Well, at least it isn’t the turgid Rick Rubin or T.Bone Burnett but if you don’t think this has dog with flease written all over it you haven’t heard Dylan’s “What Good Am I”. Never more than all right on Dylan’s great and still overrated Oh Mercy the thought of Tom Jones bellowing through this isn’t that bad, the thought of him emoting through it sends shivers down my spine.
Produced by Ethan Johns (he has worked with ugh Kings Of Leon, hmmm Rufus Wainwright, and uh oh Laura Marling) there is no doubt he is waiting to write Tom Jones large.
Which is fucking ridiculous. the man is already a legend. Leave him alone. Just because Rubin hit pay dirt with Cash doesn’t mean every one foot in the grave giant needs these deep producers (go acoustic, up the vocals, leave in the cracks in the vocals: yeah, we know) need to bother our heroes like neil DIamond.
Who wants Neil Diamond to stop singing “Sng Sung Blue” and throw in some crap off 12 Songs???
As for tom Jones, who wants a sincere Tom Jones? It’ll be as big a drag as a sincere Jigga.
The album is gonna be called Praise And Blame and here is the track list:
‘What Good Am I’ (Bob Dylan)
‘Lord Help’ (Jesse Mae Hemphill)
‘Did Trouble Me’ (Susan Werner)
‘Strange Things’
‘Burning Hell’ (John Lee Hooker)
‘If I Give My Soul’ (Billy Joe Shaver)
‘Don’t Knock’
‘Nobody’s Fault But Mine’
‘Didn’t It Rain’
‘Ain’t No Grave’
‘Run On’