Praise & Blame

Praise & Blame is the 38th studio album by Welsh musician Tom Jones, released 26 July 2010.^[2] 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 was made up of largely little known devotional and gospel covers, marking a departure from the pop-orientated style that had dominated Jones' recent recordings.

Praise & Blame
Studio album by Tom Jones
Released	26 July 2010
Recorded	December 2009
Studio	Real World, Box, Wiltshire Sunset Sound, Los Angeles.[1]
Genre	Americana gospel blues soul
Length	38.08
Label	Island Lost Highway
Producer	Ethan Johns
Tom Jones chronology
24 Hours (2008) Praise & Blame (2010) Spirit in the Room (2012)

Critical reception

Upon its release, Praise & Blame received generally positive reviews from most critics.^[3] 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."^[4] 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.^[5]

The album's stripped-down production and focus upon spiritual songs gained numerous comparisons to Johnny Cash's American series^[6] and Elvis Presley's 1968 comeback.^[4] 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."^[6] 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."^[7]

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."^[8] 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."^[9]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
American Songwriter	[6]
Billboard	favourable[10]
The Daily Telegraph	[4]
Entertainment Weekly	B+[11]
The Guardian	[8]
The Independent	[5]
LA Times	[12]
New York Daily News	[13]
The New York Times	favourable[7]
The Washington Post	favourable[9]

Track listing

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"	Bernard Besman, John Lee Hooker	3:26
6.	"If I Give My Soul"	Billy Joe Shaver	3:30
7.	"Don't Knock"	Pops Staples, Wesley Westbrooks	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

iTunes bonus track (available on the CD version in the UK)

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
12.	"Burning Hell (Ethan Johns' Wood Room version)"	Bernard Bessman, John Lee Hooker

Note: Traditional songs recorded are listed in the album notes as “Written By Tom Jones and Ethan Johns, Published by EMI Music Publishing.”

Personnel

• Tom Jones – vocals^[14]
• Ethan Johns – banjo, bass (Track 11), guitar, percussion, producer, mellotron, omnichord, mixing
• Booker T. Jones – piano, Track 4, hammond B3, Track 2
• Mat Arnold – assistant engineer
• Dave Bronze – bass guitar, Tracks 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, & 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
• Bob Ludwig – mastering
• Augie Meyers – Farfisa organ, Track 1
• Benmont Tench – piano, Track 9
• Billy Mims – assistant engineer
• Dominic Monks – engineer, mixing
• Henry Spinetti – drums, Track 3
• Jeremy Stacey – drums, Tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, & 11
• Allison Pierce – backing vocalist
• Louis Price – backing vocalist
• David Rawlings – backing vocalist
• Camilla Staveley-Taylor – backing vocalist
• Emily Staveley-Taylor – backing vocalist
• Jessica Staveley-Taylor – backing vocalist
• Oren Waters – backing vocalist
• Gillian Welch – backing vocalist
• Terry Young – backing vocalist

Chart positions

Weekly charts Chart (2010) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[15] 32 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[16] 9 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[17] 23 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[18] 64 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[19] 34 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[20] 16 European Top 100 Albums[21] 4 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[22] 49 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[23] 37 Irish Albums (IRMA)[24] 14 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[25] 13 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[26] 22 Scottish Albums (OCC)[27] 3 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[28] 67 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[29] 7 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[30] 51 UK Albums (OCC)[31] 2 US Billboard 200[32] 79

Year-end charts Chart (2010) Position Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[33] 65 UK Albums (OCC)[34] 103

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[35]	Gold	100,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

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

1. "Front Row, BBC Radio 4 Interview". BBC. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
2. "Island Records". Islandrecords.co.uk. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
3. "Review overview". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
4. Perry, Andrew (16 July 2010). "The Daily Telegraph review". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
5. Gill, Andy (23 July 2010). "The Independent review". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 13 October 2010. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
6. "American Songwriter review". American Songwriter. 13 July 2010. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
7. Ratliff, Ben; Caramanica, Jon; Holden, Stephen; Chinen, Nate (25 July 2010). "New York Times review". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
8. Hann, Michael (22 July 2010). "The Guardian review". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
9. "The Washington Post review". The Washington Post. 27 July 2010. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
10. "Billboard review". Billboard. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
11. "Entertainment Weekly review". Entertainmentweekly.com. 21 July 2010. Archived from the original on 22 July 2010. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
12. "LA Times review". Los Angeles Times. 27 July 2010. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
13. Farber, Jim (19 July 2010). "New York Daily News review". NYDailynews.co.uk. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
14. "Praise & Blame album credits". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
15. "Australiancharts.com – Tom Jones – Praise & Blame". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
16. "Austriancharts.at – Tom Jones – Praise & Blame" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
17. "Ultratop.be – Tom Jones – Praise & Blame" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
18. "Ultratop.be – Tom Jones – Praise & Blame" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
19. "Danishcharts.dk – Tom Jones – Praise & Blame". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
20. "Dutchcharts.nl – Tom Jones – Praise & Blame" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
21. ^{[dead link‍]}
22. "Tom Jones: Praise & Blame" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
23. "Offiziellecharts.de – Tom Jones – Praise & Blame" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
24. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Tom Jones". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
25. "Charts.nz – Tom Jones – Praise & Blame". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
26. "Norwegiancharts.com – Tom Jones – Praise & Blame". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
27. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
28. "Spanishcharts.com – Tom Jones – Praise & Blame". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
29. "Swedishcharts.com – Tom Jones – Praise & Blame". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
30. "Swisscharts.com – Tom Jones – Praise & Blame". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
31. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
32. "Tom Jones Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
33. "Årslista Album – År 2010" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
34. "End of Year 2010" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
35. "British album certifications – Tom Jones – Praise & Blame". British Phonographic Industry.