Time, which is due on April 23. The full tracklisting is below.
Surrounded By Time tracklisting
1. I Won’t Crumble With You If You Fall (Bernice Johnson Reagon)
2. The Windmills Of Your Mind (Michel Legrand/Alan & Marilyn Bergman)
3. Popstar (Yusuf/Cat Stevens)
4. No Hole In My Head (Malvina Reynolds)
5. Talking Reality Television Blues (Todd Snider)
6. I Won’t Lie (Michael Kiwanuka & Paul Butler)
7. This Is The Sea (Michael Scott)
8. One More Cup Of Coffee (Bob Dylan)
9. Samson And Delilah (Tom Jones, Ethan Johns, Mark Woodward)
10. Mother Earth (Tony Jo White)
11. I’m Growing Old (Bobby Cole)
12. Lazarus Man (Terry Callier)
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- Tom Jones - Till - UK - 7" vinyl - Promo - £10.00, $12.70, €11.50 (New Item) (arrived 14-Nov-2023 14:36)on November 29, 2023 at 4:29 pm
TOM JONES Till (1971 UK blue & white Decca label promotional 7" vinyl single, also includes The Sun Died, with intact push out centre and generic Decca paper sleeve FR13236)
- Tom Jones - [Barry] Islands In The Stream - UK - CD/DVD single set - £9.99, $12.69, €11.49 (New Item) (arrived 29-Jun-2023 16:49)on November 29, 2023 at 4:29 pm
VANESSA JENKINS & BRYN WEST featuring SIR TOM JONES & ROBIN GIBB [Barry] Islands In The Stream (2009 UK 5-track 2-disc [CD/DVD] single set - For a special one-off collaboration, Gavin & Stacey stars Rob Brydon & Ruth Jones have teamed up withlegendary Welsh crooner, Sir Tom Jones, and very special guest Robin Gibb to bring you 'Islands In The Stream'. Comprising of a 4-track enhanced CD single including Bryn's awesome cover version of James Blunt's 'Wiseman' and 'Something Stupid'[as seen inSeries 1 of 'Gavin & Stacey']; plus a 2-track DVD single featuring the laugh-out-loud video sees Bryn and Nessa head to Las Vegas to fulfil their dream of taking part in the World Karaoke Championships [complete with making-of footage] Picture sleeve housed in a slimline jewel case)
- Tom Jones - Delilah - UK - vinyl LP - £20.00, $25.40, €23.00 (New Item) (arrived 27-Jan-2023 13:11)on November 29, 2023 at 4:29 pm
TOM JONES Delilah (1968 UK 12-track mono vinyl LP on the red 'unboxed' Decca logo 'ffr' label, front laminated picture sleeve. The sleeve is in great condition with minimal laminate creasing or shelfwear & the vinyl is superb with only light inaudible surface marks to indicate play - a great copy! LK4946)
- Tom Jones - If I Only Knew - UK - 12" vinyl - £8.00, $10.16, €9.20 (New Item) (arrived 21-Feb-2023 11:25)on November 29, 2023 at 4:29 pm
TOM JONES If I Only Knew (1994 UK 4-track 12" vinyl single including Inner City Club Mix & Dub, picture sleeve ZANG559T)
- Tom Jones - A Boy From Nowhere - UK - 7" vinyl - £8.00, $10.16, €9.20 (New Item) (arrived 17-Mar-2023 11:32)on November 29, 2023 at 4:29 pm
TOM JONES A Boy From Nowhere (1987 UK 4-track 7" vinyl E.P, also including Ill Dress You In Mourning, To Be A Matador and Dance With Death, picture sleeve. The sleeve displays some wear, whilst the vinyl has light signs of play OLE 1)
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