
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)
Explore eil.com & 991.com sister – the world’s best online store for rare, collectable & out of print Vinyl Records, CDs & Music memorabilia since 1987.
EIL.COM Favourite Music Update Rare CDs, CD Singles, Rare Records, Vinyl Records, Albums and Music
- Tom Jones - Surrounded By Time: The Hourglass Edition - Sealed - UK - 2-CD album set - £24.99, $31.49, €29.49 (New Item) (arrived 23-May-2022 10:42)on May 24, 2022 at 10:19 am
TOM JONES Surrounded By Time (2021 UK/EU Limited 'Hourglass' Edition double CD set comprising his 12-track forty first studio album which was produced by Ethan Johns and features the singles Talking Reality Television Blues, No Hole in My Head, One More Cup of Coffee and Pop Star. Accompanied by a Bonus 4-track CD including two newly recorded songs, a selection of tracks recorded live at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire and an exclusive 15 minute+ audio interview 'in conversation' with Pete Paphides. Complete with the 16-page picture booklet and two art cards, both discs are UNPLAYED housed within the sealed & hype-stickered 7" gatefold picture sleeve)
- Tom Jones - Close Up - UK - vinyl LP - £12.00, $15.12, €14.16 (New Item) (arrived 11-Mar-2022 14:43)on May 24, 2022 at 10:19 am
TOM JONES Close Up (1972 UK Decca 10-track vinyl LP featuring Witch Queen Of New Orleans and The Young New Mexican Puppeteer, housed in a front laminated full colour picture sleeve complete with the original poly-lined label inner. The sleeveshows little discernible wear and the vinyl is in excellent condition! SKL5132)
- Tom Jones - Live At The Talk Of The Town - UK - vinyl LP - £10.00, $12.60, €11.80 (New Item) (arrived 06-Jan-2022 08:32)on May 24, 2022 at 10:19 am
TOM JONES Live At The Talk Of The Town (1970s UK issue of the 1967 14-track stereo LP on a blue boxed Decca label, front laminated picture sleeve SKL4874)
- Tom Jones - Live At The Talk Of The Town - UK - vinyl LP - £10.00, $12.60, €11.80 (New Item) (arrived 06-Jan-2022 17:13)on May 24, 2022 at 10:19 am
TOM JONES Live At The Talk Of The Town (1970s UK issue of the 1967 14-track stereo LP on a blue boxed Decca label, front laminated picture sleeve SKL4874)
- Tom Jones - At This Moment - Stickered sleeve - UK - vinyl LP - £8.00, $10.08, €9.44 (New Item) (arrived 29-Jan-2022 10:36)on May 24, 2022 at 10:19 am
TOM JONES At This Moment (1989 UK 10-track LP including the hits Kiss & Move Closer, hype stickered picture sleeve with lyric inner. The cover has a minor corner crease & the vinyl is Excellent with a few faint paper scuffs not affecting playTOMTV1)
Be the first to comment