// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did Praise & Blame say to each other? You're to blame, I praise you.
| Praise & Blame | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 26 July 2010 | |||
| Recorded | December 2009 | |||
| Studios |
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| Genres | ||||
| Length | 38.08 | |||
| Labels | ||||
| Producer | Ethan Johns | |||
| Tom Jones chronology | ||||
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Praise & Blame is the 38th studio album by Welsh musician Tom Jones, released on 26 July 2010.[1] The album was Jones' first release with Island Records and was recorded in 2009 at the Real World Studios in Wiltshire, England. Produced by Ethan Johns, Praise & Blame is made up of largely little known devotional and gospel covers, marking a departure from the pop-orientated style that had dominated Jones' recent recordings.
Critical reception
[edit]| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| American Songwriter | [3] |
| Billboard | favourable[4] |
| The Daily Telegraph | [5] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B+[6] |
| The Guardian | [7] |
| The Independent | [8] |
| LA Times | [9] |
| New York Daily News | [10] |
| The New York Times | favourable[11] |
| The Washington Post | favourable[12] |
Upon its release, Praise & Blame received generally positive reviews from most critics.[13] Giving the album four stars, Andrew Perry in The Daily Telegraph claimed that the album was "by far Jones' best album in two decades" and stated that "with its loose, spontaneous sound, and the all-pervasive sense of artistic rebirth…it’s a revelation."[5] Similarly, Andy Gill in The Independent stated: "Overall, it's an extraordinary achievement: Praise & Blame represents the kind of reconnection with his core creative fire that was hinted on a few tracks of his last album, 24 Hours, but is here left naked and bleeding raw, bereft of showbiz blandishments". Giving the album five stars, Gill labelled the album one of the best in Jones' six decade long career.[8]
The album's stripped-down production and focus upon spiritual songs gained numerous comparisons to Johnny Cash's American series[3] and Elvis Presley's 1968 comeback.[5] Writing in American Songwriter, Rick Moore applauded the song selection and stated that "on this excellent collection of songs examining the human condition, Jones confronts the issues of heaven and hell in a way that Cash did for much of his life, especially toward the end of it… [Tom] Jones and [Ethan] Johns have made a real statement in the same way that Rubin, and of course T Bone Burnett, do almost every time they produce an album."[3] Writing in The New York Times, Stephen Holden states that Jones' vocal delivery "conveys the contrition of a sinner as he delivers a mixture of traditional spirituals and contemporary gospel songs tautly arranged for a small band. It is a respectful, expressively focused exploration of a genre beloved by Mr. Jones’s American counterpart, Elvis Presley."[11]
The change of musical direction, together with stripped down, live production – much at odds with Jones' traditional style – led Michael Hann in The Guardian to state "at last Jones the artist is the match of Jones the entertainer."[7] Allison Stewart, writing in The Washington Post, stated that Praise & Blame is "Jones's "O Brother," "Raising Sand" and "Ain't No Grave" all rolled into one, a mixed bag of roots-related styles – blues, gospel-lite, country-folk, rockabilly, soul – stripped of all fat and reduced to the barest elements of voice and spartan, if often electrified, instrumentation. The song choices are impeccable, from a thunderous cover of Bob Dylan's "Oh Mercy" standout "What Good Am I?" to a holy roller redo of John Lee Hooker's "Burning Hell," all propelled by Jones's remarkable voice, still a marvel of quaveriness and bluster and sinew after all these years."[12] "Tom has made, in my opinion, a really great record. [...] It's the church of Tom Jones [...]"[14] – remembering that Tom Jones already thought it was "positive" to have a real church in your honor (in 2006);[15] in 2007, the ministry (founded by actor and pastor[16] Jack J. Stahl[17]) nicknamed[18] "Church of Tom Jones", was being a considered a success story among 35 remarkable companies[19] according to an award-winning book.[20]
Track listing
[edit]| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "What Good Am I?" | Bob Dylan | 3:51 |
| 2. | "Lord Help" | Jessie Mae Hemphill | 3:41 |
| 3. | "Did Trouble Me" | Susan Werner | 4:15 |
| 4. | "Strange Things" | Sister Rosetta Tharpe | 3:00 |
| 5. | "Burning Hell" |
| 3:26 |
| 6. | "If I Give My Soul" | Billy Joe Shaver | 3:30 |
| 7. | "Don't Knock" |
| 2:16 |
| 8. | "Nobody's Fault but Mine" | trad. | 3:40 |
| 9. | "Didn't It Rain" | trad. | 3:21 |
| 10. | "Ain't No Grave" | Claude Ely | 3:08 |
| 11. | "Run On" | trad. | 3:58 |
| Total length: | 38:08 | ||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Burning Hell" (Ethan Johns' Wood Room version) |
|
Note
- Traditional songs recorded are listed in the album notes as "Written By Tom Jones and Ethan Johns, Published by EMI Music Publishing."
Personnel
[edit]Adapted from the album's liner notes.[21]
Musicians
- Tom Jones – vocals
- Ethan Johns – guitar (all tracks), banjo (track 3), mellotron (track 3), bass guitar (track 11), percussion (track 5) tuned percussion (track 10), omnichord (track 10), backing vocals (track 10)
- Booker T. Jones – Hammond B3 (track 2), piano (track 4)
- Dave Bronze – bass guitar (tracks 1, 2, 4, 6–10)
- Richard Causon – harmonium (track 3)
- B. J. Cole – steel guitar (tracks 1, 10)
- Christopher Holland – organ (track 1)
- Ian Jennings – bass guitar (track 3)
- Andy Kitchen – assistant engineer
- Augie Meyers – Farfisa organ (track 1)
- Benmont Tench – piano (track 9)
- Henry Spinetti – drums (track 3)
- Jeremy Stacey – drums (tracks 1, 2, 4–11)
- Allison Pierce – backing vocals (track 10)
- Louis Price – backing vocals (track 9)
- David Rawlings – backing vocals (track 4)
- Camilla Staveley-Taylor – backing vocals (track 7)
- Emily Staveley-Taylor – backing vocals (track 7)
- Jessica Staveley-Taylor – backing vocals (track 7)
- Oren Waters – backing vocals (track 9)
- Gillian Welch – backing vocals (tracks 3, 4)
- Terry Young – backing vocals (track 9)
Technical
- Ethan Johns – producer (all tracks), mixing (all tracks)
- Dominic Monks – recording engineer
- Mat Arnold – assistant engineer (all tracks)
- Bill Mims – assistant engineer (tracks 1–4, 9, 10)
- Bob Ludwig – mastering
- Recorded at Real World (Box, England); additional recording at Sunset Sound (Hollywood, California) & Three Crows (Wiltshire, England)
- All tracks mixed at Three Crows
- Studio Fury – image making, design & art direction
- Marcus Grob – portrait
- Photographs of Welsh and American landscapes taken from the archives of the Library of Congress
Chart positions
[edit]
Weekly charts[edit]
|
Year-end charts[edit]
|
Certifications
[edit]| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[42] | Gold | 100,000^ |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
Release history
[edit]| Country | Date | Label | Format | Catalogue # |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 26 July 2010 | Island Records | CD, download | |
| United States | 27 July 2010 | Lost Highway Records | CD, download | 001455502 |
References
[edit]- ↑ "Island Records". Islandrecords.co.uk. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
- ↑ "Tom Jones: Praise & Blame Tracks & Reviews | AllMusic". Retrieved 4 July 2026 – via www.allmusic.com.
- 1 2 3 "American Songwriter review". American Songwriter. 13 July 2010. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
- ↑ "Billboard review". Billboard. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
- 1 2 3 Perry, Andrew (16 July 2010). "The Daily Telegraph review". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
- ↑ "Entertainment Weekly review". Entertainmentweekly.com. 21 July 2010. Archived from the original on 22 July 2010. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
- 1 2 Hann, Michael (22 July 2010). "The Guardian review". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
- 1 2 Gill, Andy (23 July 2010). "The Independent review". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 13 October 2010. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
- ↑ "LA Times review". Los Angeles Times. 27 July 2010. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
- ↑ Farber, Jim (19 July 2010). "New York Daily News review". NYDailynews.co.uk. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
- 1 2 Ratliff, Ben; Caramanica, Jon; Holden, Stephen; Chinen, Nate (25 July 2010). "New York Times review". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
- 1 2 "The Washington Post review". The Washington Post. 27 July 2010. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
- ↑ "Review overview". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
- ↑ "BBC RADIO review". 22 May 2025. Retrieved 6 August 2010.
- ↑ "Pastor [Jack Stahl] defends Tom Jones church". 22 May 2025. Retrieved 10 August 2006.
- ↑ "Unscrewed with Martin Sargent (TV Series 2003–2004) - Full cast & crew - IMDb". IMDb.
- ↑ "Unscrewed with Martin Sargent 1x14 "Pastor Jack Exorcises Martin, Zero Sex Life, Japanese Hot Dog Art"".
- ↑ "Rich Brown: Church of Tom Jones: It's not unusual ... or is it?". The Joplin Globe. 27 May 2025. Retrieved 15 June 2007.
- ↑ What's Your BQ?. W Business Books. 2007. ISBN 978-0-8329-5002-5. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
- ↑ "Sandra Sellani, MBA". Discovery Behavioral Health. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
- ↑ Praise & Blame (liner notes). Tom Jones. Island. 2010.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Tom Jones – Praise & Blame". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
- ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Tom Jones – Praise & Blame" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – Tom Jones – Praise & Blame" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – Tom Jones – Praise & Blame" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
- ↑ "Danishcharts.dk – Tom Jones – Praise & Blame". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
- ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Tom Jones – Praise & Blame" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
- ↑ [dead link]
- ↑ "Tom Jones: Praise & Blame" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
- ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Tom Jones – Praise & Blame" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
- ↑ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Tom Jones". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
- ↑ "Charts.nz – Tom Jones – Praise & Blame". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
- ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Tom Jones – Praise & Blame". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
- ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart on 1/8/2010 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
- ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Tom Jones – Praise & Blame". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
- ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Tom Jones – Praise & Blame". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
- ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Tom Jones – Praise & Blame". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
- ↑ "Official Albums Chart on 1/8/2010 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
- ↑ "Tom Jones Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
- ↑ "Årslista Album – År 2010" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
- ↑ "End of Year 2010" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
- ↑ "British album certifications – Tom Jones – Praise & Blame". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Formats field. Type Praise & Blame Tom Jones in the "Search:" field.
