Sir Tom Jones gave fans a taster of what to expect from his upcoming 42nd studio album today with the unveiling of a surprise new track, Talking Reality Television Blues. The song is the first release from Surrounded By Time, which is due out on April 23rd.
The new track represents one of the most overt pieces of social commentary in the burgeoning Tom Jones back-catalogue, with the legendary troubadour reflecting on some of the significant milestones and controversies of the television age: from the moon landings to the ‘Me Too’ movement’. The sharp lyrics – and an accompanying We Didn’t Start The Fire-esque video collage – also take aim at the architects of Brexit and outgoing US President Donald Trump in particular. In the song’s final verse, Sir Tom voices his displeasure as the world “hurdles towards alternative facts“, before attacking the now twice-impeached Commander-in-Chief: “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.”
Talking Reality Television Blues also represents a new sonic direction for an artist who has never been afraid to mix it up musically over a career spanning nearly 60 years. Here, Jones’s familiar and soulful Pontypridd brogue riffs in spoken-word poetry over an atmospheric backing track, which hovers somewhere between the blues and psychedelic rock. There are are also definite echoes of the experimental gospel feel of his 2010 LP Praise & Blame.
Sir Tom has suggested that Surrounded By Time will continue in the same reflective vein, with the veteran troubadour taking stock of both the tumultuous societal change he has seen in his lifetime and the personal challenges he has endured in the six years since his last album, Long Lost Suitcase. In April 2015 Jones lost Linda Woodward, his wife of 59 years, to cancer; leading the singer to uproot from his long-term home in Los Angeles to London.
In a post on Twitter today, Sir Tom said “Last year, during lockdown and after 5 years of enormous personal changes, I finally found the need to express myself again through my music. So I got into the studio with some great friends and musicians and created a new album!”
He added “My personal clock starts ticking in 1940, and with all the magnificent strangeness of life on this planet both speeding up and slowing down, the album is titled ‘Surrounded By Time’. Each song tells a story that comes from me and reflects my own experience at some time or another. It’s been a hulluva ride, and I am really, really proud of this record.”
Introducing Surrounded by Time, my brand new album. I am really excited to share this new record which is released 23rd April. Surrounded by Time is available to pre-order today. Lots to look forward to and I hope you will enjoy this next chapter with me x https://t.co/SBiV77OKOo pic.twitter.com/lXywg7Cjxd
— Tom Jones (@RealSirTomJones) January 15, 2021
Sir Tom continues to shine as a TV personality and vocal coach on ITV talent show The Voice, where he has been a regular on nine of the show’s ten seasons in the UK . On last weekend’s programme, the Welshman delivered a stunning rendition of the Solomon Burke soul classic Cry To Me – more than proving that he’s still got the vocal chops at the age of 80.
