Praise & Blame

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title: "Praise & Blame" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["2010-albums", "tom-jones-(singer)-albums", "albums-produced-by-ethan-johns", "island-records-albums", "2010s-covers-albums"] topic_path: "arts/music" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Praise_&_Blame" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox album"]

Field	Value
name	Praise & Blame
type	Studio
artist	Tom Jones
cover	Praise and blame album cover.jpg
released	26 July 2010
recorded	December 2009
* Sunset Sound, Los Angeles.<ref name	"bbc4"
length	38.08
producer	Ethan Johns
prev_title	24 Hours
prev_year	2008
next_title	Spirit in the Room
next_year	2012
::

| name = Praise & Blame | type = Studio | artist = Tom Jones | cover = Praise and blame album cover.jpg | alt = | released = 26 July 2010 | recorded = December 2009 | studio =

• Real World, Box, Wiltshire
• Sunset Sound, Los Angeles. | genre =
• Americana
• gospel
• blues
• soul | length = 38.08 | label =
• Island
• Lost Highway | producer = Ethan Johns | prev_title = 24 Hours | prev_year = 2008 | next_title = Spirit in the Room | next_year = 2012

Praise & Blame is the 38th studio album by Welsh musician Tom Jones, released 26 July 2010. 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.

Critical reception

Upon its release, Praise & Blame received generally positive reviews from most critics. 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." 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.

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

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." 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." "Tom has made, in my opinion, a really great record. [...] It's the church of Tom Jones [...]" – remembering that Tom Jones already thought it was "positive" to have a real church in your honor (in 2006); in 2007, the ministry (founded by actor and pastor Jack J. Stahl) nicknamed "Church of Tom Jones", was being a considered a success story among 35 remarkable companies according to an award-winning book. | rev1 = American Songwriter | rev1Score = | rev2 = Billboard | rev2Score = favourable | rev3 = The Daily Telegraph | rev3Score = | rev4 = Entertainment Weekly | rev4Score = B+ | rev5 = The Guardian | rev5Score = | rev6 = The Independent | rev6Score = | rev7 = LA Times | rev7Score = | rev8 = New York Daily News | rev8Score = | rev9 = The New York Times | rev9Score = favourable | rev10 = The Washington Post | rev10Score = favourable

Track listing

| total_length = 38:08 | title1 = What Good Am I? | writer1 = Bob Dylan | length1 = 3:51 | title2 = Lord Help | writer2 = Jessie Mae Hemphill | length2 = 3:41 | title3 = Did Trouble Me | writer3 = Susan Werner | length3 = 4:15 | title4 = Strange Things | writer4 = Sister Rosetta Tharpe | length4 = 3:00 | title5 = Burning Hell | writer5 = Bernard Besman, John Lee Hooker | length5 = 3:26 | title6 = If I Give My Soul | writer6 = Billy Joe Shaver | length6 = 3:30 | title7 = Don't Knock | writer7 = Pops Staples, Wesley Westbrooks | length7 = 2:16 | title8 = Nobody's Fault but Mine | writer8 = trad. | length8 = 3:40 | title9 = Didn't It Rain | writer9 = trad. | length9 = 3:21 | title10 = Ain't No Grave | writer10 = Claude Ely| length10 = 3:08 | title11 = Run On | writer11 = trad. | length11 = 3:58 |}}

| headline = iTunes bonus track (available on the CD version in the UK) | title12 = Burning Hell (Ethan Johns' Wood Room version) | writer12 = Bernard Bessman, John Lee Hooker | length12 = 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
• 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

::data[format=table] | Chart (2010) | Peak position | |---|---| | European Top 100 Albums | 4 | ::

Year-end charts

::data[format=table]

Chart (2010)	Position
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)	65
UK Albums (OCC)	103
::

Certifications

Release history

::data[format=table]

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

References

1. "Front Row, BBC Radio 4 Interview". BBC.
2. "Island Records". Islandrecords.co.uk.
3. "Review overview". Metacritic.com.
4. Perry, Andrew. (16 July 2010). "The Daily Telegraph review". The Daily Telegraph.
5. Gill, Andy. (23 July 2010). "The Independent review". The Independent.
6. (13 July 2010). "American Songwriter review". [[American Songwriter]].
7. (25 July 2010). "New York Times review". The New York Times.
8. Hann, Michael. (22 July 2010). "The Guardian review". The Guardian.
9. (27 July 2010). "The Washington Post review". The Washington Post.
10. (22 May 2025). "BBC RADIO review".
11. (22 May 2025). "Pastor [Jack Stahl] defends Tom Jones church".
12. "Unscrewed with Martin Sargent (TV Series 2003–2004) - Full cast & crew - IMDb".
13. "Unscrewed with Martin Sargent 1x14 "Pastor Jack Exorcises Martin, Zero Sex Life, Japanese Hot Dog Art"".
14. (27 May 2025). "Rich Brown: Church of Tom Jones: It's not unusual ... or is it?". The Joplin Globe.
15. (2007). "What's Your BQ?". W Business Books.
16. "Sandra Sellani, MBA". Discovery Behavioral Health.
17. "Billboard review".
18. (21 July 2010). "Entertainment Weekly review". Entertainmentweekly.com.
19. (27 July 2010). "LA Times review". Los Angeles Times.
20. Farber, Jim. (19 July 2010). "New York Daily News review". NYDailynews.co.uk.
21. "Praise & Blame album credits". Allmusic.com.
22. [http://foreign.peacefmonline.com/entertainment/201008/67814.php ]{{dead link. (March 2012)
23. "Årslista Album – År 2010". Sverigetopplistan.
24. "End of Year 2010". [[UKChartsPlus]].

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