THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Co-produced by Ethan Johns and Mark Woodward, Tom Jones’ latest album Surrounded By Time marks out new territory with a sonic landscape of outstanding musicianship and a vocal delivery that re-imagines a diverse set of songs of personal importance that have impacted the Welsh artist throughout a long, unpredictable but undeniably impressive career.
A decade ago in 2010, Tom Jones emerged with Praise & Blame, a soul-baring collection that at long last unveiled his musical roots and lifelong affection for gospel and the blues. Garnering the best reviews of his career, he moved forward with Spirit In The Room and Long Lost Suitcase, creatingn a trilogy that reaffirmed his unique gifts, his standing in popular music and brought him to an hitherto untapped audience.
On Surrounded By Time, Jones and his force-of-nature vocals — which can effortlessly move from a gruff growl to a rafter-ratting wail in a matter of moments — reinvent another diverse set of songs by everyone from Bob Dylan (Another Cup of Coffee), Cat Stevens / Yusuf Islam (Popstar) and Michel Legrand (Windmills Of Your Mind) to Tony Joe White (Old Mother Earth), Michael Kiwanuka (I Won’t Lie) and Todd Snider (Talking Reality Television Blues), along with one Jones / Johns / Woodward co-write (the gospel stirrer Samson and Delilah). Talking Reality Television Blues was the album’s first single, arriving accompanied by a video that traces the impact and changing role of television throughout history.
“I was there when TV started — didn’t know I’d become a part of it — but it could be that its power is to remind us how wonderful, crazy and inventive we are, but also how scary the reality it reflects can be,” explains Jones.”
